Another day of feeling lazy and can’t decide on what to have for lunch – sounds like first-world problems…
We were getting tired of constantly eating instant noodles or pizza pockets but we didn’t have the energy to make anything from scratch – plus, it’ll take forever to defrost things from the freezer.
After some back and forth on ideas with my brother, we decided to search online and check what’s around our area that we’re willing to drive to for some takeout.
Eventually, we decided to go to Vietnam Noodle Star since we haven’t had Vietnamese food in a while.
Although there are many amazing pho places around Toronto, we just decided to go to Vietnam Noodle Star. It was the most convenient Vietnamese restaurant for us to stop by that day.
[Update: 3-16-2022] We decided to give this place another try today as our previous experience wasn’t too stellar and to see if there’s additional charge if we were to ask for extra fish sauce.
Vietnam Noodle Star Review
Image by: Vietnam Noodle Star
As usual, I went for the vermicelli option. It’s not that I don’t like pho noodle soup, but rather I find it messy to eat.
Most of the time when I order pho, I end up with tiny soup or sauce stains on my clothes. You know, when you slurp the noodles and it reaches near the end, the noodle does that flapping effect sending soup droplets everywhere.
Some of you may say to me – why not wear dark colour clothing so it’s not visible or noticeable if I’m going to have Vietnamese food.
All I can say is – good point! Lol
My brother decided to go with their House Noodle Special and we ordered their grilled pork neck as well.
Vietnam Noodle Star Menu
Here’s the menu for the restaurant. As you can see, their menu is pretty extensive.
Image by: Vietnam Noodle Star
Vermicelli with Three Items
I like how some of the dishes on their menu allow you to pick the ingredients and how many you want – it’s like creating your own meal.
Compared to other Vietnamese restaurants, where the dishes are predefined and you have to pick the dish that best suits your taste.
The dish I went for was #1308 on their menu. It allowed me to pick three ingredients of my choice, so I went with deep-fried pork chop, beef, and Vietnamese spring roll.
This came with a good portion of noodles, the meats I got weren’t too shabby – wasn’t too overly cooked, and two spring rolls. However, surprisingly the fish sauce they provided was disappointing! It came in a small plastic container where the amount provided is equivalent to a pizza dipping sauce.
It’s great they provided a lot of noodles but the lack of fish sauce made the dish tasteless. Also, because there wasn’t enough fish sauce, the noodles were all stuck together. I couldn’t break it apart. When I was eating, it was like eating a block of noodles at once…
If you order vermicelli for takeout, you might want to consider making your own fish sauce beforehand as they definitely don’t provide enough.
Good thing I had siracha hot sauce at home. If I didn’t have this, this would have been one mediocre meal.
The spring roll was not crispy but the fillings did have a nice taste to it. This could be due to us getting takeout – the skin probably got soft from the steam trapped in the container over an extended period of time.
[Update: 3-16-2022] Here’s the fish sauce I was referring to last time. Looking at the image below, I hope it’s not just me who thinks that this is too little for the food portion they give.
And no, I’m not saying they should reduce the food portion to match the fish sauce, but rather they should give more fish sauce!
House Special Noodle Soup
Image by: Vietnam Noodle Star
Their House Special Noodles came with beef tripe, beef tendon, beef balls, and raw beef slices all served in a beef soup base. That’s a lot of “beef” in one dish.
By the time we got home, the soup started to get warm. So, we decided to put the soup in a pot and reheat it. Otherwise, if we used it as is, we don’t think it’ll fully cook the bean sprouts or the raw beef.
According to my brother, the soup base was delicious, the noodles were cooked just the way he likes it, and the beef balls were juicy and bouncy.
Similar to the vermicelli dish, there was a good amount of noodles and toppings. However, once again, there was not enough soup to fully submerge the noodles in the soup base!
Is this the standard for ordering takeout?
Grilled Pork Neck
Image by: Vietnam Noodle Star
Compared to my vermicelli dish, this one was much better and delicious – it was grilled perfectly and tender.
For some reason, I thought there wasn’t going to be much meat as it was the neck cut but I was wrong – it was very meaty. And the portion, like their other dishes, was a healthy amount.
Definitely did not regret ordering this dish and will continue to order this dish from Vietnam Noodle Star restaurant.
[Update: 3-16-2022] Rice with Three Items
My intention was to get the same item as last time but slightly change the ingredients – deep-fried pork chop, beef, and lemongrass chicken fillet.
However, to my surprise, they gave me rice instead of vermicelli? – and we provided the same menu number too. Also, this time the ingredients didn’t come sliced into pieces. Instead, it was one BIG slab of meat.
My initial reaction when I saw this was – they messed up my order!
When I looked into this, maybe we were at fault here. We didn’t specify whether we wanted vermicelli or rice, and item #1308 on their menu can be either rice, vermicelli, or bian hoi. So, I guess the default is rice – but they should’ve asked?
As I proceeded to eat the food, I actually enjoyed it. With the extra fish sauce we asked for the dish tasted a lot better – I tried it with just one and overall it was still a bit bland.
However, I would have to say the star of this dish was the chicken fillet. It was tender, juicy, and flavourful. Good thing I saved it for last.
Food – 3.2 3.3/5
The portion is nice but there’s not enough soup for the pho and not enough fish sauce for the vermicelli.
They really need to reevaluate their takeout service and how to provide enough soup or sauce to their customers. They should also aim for their customers to enjoy a wonderful eating experience at home as well – it should be as if you’re eating at the restaurant.
Although the flavour for pho was good, the vermicelli didn’t really stand out and wowed me. But their grilled pork neck was an excellent choice – it was the show stealer that day for me.
[Update: 3-16-2022] I gave it a small bump in rating. It was all thanks to the extra fish sauce and the chicken fillet.
Service – 3/5
We didn’t have much interaction with the staff as we went into the restaurant, placed our takeout order, about 10-15 minutes later the food was ready, we paid and left. So, for that, we’re going to give them 3 out of 5.
Maybe the next time we visit this place we’ll dine in and see if this rating requires any updating or not.
[Update: 3-16-2022] No changes here. They did provide extra fish sauce if you asked for it – at no extra charge, but not asking whether we wanted rice, vermicelli, or bian hoi was lacking when that information was not provided.
Maybe I’ll give this place one more try in the near future. Third time’s the charm?
Ambiance – 3/5
Once again, we were here only for takeout and didn’t pay much attention to the restaurant – so, we can’t really comment on this.
But we did notice the place was spacious and clean when we took a quick glance. So, we’re going to give them 3 out of 5 again.
Price – $ to $$
The cost of their food is similar to other pho places around Toronto. But if we had to compare price and quantity, then Vietnam Noodle Star has the upper hand.
Vietnam Noodle House Overall Rating – 3.3/5
If you’re really hungry and want a lot of food for a decent price, then give this place a try. If you’re ordering takeout, you may want to ask for extra soup or sauce – hope it’s possible to do that and they won’t charge extra or give you a hard time over this.
Confirmed. We asked for extra fish sauce and they didn’t charge extra for it. That’s a plus!
Also, the ability to choose the ingredients you want and how many is a nice touch on some of their dishes.
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