Pho Ever

Review

Merry Chinesemas

You shouldn't generally disregard snack bars in cinema centers. Well, you shouldn't generally disregard anything, but if you do so with snack bars in cinema centers, you unfortunately miss the fact that there is a Pan-Asian-Vietnamese snack bar with the funny name Pho ever on the second floor of the so-called Donau-Plexx.
And that they didn't make such bad soups, back when there were still cinemas and restaurants. In September, this cinema snack bar opened a second restaurant, this time in the lower part of Mariahilfer Strasse. And here Fangchang "Jordan" Zhou is trying to play at the better/sophisticated end of the Asian snack bar spectrum - not with the usual glutamate fried noodles, but with things that can somehow appeal to Vienna's Chinese community.
Banh Mi, for example, the wonderful sandwich result of a painful French colonial period in Vietnam; Baozi, the fluffy yeast dough doughnuts with meat filling from China; Vietnamese summer rolls, the lukewarm rice noodle salad Bún Chay with various toppings, including the wonderful betel nut leaves La Lot with meat filling or the Vietnamese national soup Pho, which is even available here in two luxurious versions with crayfish (€ 18.80) or lobster (€ 29.90).
And finally, something called Brazilian Experimental Sushi "Nikkei". FYI: Nikkei cuisine is currently one of the greatest cuisines in the world, although it has nothing to do with either Brazil or sushi, but is a Peruvian-Japanese-European fusion cuisine. We realize: All in all, perhaps a bit much at once and thus against the rather basic rule of good street food: "Not much at once." Which is why you can skip these Nikkei sushi, the version with roast beef coating, mango-cucumber filling and sticky-sweet sauce, for example, is a classic failure (€ 13.90).
Big Baozi, on the other hand, was juicy and good, but there is room for improvement in terms of filling (€ 3.90), and it is particularly sad that the banh mi sandwich is made with soggy baguette, which reminds us longingly of the Old Quarter in Westbahnstraße, where extra crispy bread with rice flour was used ... Let's just say: it could be a lot better. But at least the place is colourful, the speakers play loud, foreign pop music, the staff behind the stall argue in a language you can't understand and a small plastic Christmas tree flashes in all colors. If Vienna is really getting on your nerves, this is not a bad place to grab a snack. Summary: An interesting attempt to give Asian street food a luxurious component. F Pho ever, 6th, Mariahilfer Str. 31, Whatsapp 0660/10 60 168, daily 11am-8pm,

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