St. Clair Banh Cuon Pho Ga

There are actually a few Vietnamese restaurants in my area, but my favourite, sadly, has closed down. Determined to find another one, my husband and I decided to try St. Clair Banh Cuon Pho Ga.

Restaurant: St. Clair Banh Cuon Pho Ga
Location: Corso Italia
Meal: Lunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 6 months

I admit, typically when I think Vietnamese, I think pho. Specifically, I think house pho (probably menu number 101) - made with rare and well-done beef, tendon, and tripe, sometimes with beef balls and/or brisket thrown in. My husband is a little more adventurous with the menu (with the exception of my favourite place which had six courses of beef - and that's the last I'll say about that since, as I said earlier, it closed down). However, as the name of this restaurant suggests, their specialty is in banh cuon and pho ga, so naturally, we had to give these a try.

Accessibility: ⭐️
This shouldn't really be a surprise, but this place is not super baby friendly. We brought our son in his car seat and placed him on a chair.

There is a step to get into the restaurant, and there were no high chairs in sight. The place is quite small, and the washroom is down in the basement, so definitely not stroller friendly. On top of that, there is definitely nowhere to change diapers in the washroom. 

I suppose if you were really desperate, there are some deep freezers in the basement as well right outside the washroom that provide a flat surface. 

Please note that I am not recommending you do this, because, you know, hygiene, but I'm acknowledging that sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Service was pretty much what you would expect from a Vietnamese restaurant. Everything was fine, but nothing was particularly memorable and servers certainly don't go above and beyond. 

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We decided to order the banh cuon cha lua banh cong, which, according to the menu, is steamed rice flour rolls with ground pork, sausage, and cupcake. We also each ordered a bowl of pho ga, which is chicken pho. 

So I feel the description needs to be clarified. The rice rolls are similar to Chinese cheung fun stuffed with ground pork. The sausage comes on the side and is reminiscent of cold cuts. The cupcake is like a deep fried cake with shrimp inside, about the size of a small cup, so while the description is technically accurate, it is somewhat misleading. The dish is served with fish sauce. Personally, I found the whole dish to be very tasty, although I could have done without the sausage. My husband didn't think it was particularly special, but I really love cheung fun so this dish was right up my alley. As for the chicken pho, I definitely recommend it, especially for people who like chicken more than beef. I thought it was delicious, although I personally prefer beef. The pho was served with a plate of bean sprouts, lime wedges, and basil leaves, as well as some cut up chilies, which I like better than the whole chilies that most pho places give you. I wouldn't mind eating here again, but I should note that my husband wasn't impressed so it's not a place for everyone. 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️½

Despite the food being different and enjoyable, this place is really not designed to be baby friendly and the service doesn't help improve the situation.