pho and kebabs

[Shira]

have been spending some time on the kingsland road and have eaten pho at song quee (multiple times) and long kee. any other recs? what else have you tried on this trip?

further up, towards dalston, do any turkish places stand out?

Edited June 29, 2006 by Shira (log)

[wgallois]

Mangal II is a great Turkish place much recommended on here (by Marlena Spieler originally I think). The grills are fantastic and it's excellent for vegetarians. There is the added bonus of often spotting Gilbert and George having their dinner there.

[vytoh]

Song Que has the best range of pho, hands down. I go there if I feel the need for a pho with tendon or tripe. However, I still tend to prefer the pho at Cay Tre on Old St. The servings are a bit smaller (as they should be so it's not all just filler of rice noodles) and the broth is better than Song Que. Their pho go uses corn fed chicken and it's a rather tasty dish. the pho bo tai is quite delicate as well.

Both places do a Bun Bo Hue well enough, especially if you ask for it to be extra spicy

Au Lac is also good, if I remember correctly. Haven't tried the new Viet Grill that's opened up further south towards Herbal. it's the sister to Cay Tre and my vietnamese friend gives it the thumbs up so I'm looking forward to visiting soon.

btw - one of my favourite noodle dishes is Bun cha - rice vermicelli with grilled pork on top, with lettuce and julienned cucumber mixed throughm and a fish sauce soupy concoction poured over the top. it's not a soup but it's not dry either. IMO, Cay Tre does the best Bun Cha that I've found so far. The same dish in Hanoi (a streetside dish during the day only) also includes little grilled pork mince burgers as well, but I've yet to find a place here in London that has this.

Can't give any advice on the turkish places in Stoke Newington as I never seem to get past the local place up the road from me, but I'll be keen to read suggestions from others in the know!

[Peter H]

For Turkish grills, try Mangal Ocakbasi on Arcola Street (just off the Dalston end of Stoke Newington High Street). It's well known (try googling the name) and justifiably so. I've always had great cooking there - but it does get busy!

[Franci]

My husband and I are also in search of good pho, in NY was often our Saturday brunch option.

We go for the basic pho.

So far we tried Song Que: we were not particularly excited about it, not bad but not special, we were expecting a more subtle flavor of the stock.

Another time we were heading to Au lac but there was a wedding, it was so busy that we end up to Hanoi cafe'. I really didn't like it, maybe the style of regional cooking but I like my beef thin and raw in the soup, this was just boil meat (and hard to chew).

Another time we stopped on Mare Street, we were going to Green Papaya but it was closed (it opens only at night) so we went a couple blocks up, I don't remember the full name of the restaurant but there is a "Viet" in the name , you can bring your own alcohol because the do not sell. So far is the one that we liked better.

If you find out more, any other suggestion will be appreciated

[marlena spieler]

both mangal 2 and mangal ocabasi on arcola street are wonderful, i believe they are owned by the same people because if you want a little lamajoun or something that mangal ocabasi doesn't have, they'll nip around the corner for you and pick some up.

be sure to order the fire-roasted aubergein and pepper salad as it is terrific and i belive it is not on the menu.

and try the fermented turnip drink if you like the idea of drinking pickle juice, it is sooooooo delicious, at least to some. i have also heard it discribed as weird but compelling.

i'm also looking for a good pho in london; song que is not the ultimate broth as you noted, but i like the way they will put chunks of fried tofu in the pho if you like--i like both the raw beef and tofu which vietnamese in other places find strange. i like the way the hot tofu soaks up the beefy broth.

[vytoh]

well, for what it's worth, I still think the broth of the pho at Cay Tre (on Old St) is the best of the lot in that area. As mentioned, they only have a pho ga (chicken) and a pho bo (beef) and don't have the range of other additions like tripe/tendons at Song Que, but I find the pho more enjoyable at Cay Tre.

No, it's not quite as good as anything streetside in Hanoi but you take what you can get when thousands of miles away. Can't compare to NYC as I've not had pho there.

[The Butler]

We went for a birthday to Mangal 2 due to Marlena Spieler's recommendation on an earlier thread.It was fantastic.The lachmajoun was nice-the thin dough thingie with the lamb topping.The staff are exeptionally friendly.Eating there was like being in Turkey- grilled meat lashings of differing veggie salads.They also made a surprise bday cake.Even got to say good evening to Gilbert or was it George ?Turnip juice good too-Ibelieve it comes in either mild or spicy versions.

The Butler

Anything else Sir?

[Shira]

on two outings to dalston, had manti (first time, but i thought they were delicious) at somine (the most expensive main, but still buttons) and lamb pizza at the mangal bakery. baklava at oz sadly didn't measure up to the kind my local portuguese (corner of brixton road, by the station) gets from somewhere in streatham. also tried the hue pho at cay tre--v. good, but the heat obscured any finer comparison points.

by any chance, has anyone come across a home-friendly pho recipe? i'm not sure current kitchen-sharer would welcome 7 hours of stewing oxtail bones.

[Suzi Edwards]

The pho broth is great at Viet Garden on Liverpool Road.

[sunbeam]

Pho in St John st

Give em a go, a nice non asian couple who have created a very smart place and a chef who knows his phos

(btw that doesnt rhyme as pho is pronounced as 'feu', a legacy of French colonialism in Vietnam

See what an o level gets you? Mind that was when o-levels meant something .. (burbles on for hours)

S

[Ian]

Pho is St John Street is fun but the short menu lacks the tripe and tendon based pho I frequently desire. I used to eat regularly at Song Que but got fed up of feeling ill afterwards - their no-smoking section is ridiculously small so I always end up feeding from a neighbours cigarette - and that does my asthma no good at all. The place gets terribly noisy too.

[sunbeam]

Pho is St John Street is fun but the short menu lacks the tripe and tendon based pho I frequently desire. I used to eat regularly at Song Que but got fed up of feeling ill afterwards - their no-smoking section is ridiculously small so I always end up feeding from a neighbours cigarette - and that does my asthma no good at all. The place gets terribly noisy too.

←

tripe and tendon? You are just showing off now innit, personally I would pay good money NOT to eat tripe and tendons, but each to his own.

S