NamNam Noodle Bar from SG has landed in Manila! Offering Vietnamese food, specializing in Pho and Banh Mi, Annam Noodle Bar has opened it's doors recently and has been making a loud buzz across social media flat forms.
Got the chance to visit on a Saturday night and even though it was past dinner time, they were packed and we were put on a wait list. Took them about 15 minutes to give us a table but we didn't back out because the kiddos and the hubby badly wanted some great Pho! While Pho Hoa is our got to because of their amazing Pho Bowls, we decided to try this new kid.
As soon as you enter the restaurant, signs of Banh Mi and Soup Bowls with colorful lights will greet you.
There were also a lot of red and yellow lamps hanging and lots of shelves!
They have countless display of Vietnamese products - ceramic pots, coffee beans, instant coffee, Sriracha and other condiments - most of which were for sale!
There's also this Banh Mi section where a glass display shows rows of Vietnamese Baguette with all the Banh Mi essentials.
The restaurant looks like it has been taken out of a Vietnamese movie and put right smack Eastwood City.
We got an appetizer, fresh spring rolls, Banh Mi and a bowl of Pho.
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| Chili Sambal Braised Beef Banh Mi for 230Php |
My Chili Sambal Braised Beef Banh Mi came in first. Cut into half and served in a basket, it looked quite good! The baguette was the usual crunchy outside type, filled with chicken pate, mayo, pickled carrots, daikon, cucumber, fresh cilantro, chili peppers and generous heaping of tasty and tender beef chunks. It was good! Great heat, flavorful and a nice touch of freshness from the cilantro and the other veggies.
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| Crispy Squid with Sriracha Mayo for 200Php |
Then came the Crispy Squid with Sriracha Mayo. The batter was crispy indeed and it was well seasoned. The squid wasn't rubbery and had a nice bite. Loved the Sriracha mayo though I wished that there was more Sriracha in it.
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| Vegetarian Southern Rolls, Fresh Herbs, Peanut Sauce for 170Php |
We also got an order of Vegetarian Southern Rolls and I asked them to remove any red chili, if there's any, from the rolls. Served right after the squid, the two pieces of Spring rolls came in with a peanut sauce. I loved the combination of rice noodles, fresh greens and refreshing herbs! I smothered each bite with lots of peanut sauce by the way.
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| Extra Toppings - Steamed Chicken for 100Php & Glass Noodles for 60Php |
Aside from our order of Pho Australian Beef Combination, I also ordered extra bowls of glass noodles and extra steamed chicken for my youngest. They came in small bowls filled with soup and IMO, there was too little of each for the price.
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| Pho Australian Beef Combination for 350Php |
Our orders were served right away but the main event - our Bowl of Pho - came in very late. We needed to make 2 follow-ups and good thing our server Jenny was very pleasant. She even approached us to apologize coz there seemed to be a mix up in their kitchen that's why our Pho was not prepared right away. Then she came back and informed us that they run out of glass noddles and offered us to get something else. Lost my cool a little and told her that we came there for a good bowl of Pho that's why we agreed to wait to get a table in the first place. A Noddle Bar that run out of Glass Noodles?!? I can't believe it. I asked to talk to their manager coz we've been waiting for a while but then she came back and informed us that she fixed it already and our Beef Pho is being prepared. In less than a minute, our Pho was ready. I don't know what happened, trust me, it's very weird.
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| Look at all the meat! |
Their Pho Australian Beef Combination came in with lots of beef steak slices (done medium rare), tasty beef balls, tendon, honeycomb tripe, some cilantro and thick glass noodles. I kinda preferred the medium sized ones that came in with our extra order of noodles. The soup was tasty and had the right saltiness, good beef flavor but I somehow preferred Pho Hoa's version. Maybe because I wanted some more veggies in my Pho? And a little more noodles perhaps.
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| Viet Coffee with Condensed Milk - Iced for 120Php |
I also tried their Iced Viet Coffee with condensed milk. It was served in a small tin mug and and there was too little! For the price, it's not worth it coz I can gulp the entire thing in one go!
I'm not saying that food is not good but service needs to improve. Given that they just opened, I'm hoping that they'll be better in the coming weeks or months in terms of organizing the orders on queue, making sure they have the proper stocks to run for the entire day and maybe they can brush up the way their kitchen communicates with their server. I hate the inconsistency and confusion.
3 out of 5 Stars for Annam!
--- Annam Noodle Bar: Unit 1880-4 Ground Floor 1880 Building, Eastwood Avenue, Libis, Quezon City
I am a workaholic mom who is also trying to be the best wife ever. I am a self proclaimed food lover, a frustrated cook and pastry master. I have a thing for books and scrap booking fills up my free time. Blogging? It's something I do once in a while when I can squeeze in some "me time" in this super busy life.
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