Viet Kitchen

Viet Kitchen by far makes the best phở I’ve tasted in Hong Kong.
Recently I tried the Hanoi chicken phở, which blew me away. The broth was intensely fragrant and my bowl runneth over with all the fixin’s — I’m talking Thai basil, cilantro, spring onions, bean sprouts, and lime wedges. The poached chicken breast was of the highest quality and was so tender, it shredded on its own. Perfect ratio of broth to rice noodles to veggies.
I also had the opportunity to try one of my favorite Vietnamese lunch staples, the bun noodle salad with caramelized pork belly. This is also a winner of a dish — light, zesty, and it came with a good portion of pork.
Finally, we ended our beautiful lunch on a high note with the mango sticky rice. This is an all-​time favorite dessert item for me, and Viet Kitchen’s rendition was just flawless. Perfectly-​cooked sticky rice with plenty of ripe mango, then topped with warm coconut crème. And as a bonus, it was so artfully arranged.
Next time, I’ll look forward to trying the 2-​course lunch set for a solid value of $ 98 HKD!

Went for a takeaway baguette and coffee at lunch time.
There was a line for sit down, but no waiting for the takeaway/​counter service. Limited menu, but the offerings looked promising. On offer were a Cha Ca La Vong style turmeric and dill fish baguette, a lemongrass beef roll plus ‘The Pork Experience’, which from the window sample was big and promising.
The Café Sua Da was a disappointment. I thought it went for quantity over quality: it was a Starbucks size plastic container full of strong brown coffee and ice, with none of the richness of the smaller drip-​style Vietnamese coffee or the sweet stratification that comes with the separate addition of condensed milk. Call me fussy, but I like the layering of coffee and milk!
The banh mi — very good. The baguette was a little chewy (but how hard is it to get decent bread in HK?). The filling was as per the display window: overflowing with tasty fillings including fresh coriander, chilli and pickles. A little light on the pâté, but plenty of porky sausage goodness (head cheese?) and some fatty cha siu. A tasty and filling meal that met expectations.
Next time I will have to try the turmeric fish.

Very popular place during lunch time. Have to wait for a while in the queue. Nice decoration. Looks clean and pleasant. There is a wall full of face masks, all different ones. There are also seating around the bar counter.
Ordered the lunch set with caramelised chicken wing as starter and chicken phở as main. Need to pay additional $ 22 for drinks.
The canalised chicken wing was crispy on the outsider but tender within. Slightly sweet, but blended well with the spring onions and garlic that came with it. The chicken in the phở was also quite tender. However, for me, the soup base came up short. It was good but somehow missed the powerful fragrance that came with a great phở soup base.
Net net, not a bad place for lunch in Central.

Dans la partie Kitchen les tables à partager sont un peu bruyantes pour le déjeuner mais l’endroit est très sympa et le service efface !
Les shrimp rice paper roll sont délicieux et très frais
Le Saigon beef Phở top et copieux
Le menu de base E + P est à 98 Hk$ auquel il faut ajouter 22 pour une boisson (le café froid Vietnamien est top par exemple !)
Dans la partie baguette, une sélection de plats à emporter et un service rapide !
Le sandwich wok fried lemongrass beef un peu spicy mais très bon aussi.
A tester !

Having heard the owner was the same chef as Chom Chom. We got excited.
Came on a Monday night and it is almost full. Staff is attention-​to-​detail, even went a bit overwhelming. Yes. Keep on taking away the plates. Guess they are too used to busy lunch hour and quick turn-​over.
We decided to go light. My colleague and I each got a mini dish. I went for the chicken phở and the other ordered a mini buagette with chicken. While waiting, I ran into a friend who asked for a beef phở. Seems my F&B friend was looking out for more. He returned the beef phở as it is way too salty.
We LOVED the fried chicken wing in caramel sauce. They cut the chicken wing into half but the marination is totally absorbed in all layers. For a long time, I hate the blood between deep fried wings. And they totally solved this issue. And that caramel sauce balance the spicy and everything!

I enjoyed dinner there while in HK for business in May 2015 and found their phở to be well-​stocked, fresh and flavorful. Service was attentive and friendly. I will definitely come back on my next trip to HK.

Think about the least amount of beef you’ve ever had in a bowl of phở. Now divide that by three. That’s how much beef is in the Saigon Beef Phở ($ 68). There’s no beef slices, just a bit of brisket and some clumps of beef. The texture of the clumps are somewhere in between meatballs and minced meat. Think about the least amount of noodle you’ve ever been served in a bowl of phở and divide that by three… You get the picture.
While I was extremely disappointed by serving size of my phở bowl, the soup was delicious and of superb quality. I didn’t care for the thin ginger slices in the soup but they were easy enough to spot and remove (especially as there wasn’t much beef or phở getting in the way). The meat was okay… would have preferred beef slices but I’m always game to try something different.
Caramel chicken wings were good. They break the wings up into halves before covering them in batter so its only one bone in each piece making them easy to eat (probably also so it appears as twice as much).
The restaurant is clean, spacious and the booths are nice & cosy, which is a welcome change from traditional vietnamese restaurants. Worth checking out if you are with friends, not too hungry and just looking to share a couple of plates.

Nice establishment. Clean. Friendly.
Price points are under 100HKD for PHO and other dishes.
Love their choice of the brand of Siracha sauce they use! I’ve been searching far and wide for this brand. LOL. The food tastes fresh and cooked upon order.
Yes, I’m a fan! But, it still doesn’t completely satisfy my vietnamese taste buds.
Give it a try! I’d surely come back!

Best phở in town. Hands down. Please challenge me with anything you find otherwise.
By the same group of people founded the famous Chom Chom in Soho, this shop is located at the heart of Central where lunch is a better option than dinner. The dishes also go back closer to traditional (but still modern) Vietnamese food, leaving Chom Chom keeps specializing in modern Vietnamese fusion.
Now lunch set is the easy option. Get a starter, get a main, order your optional drink, and you are set. The décor is a rare breed in Central, a bit dimmer than usual lunch spots in Central, giving you a 60mins (or 90mins depends on your job) of quiet, nice ambience.
The shrimp and chicken wings as starter were both great (didn’t take the pic of the chicken wings. sorry). They put a lot of effort to make the sauce standing out, and it was pretty impressive. Also a subtle note — the dishes come from the kitchen quick (like within 7mins after we ordered), but they did look fresh and not pre-​made.
My friend went for the pork phở so I picked the beef phở. You could smell the god of phở in the bowl. And this is from the guy who went to Hanoi for street food and local food tour, so that counts for something. I practically had to stop talking (I was catching up with this friend I hadn’t seen for a while) just to get everything in my mouth. And for the beef, it’s not the usual beef in 生熟牛肉河, but a mix of beef brisket too. That topped the game.
Most of the lunch experience I had in Central were a bit meh, because it’s always crowded and rushed. But not here in Viet Kitchen (big thanks to my friend arrived 10mins early to queue though).
Would definitely come back and recommend everyone around that area to go there for lunch.