Miss Bò Né

Chanced upon the existence of Miss Bò Né whilst scrolling around social media quite a while back, but I hadn’t got quite the time to make the trek to Ubi for it considering how this neighbourhood, though beside Ubi MRT Station, is somewhat out of the way from my itineraries most of the time.

Serving a mix of Western and Vietnamese cuisine, Miss Bò Né describes their cuisine as Western with a Vietnamese touch. With the stall being called Miss Bò Né, its needless to say that the item to order would be the Bò Né here; sliced beef served on a sizzling hot plate with chicken pâté, baguette and pickles — not an item unheard of with Vietnamese restaurants/establishments here, but still a relatively uncommon dish In Singapore. Every order is made on the spot; the items being served sizzling hot upon collection to ensure freshness and the desired quality.

Upon settling down at the table after collecting the item, the first thing that hits the senses is the buttery aroma of the mix of ingredients in the hot plate — the buttery sauce is a mix of beef juices from the sizzling beef slices, and butter; a incredibly sinful and savoury combination that is exceptionally addictive when one tears off the baguette to dip, and line it up with the slices of beef, chicken pâté and sunny side-up. The baguette isn’t quite up to authentic Banh Mi standards that some may wish for especially in terms of the chewiness of interior, but otherwise it has some crisp on the exterior, but is light, soft and fluffy — very similar to my ideal neighbourhood bakery baguette in a personal-sized portion. Liked how the chicken pâté here isn’t all that intimidating here — it’s been well seasoned with black pepper for a light hint of peppery spiciness that most should find pretty manageable, and the sliced beef came surprisingly juicy and tender without much of effort required to chew; also would have expected it to come wayyyy gamier but this was surprisingly close to having sliced pork which definitely works for most. Caramelised onions are added for a crunch, while the sunny side-up was the crowd pleaser with its runny egg yolk, but the addition of the pickles helps to add a refreshing crunch which gives a good break between the carbs and meatiness.

Wasn’t expecting much before making my visit to Miss Bò Né which also looks very much like a usual corner coffeeshop stall unit that is usually run by a zi char stall at other coffeeshops. I hadn’t tried the actual item in Vietnam or been to Vietnam even, so I wouldn’t attempt to comment on the authenticity of the Bò Né here — but boy, this was something that I was so glad I made the visit for because it was just my sort of thing; especially that clever use of butter in the hot plate with the juices of the beef, which is a combination that worked so brilliantly with the baguette and the chicken pâté. It’s a little far and out of the way for me so I reckon that I probably won’t be back as much as I would like to, but if I were to live just a bit closer or if it is in the way of wherever I am going, this would work as a satisfying weekend brunch in a coffeeshop without having to resort to unpredictable brunch fare at newly-opened cafes that have yet to figure out their operations.