Viet Taste has been one of those Vietnamese establishments that I had been wanting to visit for a long time — pretty much a hidden gem back in the days at Great World City’s Food Junction food court before the mall’s and food court’s renovation, the stall now seems to have garnered a following ever since the food court’s revamp; the queue for the stall during weekend lunch can probably rival that of some slightly more popular stalls at the Central Business District on weekdays, with the staff busy pushing out bowls of Pho and Banh Mi for both dine-in and takeaway patrons. For those who have seen or patronised the stall previously before the food court’s renovation, Viet Taste is still located at the same location in the food court where they were previously — the stall still serves up Banh Mi, Pho, Bun Cha and rice dishes; patrons can also opt for set meals that sees a combo of main, an appetiser and a drink as well to try a little bit of everything that they have to offer.
Was contemplating between the Set C (i.e. the BBQ Pork/Chicken Set) and Set E (i.e. the Banh Mi Set) and found ourselves opting for the latter — patrons get to choose between the Vietnamese Pork Sandwich and the Vietnamese Chicken Sandwich for the Banh Mi, whilst also being able to opt for either the Fresh Spring Rolls or the Fried Spring Rolls for the appetiser. Choice of drink includes Vietnamese Coffee (Hot or Cold), Homemade Lemongrass with Ginger, and Iced Vietnamese Jasmine Tea. For our order, we went for the Vietnamese Pork Sandwich, Fresh Spring Rolls and hot Vietnamese Coffee. Going straight for the Banh Mi, the bread here does come with a crisp bite; the bread shatters upon each chew — pretty decent though I would prefer one that also carries a bite to munch off apart from being just simply crisp; a tough find even amongst Banh Mi specialty stores around. What I really liked in their rendition of the Vietnamese Pork Sandwich was how the BBQ Pork was especially flavourful and tender — does not require much effort to chew, yet was savoury from the marination without carrying any undesirable porky stench. Wasn’t a big fan of how they did incorporate the use of mayonnaise here however; something which we could do without especially if they were able to spread more pate atop the undersides of the halved baguette for a more creamy, buttery and umami note. Otherwise, the pickled vegetables carried a good tang, while the addition of some of the usual herbs found in other Vietnamese dishes is a pretty nice touch.
The Fresh Spring Rolls do deserve a mention here — pretty thoughtful of them to actually cut them into three sections per row here for easier eating since it is often a challenge for locals to chew the fresh spring rolls apart. Wrapped with prawns within, the Fresh Spring Rolls were especially delightful when dipped into the fish sauce that has been spiked with chili padi for a savoury note. Their hot Vietnamese Coffee does also seem to be tweaked to local preferences as well — while the cuppa is still especially strong with a chocolatey note, they seem to have went easy with the portion of condensed milk served with the coffee here; more controlled so it does not get overly sweet, though I would prefer that it comes with just a little bit more condensed milk that would pull off that chocolatey note more.
Overall, Viet Taste does make for a very good place for those who have yet to try Vietnamese fare to have their first taste of Vietnamese cuisine. While their food may not be quite the best Vietnamese fare that we have tried, they do seem to serve up pretty authentic flavours that are slightly tuned towards local preferences — perhaps a reason why they are so popular with locals and expats alike that make up most of the folks queueing up here. That being said, with so many hipster options to pick from at the Food Junction at Great World City, Viet Taste would probably be a stall which we will consider dining at again if the queues are a little shorter.
