Pho 99

Date Visited: Dinner on Sunday Dec 21, 2015
Company: +Stephanie Szebenyi

After some outdoor ice-skating at the Markham Civic Centre, +Stephanie wanted a small meal and I wanted something to warm myself up. I suggested some pho after having just gone to Pho Real and only trying a bit of someone else's, I was really craving good pho. Steph had never had any before so it would be a fun experience for both of us. We arrived at the small location in a plaza across the street from the Markville mall. We walked in and grabbed one of the large empty tables for 6. The restaurant was shaped like a large hallway with seating for 6 and 4 respectively on either side of the walkway down to the kitchen and payment area. The utensils were all on the table already for us to set ourselves and we got tea immediately as soon as we sat down. There was a TV on in the back with some Big Bang Theory on which made the restaurant pretty quiet as most people were watching it.


We checked out the menu for a while, explaining it to Steph and wrote our orders down on the paper provided at the table. We ordered the Shrimp Rolls to start and they were fresh, tightly wrapped, and minimal mint.
Moving on the Pho, I ordered the Rare Beef and Beef Ball Pho and the portion size looked a bit smaller than usual for a medium. Other than that, no real complaints about the meal, the beef was delicious and the broth was not the best I've had but still very good. Just could have used a bit more noodles. This reminded me an authentic asian restaurant with nothing too fancy but just good food to offer. We sat a bit longer after having out pho but they didn't really top off our tea at all.

Food: 3/5 - Great meat and noodles, decent prices.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Nothing fancy but surprisingly clean.
Service: 3/5 - No complains, very typical minimal service as you would expect at a classic Asian place but super fast.
Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Not sure if I'd go back here specifically but not against returning.

Overall: 3/5

Banu

Date Visited: Dinner on Monday Feb 10, 2014
Company: Winterlicious Reservation for 3

One of the things that my friends and I try to do during the '-licious' time is to pick at least one restaurant that we usually wouldn't go to to try new foods. This was once instance where we decided to try an Iranian dinner at Banu located at Queen West. It was a cold, snowy night in Toronto but we drove from Oshawa to the shopping district to eat here and found parking on the street close by. The restaurant is very tiny, very much like the other shops in the area. 

Upon entering, there were only a few tables lined up on the side of the narrow restaurant and a group of 4 tables in the back. This isn't the place to go with a large group. The decor wasn't very lively but had an eccentric feel with pillows on the seats, white walls, bright blue tables, and minimal decor. There were only two servers for the whole restaurant, both who were very relaxed and probably not Iranian. 
We looked at the menu and had a not-so-fun time deciding what to try. The server also had additional appetizers on the menu which were available. I almost got the Kashk o Bademjan, roasted eggplant, turmeric, caramelized onion, fried mint, and whey paste but I got a different version with Creamed Eggplant instead (from what I remember). The portion was pretty small with a chunk of sauce in the middle with 4 pieces of sesame bread to pair. The dip was very creamy with lots of flavour which I can't even know the words to describe. it was a bit smokey with lots of spices in the mushy eggplant, an interesting dish for sure. They asked if I wanted more bread, but I turned it down. It wasn't the most vibrant of flavours to be having a lot of. 
For the mains, two of us got the Koobideh, two skewers of ground angus sirloin with roasted tomato, basil, mint, and tarragon, and lawash bread, and +Joslynn got the Morgh, which was the chicken breast with saffron citrus glaze version. We got everything on one huge plate. We were kind of confused at first when we all got smaller plates before the meal came out, we thought that they had other plates to place on top of ours or something. But all the kabobs came on a huge plate with naan on the side and beneath, and the sides. Our waiter told us to basically take a bit of the meat, mint, tomato, the yogurt-y sauce, and spices and wrap it in a bit of the flat bread. The combination of those flavours were actually very delicious together and every aspect played a huge part of the bite you take. The hard part though was trying to ration everything evenly for each time you took a bite. The beef was very flavourful but there was so much of it, not sure how we could possibly finish it all, we were eating the bottom bread at the end of it. I also got to try to the chicken which was surprisingly juicy. The sauces we got were also very delicious but we ran out of them, along with the tomatoes which were very well seasoned. They were a bit stingy with everything but I know that some of the spices are extremely expensive (ie. saffron). We were joking that we had no idea if we were doing this right or not and the employees here must have a blast making fun of all the newbies that try the food.
Finally, for dessert, I got the Saffron, Rose Pistachio Ice Cream which came in a bowl with one scoop. It was a nice, sweet ending to our filling meal and wasn't too sugary. It had subtle flavour with bit of pistachio in it and very light.

Overall, I think everyone should try out Banu at least once! It was a fun experience for everyone and the food was extremely satisfying. I wouldn't want to eat there everyday but the kabobs were really good. When we got in the car though, we realized the beef kabobs we took to go home smelled like farts. :/

Food: 3.5/5 - Enjoyed the main and dessert, great quality of food.
Decor: 2/5 - Minimalist, extremely chill atmosphere (almost too chill).
Service: 4/5 - Pretty good service but not surprised because its so tiny. Fair waiting times for food
Willingness to go back: 1/5 - One of those 'been there, done that' restaurants.
Overall: 2.5/5

Website: http://www.banu.ca/ 

Pho Viet Nam 999

Date Visited: Dinner on Thursday Dec 26, 2013
Company: +Lilian




+Lilian and I decided to check out Pho Viet Nam 999 on Boxing Day when our parents were going out for dinner with their friends. We had noticed it opened a while back and wanted to check it out, but never got around to actually going there.  When we pulled in the parking lot, we could see that it was pretty busy and parking was scarce. They share part of the lot with the popular Red Lobster next door so that may have been why there were so many cars. We were told to seat ourselves upon entering and there were a few open tables around but it was surprisingly full for the spacious restaurant.

Checking out the menu, +Lilian and I both felt nostalgic toward our University pho restaurants we'd regular back then as the set-up was identical to them. We were served tea and wrote down our orders on the paper on the table for the waitress to take. To start, we got the classic Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls. I read some reviews in the meanwhile and many complained about the service received here. I was surprised because our food came very timely and the place was busy too. Just after eating half of our Spring Rolls, our Pho came right away. Their Shrimp Spring Rolls also included shredded pork which wasn't something I saw regularly. I think the most important aspect of this simple dish is having fresh ingredients which they did. They were stingy on the shrimp though, only two in 1 roll (maybe because of the pork) and the rice paper didn't fully wrap the ends. The sauce was also a bit bland, needed to be more sweeter as I felt like I had to put a lot of it on.

For the pho, I ordered my go-to Rare Beef & Beef Balls Noodle Soup in medium. The portion size was good and there was a perfect amount of beef. The bean sprouts, mint, and lime was very fresh and I was happy they just had all the classic staples of a Vietnamese restaurant like hoisin and Siracha sauce. I found the broth a bit oily, especially just looking at it. The lime gave the broth a very strong sour flavour rather than a subtle one which I am used to. The beef was very tender and the balls had excellent flavour. Other than that there's no real criticisms, it was very authentic pho and even run by a family. We went up to the cash after having some more tea to pay and we were on our way! Most people will point out that it is pricier than what you would find in the Toronto area but I'm super excited to have a place like this so close to me. I left with the perfect amount of fullness in my belly. Brings back a lot of memories!

Food: 3.5/5 - Not the best Vietnamese food I've had but still good nonetheless

Decor: 3/5 - So classic, large open space, lots of tables, minimal random decorations.

Service: 3/5 - Quick, to the point with no small talk, just the way it should be. Decent waiting time.

Willingness to go back: 4.5/5 - For sure would go back when I'm craving pho.

Overall: 3.5/5

Website: none