. Located on an el fresco 2nd floor, Pho Sizzling takes a bit of poking around to find the staircase leading up there ;) We did manage to score the awesome corner table at the balcony - even better because there was an Egyptian Festival(!!) on and we could look down on the concert stage.

The food was somewhat Vietnamese, but not entirely authentic. It was still really good food though, and we especially liked the Raw beef pho which had slices of raw beef that you stir into the broth to cook. It was incredibly tender and I LOVE those thin white rice noodles in the tasty broth!

The Chicken and fried rolls rice was not bad too, tasty and I liked the large and generous slices of tomato and cucumber - refreshing! I would have preferred it with fried rice though, and a bowl of soup on the side so the dish doesn't get too dry since it doesn't have gravy.

New Eats | Pho-Licious

Set on the west side of Wujiang Lu, this new Vietnamese restaurant comes with a French twist. The menu is not limited to pho, but also includes several well done Western-style Vietnamese dishes. We started with the snack combo of fried egg rolls, fine Vietnamese mortadelle, chicken and beef satay and pomme dauphine (French baked potatoes) for ¥58. The starter was fun, but taste-wise, not impressive. The French-style submarine sandwich (¥24) with grilled chicken, mayonnaise and pickled vegetables made for a moist and tasty sandwich. It was an interesting twist on the original banh mi. For the pho newbie, the menu introduces various sizes and toppings. We opted for the Adventurer's Choice pho (¥29) and were pleased to find that the broth was the best in Shanghai with a strong beef flavor. Our favorite dish of the night, though, was the vermicelli and grilled lemongrass pork (¥28 for a bowl). The freshly cooked vermicelli came drizzled with a tangy fish sauce that zinged the tastebuds.

The Chef's Sizzling Plate (¥58) with diced beef in a tomato-based sauce was so tender, every bite melted in our mouths. We ended our dinner with the coconut crème brûlée (¥16). With quality food and smiling servers, we will definitely come back again.

**Kim-Tien Huynh