It’s human nature to think that a popular, busy restaurant would be a good one. So when my friend and I walked through the doors of Vietnam Noodle Star, we had high hopes. Waiting in a line that at times spanned out the door, those positive recommendations on the ChowHound boards now seemed to make sense. But was Vietnam Noodle Star, truly for real?

Condiments

Considering that we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, there may be good reason for the restaurant’s hustle and bustle. Then again, we probably would have assumed the worst if it weren’t busy. Eagerly we waited our turn to be shown to our table. The first thing I noticed sitting down was a big bottle of fish sauce, conspicuously sitting with the condiments. I had never seen such a big bottle on the table before. Fish sauce is super strong, and could spell disaster in the wrong hands. Having such obtuse amounts available table-side was… an interesting decision.

Looking over the placard menu, I get the sense that Vietnam Noodle Star employs a “build-your-own-pho” approach. There’s a section asking customers choose their own combination of meat items for their pho and vermicelli dishes, with additional charges for some items. This might be a novel idea to shorten the menu, but feels as gimmicky as those often bad “build-your-own-curry” concepts.

Time to order for the taste test! My pick would be the yardstick by which all Vietnamese pho restaurants are measured – Beef Pho. My friend ordered the vermecilli with grilled chicken and sugar-cane shrimp. And like a moth to a flame, I ordered Roti when I spotted the item in the South-East Asian snack section. No, not the Roti hailing from the West Indies, that most Torontonians know and love. I’m talking about the light, fluffy version Singaporean version of Roti Prata. Secretly, I was hoping that this meal will turn out real good.

Roti

But the dining experience took the wrong turn after this. A plate of limp, uninspiring, pan-heated frozen Roti was served. It wasn’t light, nor fluffy, nor was it served with any curry! Wasn’t this item listed in the South-East Asian section? I felt betrayed. There was no joy to be had, no memories to be invoked while eating this. The way I see it, if you can’t make Roti fresh, why bother listing it on the menu. I could do better buying the frozen variety from a grocery store.

But we came to judge the Vietnamese cuisine. The beef pho was brought up next. Generous in portion, the start looked more optimistic. But one sip of the bland soup gave me second thoughts. There wasn’t any particular character to the broth. It wasn’t anything thrilling, but it will feed me. Instead of burying my face in the bowl, I looked up and got my answer. There were no Vietnamese customers in this place. All the clients were Cantonese-speaking Chinese. The management don’t seem to be Vietnamese either. Vietnam Noodle Star felt like a Hong Kong diner masquerading as a Pho House. The beef pho seemed appropriately dumbed down for its intended audience.

We had one more dish to sample. The vermecilli bowl (Bun Thit Nuong) with grilled chicken and sugar cane shrimp was Vietnam’s Star last chance at redemption. The timid garlic chili sauce integrated into the vermecilli bowl was passingly enjoyable. But there was no forgiving a bland sugar cane shrimp. The traditional way of making Chao Thom is by grilling. Deep frying it seems lazy, and the sacrificial lamb of this preparation method is flavour.

Walking out of Vietnam Noodle Star, I reflected on why this place is popular? The success of a restaurant depends heavily on its location. Located in a busy intersection, surrounded by residential areas. Vietnam Noodle Star might just be the convenient place for an adequate pho fix. But if its patrons venture just a bit further, Pho 88 and Pho Viet are better Vietnamese owned establishments, and not too far away.

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