Yet another pho restaurant has hit the Shanghai scene. Still having hope for pho in Shanghai, I had to try it. The reviews on CityWeekend seemed promising, though have apparently been taken down due to review spamming when I checked the link whilst writing today. Anyway, I went to Pho 88 on a weekday during lunch. Pho 88 is located right above Tanya Mantabei in its former second floor space. Upon entering during peak lunch hours, the restaurant was completely empty and not one other patron came into the restaurant during my leisurely stay.I went for the Pho Deluxe Course, suitable for one person, which is one bowl of pho dac biet and cha gio or one house special pho with rare steak, tripe, well-done flank, brisket, tendon, and beef meatballs plus one deep-fried spring roll for 48RMB. Or, for basically 10RMB more, you get a single fried spring roll, which came with a weak serving of greens to add to the pho. Off the menu, simpler versions of pho with a smaller meat variety go for 29RMB.
The first taste of the broth showed promise. The flavor was rich and not oily or salty, but something was missing. The broth could have benefitted from a few more hours of stewing or adding more or better quality bones to enhance the depth of its flavor. Too bad there were not more typical leafy greens to throw in the soup to try to compesate for its flavor short-comings. The noodles were not overcooked and were pentiful. There was also a good amount of meat in the large bowl, probably from all the variety it is supposed to have. Though, the quality of the meat was average, though the rare steak was the only decent piece in the bowl. The meatballs were flavorless and reminiscent of a frozen, store-bought variety.
Pho 88 should benefit better from putting more effort into its broth and quality of meat than marketing tactics reeking of review pumping.
Pho 88. 2nd Floor, 581 Fuxing Zhong Lu (by Ruijin Yi Lu), Shanghai, China
Indonesia is littered with warungs offering a place to eat and displaying the dishes each specializes in with a large sign or by name. Most of them have typical dishes on their menu, each focusing on either rice (nasi) or noodles (mie). Considering that my hosts in Java took me around to try the special dish at whatever given place, I may have missed out on some of these items. Not eating with a host though has given me the opportunity to try the dishes that other travelers I have encountered have come to loathe due to the seeming lack of variety as the menus are consistent throughout. Research and a curious appetite will address these woes!
In the village of Gili Trawangan away from the beach side, there was only one small restaurant advertised on the main street for Indonesian food coincidentally called Warung Indonesia. The majority of places along the main drag focused more on the present Western clientele. The only exception was the market area where street carts set up in the evening to cook up local fare at a price substantially cheaper than an iced tea at a restaurant. I recalled a recommendation to order nasi campur, which I opted for. It is a mixed plate of vegetables, meats, and other items surrounding a mound of rice all salty, savory, slightly bitter, slightly sour. You get a little bit of everything, including tempe! Nasi campur is a great choice if you are having trouble deciding exactly what to eat. The combination is satisfying and it tastes delicious as well.
Back in Ubud, after all that rice, it was time to indulge in some noodles. Warung Ijolumut had a more environmental and spiritually-geared environment (and free wifi) compared to other warungs toting local food with flags bearing Chinese characters and bright green walls. This warung costs slightly more than others in the area, but you pay for other amenities that are found at that location. The mie goreng looked like instant ramen noodles tossed with vegetables and served with an egg on top. The noodles were nothing special and tasted like they were pan-fried in soy sauce with a hint of chili. It is your standard fried noodle dish, but is good for sensitive stomachs because it is not spicy, heavy or too oily.
Just off the main road in Ubud is Warung Mina, specializing in seafood dishes. Ubud is at least an hour away from the coast, but no matter. Being a large group sitting crowded in one of the dining huts, we opted for a couple of the specialty fish platters. There was one grilled fish, a fried fish, tempe, raw sambal, sambal, a sort of fish cake, other smaller fish, kang kong greens, and other raw vegetables. The fried fish was cooked in coconut oil while the grilled fish had a lighter taste. Personally, I prefer the grilled fish since the coconut oil does not bode well with me for some reason. With the large platter, each bite can carry a different combination of items such as tempe with grilled fish and the acidic sambal. It gives you the opportunity to test out different combinations of flavors making the consumption of this place a great adventure that rapidly ends as your fellow diners are demolishing the plate at a similar, energetic rate.
The bule crew in Ubud was raving about the soto ayam at Mangga Madu's. Soto ayam is a soup with chicken and some glass noodles or basically an Indonesian version of chicken noodle soup. It is not intended to be a main course (at least at this establishment) so the portion is small. The soup is not spicy at all, but the server will bring sambal if you so desire. The broth is flavorful and lines your insides with a comforting warmth. The chicken was not anything outstanding though, more serving as a source of protein lending its flavors to the broth. Considering the strong flavors associated with Indonesian cuisine, the soto ayam seemed relatively weak, but is a pleasant break from the traveler's grind.
