Fab Phở at Cafe East

A whole bunch of us had just done a gig at ExCel in London. It was a warm and humid day. We were hungry for something wholesome. Luckily one of us had local knowledge of an allegedly very good Vietnamese restaurant in the area. Well, Cafe East was not easy to find (here is the Google map reference) but the journey was well worth it.

We got there and were asked to wait for 5-10 minutes - always a reassuring sign on a Saturday evening. The interior of the place was functional bordering utilitarian (see pic below). However, the clientele was mostly South East Asian (another reassuring sign) and the noise was a slurpy and happy one.

The rice-pasta rolls were good, and so were the sliced sausages. The true test of any Vietnamese restaurant, however, is still Phở - rice noodles with thin slices of rare beef in a clear beef soup. Well mine turned up looking good (see below). The soup was clear. The smell was excellent - a beefy aroma scented with basil and spices. And it was very good - the noodles were al dente, the beef was succulent and the soup was tasty without being overpowering. I happily slurped up the entire bowl and drank the soup (and didn't feel thirsty later - another sign of a good soup).

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