Yet another day and it is also yet another opening of a dining establishment that is of a brand that is not new to the F&B scene in Singapore. One Raffles Quay seemed to have been seeing quite a bit of a switch-up with the F&B tenants operating within its premises, and it does seem that this also saw the opening of new establishments such as that of the new L’Vie 5 that is located right beside the outlet of NUMB Restaurant there. For those whom find the name L’Vie 5 being remotely familiar, L’Vie 5 is actually related to Le Vie 5 that has been in operations for quite a while along Upper Paya Lebar Road. L’Vie 5 takes over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of Cedele at the basement of One Raffles Quay — L’Vie 5 has done quite a bit of work to the space vacated by Cedele; the space no longer surrounded by glass partitions for a more open look. The establishment attempts to give off a modern flair with the use of dark green that is matched with wooden furniture and fittings; the interior exuding a contemporary vibe yet with a slight element of Vietnamese at play. Dining tables at L’Vie 5 are configured to accommodate groups of diners that are visiting in pairs and in groups of four (4) pax. Whilst Le Vie 5 at Upper Paya Lebar Road seems to be offer a large variety of items on the menu, the food offerings at L’Vie 5 at One Raffles Quay does seem to be more limited during the initial days of its opening which was also when we made our visit there — the menu is being sectioned into categories such as Appetisers, Baguettes, Noodles (Soup / Dry) and Desserts, while the beverage menu is further split into sections dedicated to L’Vie 5 Signatures, L’Vie 5 Espresso, Non-Coffee and Refreshers.

Recalling from our previous visit to their Upper Paya Lebar Road where the Baguette offerings were a little lacklustre, we found our attention being drawn towards the Noodles (Soup / Dry) section of the menu instead. There is only a very limited variety of noodles that L’Vie 5 was offering during our visit — the Beef Noodle Soup being the one we eventually eyed on considering how beef is usually the norm for Pho. L’Vie 5 does not describe the elements that goes into their offerings on their menu, that being said, it can be observed that the Beef Noodle Soup comes with rice noodles, beef slices, coriander, sliced onions and spring onions — all coming in a clear broth. The clear broth does come with a light savoury note that is easy to drink — the finishing notes being pretty clean without clouding the tastebuds. The rice noodles were silky smooth and slurpy, while the beef slices used that came with the Beef Noodle Soup does come with a bit of gaminess that adds on to the flavours of the soup and noodles for those whom prefer it that way. We always liked our pho to come with a generous serving of coriander; it always adds a contrasting but yet complimenting note that cuts through the notes of the broth and meat that gives some complexity to the bowl of noodles whilst resetting the tastebuds.

We also managed to try the Fresh Rolls from the “Rolls” section of the menu during our visit to L’Vie 5. The Fresh Rolls do come with accompanied with a spicy fish sauce dip on the side, while the fresh rolls comes with cooked shrimp, pork slices, rice vermicelli and leafy greens within Vietnamese rice paper wraps. One serving comes with four (4) rolls, making it a good item to share around the table. These were some pretty decent Vietnamese-style fresh spring rolls with the rice paper wraps delivering a good chew, while the pork and prawns does contribute a soft sweetness and savouriness to the tastebuds — the rice vermicelli able to soak in a little bit of that spicy fish sauce as one dips the spring rolls into it just for a slight saltishness that adds on to the clean flavours of the fresh spring rolls. Since we were visiting a Vietnamese dining establishment, we had decided to give their Drip Coffee — Brown a go. Surprisingly, it does seem that all coffee orders served up at L’Vie 5 are served in takeaway cups despite our order being for dine-in. Opening the lid, we also found the cup of Vietnamese coffee to be rather foamy; not quite what one would expect out of Vietnamese coffee in general. We did find that the Drip Coffee — Brown does come with that intense kick of caffeine one would expect out of Vietnamese coffee; that being said, the notes of caffeine seemed to lack depth, though it does come with a corresponding note of sweetness from the addition of condensed milk that was thankfully not overly sweet. Whilst our impression of Le Vie 5 when we had visited them at Upper Paya Lebar Road wasn’t exactly one that we found to be outstanding, it did feel like L’Vie 5 does serve up rather decent noodle offerings in general — not the best, but does scratch the cravings for those whom are itching to have some Pho. That being said, we do wish that they could also expand their offerings in due time to include that of rice dishes that would make them appeal to those whom have a preference of rice over noodles. We do feel that their Vietnamese-style coffee offerings would require some work however; the Drip Coffee — Brown being rather different from what one expects Vietnamese-style coffee to be. With the price point of its Baguettes and Noodles (Soup / Dry) offerings being in the range of $9.50 to $21.50, L’Vie 5 is a spot worth considering for those looking for Vietnamese cuisine within the area.