So one fine day, I was having food crisis because I didn’t know what to eat and my means of transportation was limited. I was down to 2 choices: get some mediocre food of a cuisine I normally prefer, or get some top notch food in a cuisine I don’t normally like. I decided on the latter and made my way to Long Phung, the famous Vietnamese eatery touted as the best you can find in Singapore. And as top notch food normally goes – it can’t be wrong. In fact, it converted me to fancy Vietnamense food slightly more and I even went back the next day!

Comparing to my last visit, the prices seems to have gone up a little. However, it is still considerably cheap so that’s not an issue. It was a Saturday night and when I reached at 7:30pm, there was a short queue before me. I waited for about 15-20minutes in line and by the end of my waiting time, the queue behind me became obscenely long! It was probably 5 times the original queue. For Sunday, there wasn’t much of a queue at the same hour so I guess you’ll have to avoid Saturdays to minimize waiting time.

Other than waiting in line, there wasn’t much other waiting. The efficiency of this small eatery is good. They prepare your food swiftly and the service was adequate. Settling the bill was a breeze too.

Prawn Rolls – $6 / 4pc

A staple at every meal here. I opted for the non-fried variety which had the fillings of shrimp and it sure made me feel really healthy eating this!

Pho Tai (Rare Beef Noodle Soup) – $6

I decided to finally try the beef Pho which is touted as the best of its kind in Singapore and I’m pleased to declare that I really like this. I have mentioned about this before, but it wasn’t my order and I didn’t eat the noodles back then – I only tasted the soup and beef. This time I get to have it for myself and the verdict’s different! Even though the soup was on the sweet side (normal expectations of soup would not be sweet), and it isn’t exactly the most pleasant soup to drink on its own, it works magic with the noodles. The noodles absorbs the flavours of the broth, which itself was packed with flavours and it wasn’t long before I finished everything.

Previously I was put off ordering this during the previous few times I dined here, because I didn’t like white noodles. However, prejudice aside, I tried it with an open heart this time and I think I’m a convert! This is crave worthy. The beef was fresh, thinly sliced, and rare – nobody likes tough overbooked beef. What I have yet to appreciate is the combination of veggies they have in this. I haven’t quite acquired the taste of having lime leaves spammed in every dish.

For just $6, I declare this the best Pho in Singapore. Simply because I feel that the taste is up to standards and it’s only $6!

Avocado Smoothie – $4

I love avocado milkshake so I simply had to try this. I am happy that the avocado flavours in here were really good, but if I had a choice I would prefer milky texture over smoothie texture. I’m not complaining though, because this is a smoothie, not a milkshake. It was really cold too, since there was probably ice blended in it. Anyway, this was very filling and together with the Pho I was exploding full!

Spring rolls – $6/ 4pc

The very next day, I went ahead with the fried spring roll instead. The filing contained vermicelli and minced meat. It is to be dunked in the sour spicy sauce and it was really good! The netted skin made it extra light and crispy, if you prefer it this way.

Steamed clams with citronella – $7

The lemongrass broth was heavenly. Steamed clams can’t really go wrong as long as the clams are fresh so it’s up to the broth to give the whole dish a signature taste. To be honest, I haven’t been trying any other Vietnamese restaurants so I don’t really know how others do this, but for me this was good enough to make me order it again.

Grilled Pork Rice Noodles – $6.50

My main course for the night was this. As previously mentioned I wouldn’t choose white noodles when yellow noodles are on the menu, but I decided to give it a try anyway. This was more like a salad and it isn’t exactly warm. The sauce on the top right hand corner was meant to be poured over the whole dish and everything is to be mixed up. The result was something very delicious. The noodles didn’t come across as plain and was very appetizing (in the literal sense! The spicy sour taste made me hungrier, even after finishing everything). What’s best was the grilled pork. It was simply grilled to perfection. I spotted a table ordering a huge plate of this grilled pork yesterday and perhaps I’ll try that next time.

I think after trying these signature dishes, my impression of this place and Vietnamese food in general has improved! I actually took away food from this place several times between my previous visit and this one, namely the Stir Fried Beef Noodles ($6.50) and that was a sinfully good one too. I’m glad that I do enjoy their healthier options (like the Beef Pho and Grilled Pork Rice Noodles) equally much!

New ratings:

Ambience: 5/10

Food: 8.5/10

Value: 8.5/10

Overall: Even though I haven’t gone around trying other Vietnamese food, I can’t imagine somewhere else whipping up dishes comparable to this. Everything is done right here – no funky smell, no rancid oil taste, no inconsistency. I shall just trust other reviews and believe this is the best in Singapore already for the budget category and everyone should just get their fix here!

For my previous entry: https://hungryinsingapore.wordpress.com/2012/09/30/long-phung-vietnamese-restaurant-dinner/