Le Do Vietnamese

Big M and I are so excited to be back on the Drive! Our old place was on the Broadway side of the drive so living down on the Hastings side has opened up so many new restaurants within walking distance. Our first project, find some Pho.

Our first weekend in the new house we hit up The Red Wagon for some breakfast (the same time that Sherman was there. It was very exciting. Big M stopped me from going up and babbling that "I am a blogger too!". Probably a good idea as I get pretty excited...) Next door is the Le Do Vietnamese Restaurant. I figured that since the Red Wagon is right next door and I love them, this place must have great food. Not the most rational reasoning but happily, it worked out well!


The inside of the restaurant is spare, seating for about 25 or so people with everything you are going to need on the tables already.



I have been past Le Do a few times now and there are always people in there. Saturday afternoon seems to be a busy time for pho. I like the amount of neon they use in the windows.



We figured we would go with our favorites, to see how they stack up. We ordered the Cha Gio (deep fried spring roll) $5.25 and Pho Tai, Bo Vien (rare beef and beef balls) small- $5.95.



The spring rolls were good. The outside was crunchy but I think the meat could have been more seasoned. My only real problem with them was that they cut them into 9 pieces. That is not an even number! We really like spring rolls and do keep count of how many the other person takes. Or I do anyway. That could be why I ended up with 5 pieces... I also tend to eat all the end pieces to get the most crunchiness I can. Either Big M doesn't notice this or he is a dreamy husband and pretends to not notice.  <3



I really liked the little salad on the side. My favorite part was after you started eating the salad you uncovered this:



Thanks Le Do! Right back at you.

The soup was good as well. Again, it didn't knock our socks off with it's amazingness, but it was tasty.



The broth could have been more flavourful and they seemed kind of spare with the rare beef. The size was perfect.

Does anyone know if there is a reason why some places serve the bean sprouts/basil with lime or lemon? Is this a regional thing or the personal preference of the restaurant chef?

All in all we were happy with Le Do. A nice pho place within walking distance of the house and a meal for two under $20.00. A few more places to try on the block so we will see how it stacks up. A game I am excited to play!

One of these times I will order something different. I am still a Vietnamese newbie so If anyone has any suggestions, lay them on me.