We love Pho

I recently posted about phở, my love for it and a certain person who loves phở so much he decided to turn it into art.

Meet Mr. Cuong Phu Le, Asian-Australian Community Cultural Development Officer of Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in Sydney. Yes he's pictured above in a really cute I love phở shirt.

Those of you who attended the talk at the National Museum would be familiar with Mr. Cuong. I was most certainly inspired by him. You can see how he manages to fuse his interest for food and culture and present it to the lay person on the street with such enthusiasium that you can't help but be infected with the phở love bug.

I was helping out at the talk and managed to snap some shots just for you:











Yes, everyone had a hot bowl of phở at the end. It was quite a big portion and it actually tasted rather good.



I'm sure you're now wishing you had come! Ah well there's always next time. Anyway, the food was just a bonus. The talk was the highlight and it certainly was enlightening.

Just because he is the founder and curator of the I love Phở visual arts exhibition (which I hope makes it to Singapore eventually!), people expect him to know where to find the best phở. It's an occupational hazard! But Cuong doesn't mind it because it just gives him the perfect excuse to go suss out phở everywhere he goes!

He did just that in Singapore as well. I was tasked to bring Cuong around the island to find the best phở.

Okay, maybe not the best one because I got to admit that I myself have not eaten all the phở there is to be found here so I'm not the best judge. But I did do some research and we checked out Pho 24 and Va Va Voom.

Why these two places? Well Pho 24 is actually a franchise from Vietnam. Va Va Voom is a Vietnamese concept eatery I frequent occasionally when I'm craving for a hot bowl of phở. Oh and it was nearby. We were strapped for time that's why!

I don't have photos from Pho 24. I guess I was a bit disappointed that the beef phở wasn't ready when we arrived around 11:30am. They supposedly stew their soups for 24 hours with 24 different spices. Hmmm so maybe that's why their beef soup wasn't ready? We had the chicken phở instead. It wasn't too bad but it was my first time tasting chicken phở so I didn't have much to say.

So off we went to Va Va Voom to fix our craving for beef phở.





This Hue Spicy Beef noodle uses a clear spicy broth and the noodles are the same as the ones used in laksa. They're round, semi opaque and made from rice flour.

I did of course ask Cuong how he liked his beef phở. He did say it wasn't too bad but he wished it had more ginger in it. I never knew that the phở in Vietnam had ginger in it. At least now I know.

Looks like I wasn't the only one taking photos of the food..



Just too bad our tummies weren't bottomless or we could have gone on and visited other Vietnamese restaurants for more phở.

Anyway, do feel free to feedback to me if you are absolutely sure you have found the best phở in Singapore. I'll be sure to try it myself!

And if you're free this Saturday, do head on down to The National Museum at 3pm for a very delicious and enriching talk on "Chocolate in the 18th Century". Regional pastry consultant of Valrhona Vincent Bourdin will be giving the talk.

Here's more info:

An Enlightened Age: Chocolate in the 18th Century
In the 18th century, chocolate's popularity reached across Europe and the Americas. It was a time of great upheavals in society that influenced who got to enjoy chocolate and who didn't, and of advances in technology that made possible the first chocolate bars. In this workshop, learn how the history of chocolate reflects the changes in society in the 18th century.
3 May 2008, 3pm, Salon, $10

Tickets for "An Enlightened Age: Chocolate in the 18th century" can be booked online at www.nationalmuseum.sg (go to Online Booking Page) or at the Visitor Services Counter at the National Museum of Singapore (93 Stamford Road Singapore 178897). Tickets are S$10 each.