Phở Thìn 13 Lò Đúc (Singapore)

Caught wind of the opening of an establishment named Pho Thin at Punggol Container Park that is just a short walk away from Riveria LRT Station on the Punggol LRT system. Located in the shop unit that is right at the end of the container park, Pho Thin is neighbours with the outlet of Kin Kao Mai Thai Restaurant there — in fact, it does seem like the operations of both are consolidated together considering the staff between the two establishments are actually shared and that menus of both establishments will be presented to the table once the patrons takes a seat at either establishment. For those whom are unaware, Pho Thin is a brand that actually hails from Hanoi, Vietnam — the brand also has multiple locations within Vietnam, and has established its presence there since 1955. As with how things are at Punggol Container Park, the dine-in seating are all al-fresco seats that are sheltered which would be sufficient to shield its patrons from the elements, though the space is naturally-cooled otherwise; the food preparation area would be within the shipping containers itself. Pho Thin’s menu is split into categories dedicated to Noodles, Dry Noodles, Rice, Banh Mi, Appetiser, Salad, Sea Shells, Vegetables and Bar Snacks. Beverages offered by Pho Thin will include a line-up of Vietnamese-style coffee, teas, Crushed Ice & Smoothie, Yogurt Shakes, beers and canned drinks — just to name a few.

One of the dishes that Pho Thin seems to pride itself on is probably that of the Stir-fried Beef with Noodles that is being listed on the Noodles section of the menu. The menu at Pho Thin does not describe on the various elements that are included in their dishes; that being said, it can be observed from our order of the dish that it comes with elements such as the standard rice noodles that comes with Vietnamese Pho dishes in a clear soup, whilst coming with spring onions and quite a portion of Stir-fried Beef within. What seems to differ the Stir-fried Beef with Noodles from the standard beef slices pho at Pho Thin is how the meat has been stir-fried in a pan before being layered over the noodles with the broth poured in afterwards — this opposes from the usual practice in which the beef slices are cooked from the hot temperature of the broth when it is being poured into the bowl itself, though the practice of which Pho Thin serves up its Stir-fried Beef with Noodles is also adopted by some Vietnamese eateries in Singapore as well. Going for the broth first, we did note that the broth used for the Stir-fried Beef with Noodles at Pho Thin is pretty light without being overly seasoned and flavoured from the use of MSG; the broth does exude a very light sweetness that only lingers at the back of the tongue at the very start, though the flavours of the broth does grow and gets a little stronger over time. The rice noodles are a little bit on the softer side, slurpy and smooth but also delicate in a certain way, while the beef slices here does carry a bit of a savouriness as what one would have expected out of stir-fried beef; not exactly smoky but definitely felt a wee bit different from beef slices that was simply boiled — we also quite liked how the beef slices here did not carry any gamey notes, while the beef slices were also surprisingly tender even despite having been stir-fried before being doused in the broth.

During the same visit, we had also went with the Noodles Chicken from the Dry Noodles section of the menu — we had most recently had our first taste of Dry Pho during our visit to Bep Mai in CHIJMES, and was pretty surprised to have found Pho Thin offering the same item as well. The rendition of the Dry Pho at Pho Thin comes in two (2) different meat variants; the Noodles Chicken and the Noodles Beef, of which we went for the former. It can be observed from our order of the Noodles Chicken that the entire bowl comes with the same rice noodles that came with the Stir-fried Beef with Noodles but served dry, as well as other elements like the picked radish and carrots often found in Banh Mi, leafy greens, peanuts and boneless chicken slices — all that whilst coming with a sauce that is being served in a pitcher on the side that should be poured into the bowl containing all of the element of the dry noodle dish to be enjoyed with it. Pouring the sauce into the noodles and giving it a little bit of a toss, the sauce provides the noodles and the condiments a savour, tangy and peppery hint of flavours that seem to suggest the use of soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce (?), tamarind juice and black pepper — quite a punchy note that really gave the slurpy rice noodles quite a fair bit of flavour. There is also an extra tang that came from the addition of the pickled radish and carrots, which also gives an additional element of crunch to the dish apart from that of the peanuts that contributed a nuttiness to the dish as well. The chicken slices does provide a good meaty bite whilst being tender, while the addition of leafy greens adds wholesomeness to the dish with its refreshing crisp.

Visiting a Vietnamese establishment for us means that we are definitely not giving their Vietnamese-style coffee a miss — we found ourselves opting for the Vietnamese Coffee with Milk a go and the hot variant does come in style of Vietnamese-style drip coffee with a layer of condensed milk at the bottom. Giving the coffee a bit of a stir after it has been fully-dripped, we did find that the Vietnamese-style coffee here does hit the spot for us coming with that intense caffeinated kick with that slightly chocolate-y and smoky flavour profile that we are looking for; the cuppa also being sufficiently sweet from the amount of condensed milk added. It is interesting to note that the Coconut Coffee here takes the form of a coconut smoothie that is being steeped in Vietnamese coffee; the aesthetic of the Coconut Coffee does look somewhat extravagant when compared to that of the Vietnamese Coffee with Milk, though we did feel that the coconut smoothie did feel a little excessive and dilutes the coffee quite a fair bit especially over an extended period of time; definitely more of a coconut beverage than Vietnamese coffee here.

Punggol Container Park has most certainly seen a number of tenants transiting within its premises for the last couple of years and the area has also seemed to have seen better days especially during the days before Punggol has seen other developments like the rise of Punggol Coast Mall, Oasis Terraces, and Northshore Plaza in the recent years — the accessibility to it is also much affected by weather conditions, and the outdoor-sy dining environment here might not appeal to some. Its distance away from the Punggol town centre area also does make it a little bit of an effort to head down to, and we are not quite sure if these circumstances would favour Pho Thin in the long run. Prices of the items listed in the Noodles, Dry Noodles and Rice sections of the menu range between $8.90 to $19.90; the lowest-priced items being the Chicken Noodles and the Noodles Chicken from the Noodles and Dry Noodles sections of the menu respectively, while the priciest item would be the Pho — Wagyu. Considering the lack of Vietnamese establishments situated within Punggol, Pho Thin might be one that would suit well for those residing deeper in the heartlands of Punggol.