Eating Victoria- Food Blog and Eating Guide

Vietnam House Restaurant
788 Yates St.
250-384-3843

My tummy craves a hot bowl of soup whenever the weather takes a dip into the minuses. It’s amazing how many places aren’t open on weekends( PIGdog, Relish, Devour, Japanese Village). I tried going to those restaurants first but sadly nothing was open. Vietnamese restaurants are abundant in Victoria, and Vietnam House is one of these restaurants that I walk by and overlook. I was happy they were open on Saturday, and I got exactly what I needed. The young male server( I think it is a family run place), recommended the spicy beef soup( Bun Bo Hue). It was the right amount of spicy to get my nose-a-flowin’, with basil, bean sprouts, veggies, cilantro and lime. There was also thinly sliced beef, beef meatballs, and slices of pork. The texture of the meat was interesting, not exactly Grade AAA beef, more like a sausage, to be honest I don’t know how to describe it. The taste was good, just texturally quite peculiar. The broth was delicious too. The menu here has it all, not shying away from using tripe, me likes!
It was also nice to hear the cook( perhaps the mother) speaking Vietnamese with her patrons too, which lends support to the food on offer being authentic. It’s a small restaurant( maybe 8 tables), but the food is worth stopping in for, and the service is quick and friendly.

Cheers

Green Leaf Bistro
1684 Douglas St.
250-590-8302

Vietnamese restaurants in Victoria seem to be a contentious issue amongst food bloggers and contributors in search of the perfect pho. I’ve been to a few Vietnamese places here, but I’m no connoisseur. A co-worker suggested that we go to Green Leaf, and I’m always up for trying a new place. The space itself is very inviting and somewhat modern. I find a lot of Vietnamese restaurants are no-frills, but I give the owners of Green Leaf props for putting some thought and love into the place. The service off the bat was super fast, dropping off water and tea. It was busy at lunch time, and it is popular for good reason.

I ordered a beef pho and a salad roll. My co-workers ordered similar items, a beef pho and a chinese sausage salad roll. The pho was very enjoyable. The beef was very thinly sliced, the broth was intensely aromatic( a very interesting combination of savoury cloves and peppercorns), the noodles were spot-on, and the veggies and herbs were very fresh. Overall I would give it an 8.5/10. The salad roll on the other hand was forgettable, the shrimp was flavourless, and the pork was thin and I could barely find it. I wouldn’t order it again. It tasted O.K. when I slathered it in the tasty peanut sauce it came with, but it wouldn’t be hard to make a better salad roll at home. My co-worker GS ordered a Vietnamese coffee after her pho, so I ordered a dessert. Green Leaf has all different types of blended drinks and bubble tea with authentic flavours. I took our servers suggestions, a tricoloured bean dessert, with jackfruit( correct me if I’m wrong), red beans( adzuki beans), green gelatin-like things, shaved ice and coconut milk. The portion was huge so I couldn’t finish it all, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. It was a bit awkward to eat, and my palate took some warming up to discern if I liked it or not. Some bites were good when I had a bit of everything mixed together, but other bites I found a bit salty, but when coupled with the red beans it turned sweet. I’m glad I tried it though.

Green Leaf is a great place to try for lunch, it’s affordable, and I think it’s run by a family. They put a lot of care into the experience.

Cheers