New Pho Bo Gaffe La

For the record, I thoroughly enjoy Pho, especially the all mighty Pho battles that occur when people debate who makes the best in the city. Which is why I made a deal with the beau that if he was late for our dinner date, I would get to choose the restaurant in part 1 of Battle Pho.

New Pho Bo Ga La on Somerset was easily my top choice, it had been the locale of many delicious outings in the past. The pho was as I expected, delicious broth as always with fresh herbs and ingredients.

What I didn't expect, was the extremely off tasting sandy texture of the shredded pork rice rolls. Oh wow, what is IN it? Neither of us could stomach to finish one. The rice noodles were normal, the shredded pork was normal, the lettuce was normal, but mixed in was this ew flavored thing textured like sand. The delicious dipping sauce did nothing to improve the taste or dryness of the wrap. When we later asked what ingredients were in the roll other than noodles and pork, the only offered answer was "pork, shredded".

Yes, I get it, but how do you ask again, politely, for them to pinpoint what tastes so bad. We left it at that.

I realize the flavour of my rant may be that the specific ingredient was not to our liking. Since I've never had it before, it's entirely possible that it tasted "right" to other patrons. All I'm saying is that I wish I new what it was so I could properly avoid it in the future. I'll also stick with what I trust, their amazing rare beef pho soups.