All reader reviews by Samantha Tan

Pho (Great Titchfield St)

Terrible- for a restaurant ironically called Pho, their pho was the blandest dullest bowl of noodles I've had in a long time. As a native South East Asian foodie I just cannot fathom why people are giving it good reviews, am guessing none of them have ever tried REAL Vietnamese food (which may explain why the place was packed with a completely Caucasian crowd and not a single Vietnamese, Chinese or any other Asian in sight when we went)!

Other than the starter of pork lemongrass meatballs which was decent, this experience was a total waste of money. My advice is to stick to Little Hanoi on Curtain Road -THAT is what authentic pho is supposed to taste like, and it's cheaper too!

Saturday, September 04, 2010
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1

Rasa Sayang

10 out of 10 for appearance, 4 out of 10 for taste. What a shame!

Nasi Lemak looked perfect and authentic on the plate, but we were sorely disappointed to discover on our first bite that the rice was lumpy and completely lacking in the fragrance and richness of coconut milk that characterises it- perhaps the chef forgot to add it in? My partner even said my own home cooked version tasted better! The accompanying curry chicken again looked correct, but tastewise had no punch whatsoever.

As a huge fan of Hainanese Chicken Rice I was thrilled to see the huge and beautifully presented portion when it arrived, complete with a little bowl of broth, beansprouts and the accompanying ginger, chilli and soy dips. I tucked in excitedly but to my dismay, yet again it all turned out a bit bland! I usually never touch the ginger or chilli condiments as I like my chicken rice as it is, but for once I actually piled it on just to try and add some flavour!

The tastiest dish of the night was by far the Singapore Laksa, although even that seemed lacking in coconut milk too. I would still pick C & R and Kiasu's version over it any day. As for the beef rendang, it was simply not beef rendang and my dessert of Sago Gula Melaka was a) far smaller than C&R Soho's huge version (not C&R in Bayswater which serves it tiny too) and b) had too much palm sugar and too little coconut milk!

To top it all off, my partner was very excited to find Milo Dinosaur on the drinks menu (Malaysians will know the heavenly chocolatey Milo drink with lots of Milo powder), only to find it was- yes, you guessed it- rather watery and not rich enough. Someone somewhere needs to stop skimping on ingredients!

Whilst credit must be given to Rasa Sayang for the generous portions, taste wise it is simply not up to par. Malaysians will know the difference, and with Malaysia Kopitiam thriving just around the corner plus new joints like Sedap in Old Street dishing up amazing Penangite food, it really needs to start hitting the mark if it doesn't want the Malaysian crowd flocking elsewhere.

Sunday, March 29, 2009
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5