The weather was bitter again this week so what better than a warming bowl of Vietnamese pho (pronounced fur) after work?
Viet An has been open 2 months, and cleverly, has built an early customer base with an initial offering via Groupon. For some reason I only tend to get sent offers for waxing and day spas on Groupon and I didn’t spot this offer.
Viet An has taken the place of a huge old pub opposite the magistrates court in this seldom-visited part of Birmingham (for me), near the children’s hospital.
Brightly coloured signs welcome you in, and the effect inside is psychadelic. The room has been cheaply decorated but has great charm. You are given a very warm welcome – proceeedings are run by a lovely Vietnamese grandmother, who speaks little English but bounds over to tell you how each dish should be eaten.
In fact the effect is so charming that I would be hard pressed to slag Viet An off even if the food was terrible.
Luckily it was pretty good. The menu is minimalist, usually a good sign, and kitschly illustrated. The usual Vietnamese staples are there, minus Banh Mi, a slight disappointment.
We fairly ordered the entire menu. Beer is a carry-over from the previous pub, being mainly crap brands on tap – hopefully they will import some Vietnamese beer soon.
Starters of Vietnamese spring rolls were great – crisply fried batter with a decent amount of pork filling.
Lotus salad had authentic flavouring with decent hits of mint, lime, fish sauce, chilli, garlic and peanut coming through.
The third dish of Banh Xeo was my favourite – the silky pancake batter could have been mistaken for an omelette. Slightly underseasoned, when added to the dipping sauce this was perfection.
Sizzling beef was unremarkable.
Just as we were getting full, the signature dish of pho bo arrived, a huge bowl with a decent amount of beef in it, as well as some little balls which were probably unmentionables. Chilli sauce and tuong (bean sauce) was supplied to pep it up a bit. A small plate of garnishes including some Thai basil could be added.
I could pick plenty of holes in Viet An if I was inclined – the pho stock wasn’t meaty enough, ideally it would be thick with gelatin from big old beef bones. The lettuce and carrot garnishes looked a little bit sad. The ingredients could be of better quality, and more Vietnamese herbs wouldn’t go amiss.
But Viet An is charming and authentic and also very cheap. Places like this should be encouraged.
Oh, and one final word of warning – it was absolutely freezing in the dining room so either go on a warm day or keep your jacket on!