Foodholic Niko @ Taipei

"Special Vietnamese PHỞ" is located near Ningxia Night Market, about a 5-minute walk from Exit 1 of Shuanglian Station. It is a Vietnamese restaurant that specializes in pho but also serves French bread, spring rolls, and other Vietnamese dishes. Interestingly, they also offer Korean ramen and hot pot items that you wouldn’t typically see in a Vietnamese restaurant.

We arrived on Monday evening at 6 PM, and the place was quite empty with a slightly dim environment. We were the only customers, and there was only one staff member who seemed to be Vietnamese and not very fluent in Chinese.

The seating capacity inside is quite limited, with only 4 two-person tables on the first floor, but I'm not sure if there's a second floor.

Traditional Stone Pot Beef Pho $180
Actually, I didn't see stone pot pho during my travels in Vietnam, so I thought it was quite special and decided to give it a try.

The staff first served a platter of raw beef, including beef slices, minced beef, and beef tripe (?), along with a plate of pho noodles and an egg. Then, a pot of boiling hot soup was brought out, into which they placed the raw beef and the egg, which cooked almost immediately. I was advised to add the pho noodles myself, starting with half to prevent them from overcooking.

First, I took a sip of the hot soup and I can only say it was astonishing! The broth was super delicious! It looked light but tasted very rich and sweet, with the saltiness just right. The most special part was a buttery aroma; I’m not sure if it was because they actually added butter or if the raw egg contributed to it, but in any case, it was very much to my liking—I almost drank the whole bowl!

The beef slices were also very tender and tasty! There were only two small pieces of beef tripe, but they had a nice chew, which I really liked! However, I wasn't a fan of the minced beef as it had a bit of a tougher texture.

Lemon was also provided; I could squeeze some in halfway but I felt the lemon flavor was not very prominent, as the original broth was already very delicious!

My friend ordered the half-raw beef pho $150, which looked very similar to my stone pot pho; the broth tasted quite similar too. The only differences were that it didn’t come with an egg and the contents weren’t added in front of me, just like that.

Overall, the price isn’t too expensive, and the beef was nice. The most impressive part was still the broth; I would return just for the pho's broth!

On the way to the Ningxia Night Market, I suddenly discovered this Vietnamese restaurant that I had been saying I wanted to try but never did. After checking the reviews, it seemed pretty good, so today I finally got to enjoy it!🤣

The dining space on the first floor is narrow and long, giving off a somewhat cramped feeling. The owner is definitely Vietnamese and was the only one working, looking very busy. The business seems to be doing well! At first, I thought about dining on the second floor, but the owner mentioned it might be hotter up there🔥, so we stayed on the first floor instead.

1. Traditional Stone Pot Beef Pho + Beef Balls
   At first, they serve raw handmade rice noodles along with beef and beef tripe. Later, the owner brings out a bubbling hot broth and adds in a raw egg, beef, and the noodles, among other ingredients. The rice noodles were delicious! You could really taste the handmade quality. Plus, there was a generous amount, so no need to worry about not being full. The beef was quite tender and flavorful, and even though the portion of beef tripe was not large, it was very easy to chew and soft 🤤. The beef balls were just average, and I think you could skip ordering those.

2. Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls
   These were also good! The outer skin was crispy, and they were filled with noodles and the like. They came with the restaurant's sour and spicy dipping sauce, which was very flavorful. However, I’d suggest sharing them 🤣, otherwise, they might get a bit too rich.

Overall, I think the meal was quite good, but the air conditioning in the restaurant wasn't very strong, so we ended up sweating a bit while eating. The dining environment could use some improvement. Eating here in the winter should be quite nice! ☺️