Saturday, June 15, 2013

I Am Pho

Some of you may recall the Morris family's adventures into the wonderful world of Vietnamese fodder at Pho 68 in SheffVegas which we absolutely loved. This time we were in Manchester and, although my dad was after a return visit to Sindhoor, I'd recently read Mrs Petticoat's review of I Am Pho and was really desperate to try it. I knew my parents would love it, so I Am Pho it would be. Sorry dad.


I knew I Am Pho was going to be a pretty no-frills type of place but us Morrises don't mind this one jot. It was all very clean and spick and span. I particularly liked the musical tiles in the toilets.


As us Morrises are all such fans of the Vietnamese summer roll we knew without even looking at the menu that we were going to be getting a portion of those, but there was such a good selection of interesting starters at I Am Pho that we decided to order three different ones and share. This sharing lark is a dangerous game in the Morris family as you have to be quick like a cat, but it was worth the risk - all the starters were amazing.


Nem Cuốn Tom summer rolls with beautiful prawns and crunchy veg were delicious with a dipping sauce that reminded me of a peanutty version of chip shop curry sauce (one of life's guilty pleasures).


Bánh Cuốn Chay were lovely little sticky rice paper rolls topped with crunchy little bits of spring onion and served with a sweet, vinegary sauce that was so good I thought my dad was going to drink it à la Bacon on the Beech.


Bánh Xèo Tom however was our favourite starter of the day - a beautifully crispy Vietnamese pancake filled with onions and more of those delightful prawns and more of that bloody dipping sauce. Winner.


After we'd enjoyed our large bowls, or should I say buckets, of soup at Pho 68 we all hoped to have the same awesome soupy experience on this occasion. Me and my mum both went for the Phố Chay which didn't quite hit the spot for me this time - I loved the tofu and veggies but the broth itself to me tasted a little bland. I pepped it up with a load of Thai Basil, Sriracha Sauce and whatnot (I do love the tray of condiments you get on the table) but it still wasn't quite as nice as the one we'd had before.


Having said that my mum was quick to jump in and defend the dish, suggesting I'd enjoyed my soup more last time because of the cold; I'm not so sure about that but it shows how opinions can vary even between mother and daughter!


Then again I can't have disliked it that much seeing as I managed to see the bottom of my bowl this time... Pat on the back for me!


My dad's Bún Riêu Cua on the other hand was brilliant - a most flavoursome broth filled with loads of tasty crab. Roy was super impressed and insisted that he wasn't going to add a single thing to it from the condiment tray as it was spot on.


Overall we found the meal to be an excellent experience, helped along by the enthusiastic and informative waiter who was keen to tell us about Vietnamese food. The service was swift and efficient and everything was extremely reasonably priced. My dad didn't even mind missing out on Sindhoor.


I Am Pho is proud to declare itself the only Vietnamese restaurant in China Town and they do seem to be doing a roaring trade with all sorts of people coming in to enjoy their authentic dishes. I am yet to visit Vnam Café but my parents said they preferred I Am Pho out of the two. Definitely one of the best Manchester 'Cheap Eats' meals I've had this year and worth a try for sure.


I Am Pho on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

  1. Good writing, Hope that more could write such a good word, I said, to continue coming to visit, thank you for sharing.

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