Ngoc Nguyen Cafe
Vietnamese Cafe & Sandwiches
1299 Kingsway (just west of Knight)
This used to be the notorious Nguyen Cafeteria that was plastered in a full black tint all'round but has become the Ngoc Nguyen Cafe. My lady friend and I walked in expecting a full-blown Vietnamese gangster hangout but to our surprise, it was empty and the front was run by a middle aged husband and wife team. however, it lives up to the stereotype - on one wall is BBC News on the LCD. The other - gaudy/cheezy Vietnamese rave music.
Being a cafe and all, we didn't expect much from the menu. The menu is one-sided with maybe 6 or 7 food items and several drinks. Food items consisted of sandwiches, pho, some specialty noodle soup dish and such other northern Hanoi Vietnamese/Chinese dishes.
We both shared a deli meat Vietnamese sandwich which was toasty and well-made. The quality of the meats and spreads were really good and juicy. Awesome sandwich for $3.50. We also had each a bowl of pho - Hanoi style. Not your typical beef noodle soup consisting of sliced rare beef but this beef was just regular beef (rare) concentrated with lots of onions, green onions, cilantro and ginger. Broth was fresh and I don't think they make much of it so they probably make it fresh daily. Was pretty good and diferrent.
Coffee - wow. Amazing. A real caffeine kick and served properly. I haven't had such good Vienamese iced and hot coffee in a long time. Definitely worth trying out.
The utensils and tables/chairs are all new so this place is VERY clean. Service was great and the lady was very very friendly and accomodating. I'd recommend this place despite people who do smoke inside and lack of parking. I'd definitely go back. 8.5/10.
