Lunch yesterday was at Pho Hoa Restaurant Brunei with Jennifer. Our intended lunch destination was actually a Thai restaurant in Wisma Jaya (same building as AIA) as recommended by Thanis Lim on his blog. But unfortunately, the said restaurant was closed yesterday for Consumer Fair at ICC. If you are wondering what’s the name of the Thai restaurant which Thanis Lim recommended, I think it was called Mayura.
But I will definitely return there again to try out their authentic Thai cuisine. There were not much lunch places around Bandar that I have yet tried. So, I decided on Pho Hoa Restaurant Brunei as Jennifer had yet tried out the place since opening and I was looking forward to their new menu dishes. And oh boy, they were such a disappointment.
Yin Yang | B$1.20
I had the hot Yin Yang while Jennifer had the iced one. Coffee taste was not strong for me as the tea sort of overpowered the taste of coffee in the beverage. I think I went overdose on caffeine yesterday as I could feel the unease around the chest area. Luckily for me, there was no acid reflux happening yesterday.
Fresh Spring Rolls (3 pieces) | B$3.80
Beancurd Eggplant with Rice | B$5.50
Jennifer’s choice of main course as we both decided to order ourselves a main course each and appetizers to share. Though we ended up sharing each other main courses in the end. LOL! This has a bit of sour taste from the broth hence making it appetizing. But it was still rather salty for my liking.
Mi Xao (Chicken) | B$5.00
Mi Xao is the Vietnamese version of fried noodles. It smelled of century egg when served. However, there was no taste of century egg at all when eaten. However, Jennifer mentioned that the taste was more like fermented beancurd than century egg. I only managed to have a few spoonfuls of this Mi Xao before I decided to give up completely. Reason being, too overly salty!
Fried Chicken Wings (3 pieces) | B$4.50
Honestly speaking, nothing special about this. Just deep fried chicken wings sprinkled with MSG powder? The chicken wings were tad bit dry for me and I did not like the toppings. They looked so MSG laden to me!
Verdict: All in all, this lunch was a huge disappointment for me as I liked their Pho so much on my first visit. Perhaps I should have just stick with their Pho and Spring Rolls in the first place? My only satisfaction from yesterday’s lunch was the Fresh Spring Rolls. The rest were just plain disappointment.
Pho Hoa Restaurant Brunei
Unit 6, Ground Floor,
Block B,
Bangunan Haji Abdul Rahman,
Simpang: 88, Kampung Kiulap,
BE1518,
Negara Brunei Darussalam
Tel: +673-2236218
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