LotusRapper keeps raving about this place that I just gotta blog about it. I want to try for myself why he likes the Taiwanese Beef Noodle so much. I had been here twice before. Just that I did not blog. It was my pre-iPhone blogging days.
It is such a beautiful day today to be out for lunch. The sun is out in it’s full glory. Blue skies. Have not seen many of those days lately. A bit windy though. So it is a little colder than it looks.
The Green Bamboo is located at the west side outer front of Crystal Mall. It is the side that faces Willingdon. The sign outside the restaurant says Green Bamboo Viet Noodles. But they do … more than just Vietnamese noodles.
They have pictures of their dishes outside. Even inside. That helps whet the appetite. That also makes it hard to decide.
This place is amazing because they do so many types of noodles and dishes. They even have Thai and of course Taiwanese. The object of my lunch today.
For a sign that says Viet Noodles, I could barely find pho on the menu. The first section is dominated by Beef Noodles! About a dozen of them. The small is $6.25’ish. Large is $6.99.
Decided to get a small one. Can’t go wrong when the first item on the menu is bolded and says House Special Beef Rice Noodles and in bracket says rare beef, well-done flank, tripe, tendon and beef balls. The works.
This place is really small. Service is fast. Wordless. Yeah until now the waitress did not say a word to me. She dropped the menu, I told her what I wanted. She nodded and went on her way. Not a problem with me. Just saying.
Saw next table had nice looking deep fried chicken wings. Wanted to order it but no. I won’t be able to finish it. Next time perhaps.
Oh … Wait a minute! I made a boo boo here! Lol!
This is Pho. Not TBN. Apparently both the pho and TBN has the same name: beef rice noodle. The TBN version is No 13 and 14. It has the words at the end that says “in tomato soup”.
I guess the confusion was my wrong assumptions. I was thinking about TBN TBN TBN. I saw several pictures of noodles with dark broth. Don’t laugh. This sort of things does happen to the best and brightest, OK? LOL! So ignore everything I said about the menu up there. Am not gonna edit it to hide my foolishness. Too much work editing it on the iPhone. Just take me and this post as I am … warts and all.
Oh well. Guess I gotta come back again … Sigh.
The pho was decent. Not great if you expect me to say that. Soup is OK.
Am disappointed. Now I cannot sleep thinking of the TBN that slipped away.
Oh more boo boo. Apparently the TBN is NOT the one with the tomato sauce. The waitress told me that it’s a new item and had a sticker pasted over about it. Good thing I asked or else it’s another wasted trip.
I SHALL RETURN!
Hey. Alisan is going to relocate to a bigger space just two doors away. They have a small space on the south side of Crystal Mall now. This will be much bigger. Hopefully their menu is bigger too.
Took the scenic route back to the office. God’s world is beautiful.
Life is good. Can’t complain. No sir. Not at all.
Oh I mistakenly thought you went to GB with Karl (FridayLunch). Ooops. But I did really enjoy my bowl of TBN there:
http://thefridaylunch.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/green-bamboo-re-visited/
Which was called House Special Beef Noodle Soup. Problem is, their menu (as in your pics) says “noodle soup” in English. But the Chinese title (which I know you don’t read) says “ho fun”/河粉 which technically is wrong too, because that implies the wide sha ho fun. What you got was pho, which I believe in Chinese menus should just read “米粉”/rice noodle.
Oh well, there’s always next time.
BTW, I met up some friends at Cattle Cafe today (Wed/6) for lunch. Was gonna call you afterward, but I remembered some errands to run so I didn’t stay around. Glad I arrived at Cattle at 11:30 and got a table for 5, ‘cuz by noon the place was packed and queuing out the door !
Hi LotusRapper: Hehehe … got it now! About Cattle Cafe, did you notice that LSD is quieter? Just basing on the lines in Cattle Cafe everyday, I think they are as successful as Sushi Garden in the Metrotown area. Ben
I believe CC and LSD will reach a state of equilibrium ….. demand = supply. Overflows from each will go to the other.
Thanks for the dropping the link LR…again! Much appreciated. Great bunch of soups there.
Had a PHENOMENAL lunch at Pho 24 Express today. Probably going back tomorrow! Very good soups and sensational spring rolls…rivalling Green Bamboo!!
Ben…drove past Perfect Place after lunch. Looks like they are up and running…the “Open” sign was lit up. Maybe you and LR would like to check it out next week?
Hey Karl, where’s Pho 24 Express ? Is that the one on Kingsway in front of the London Drugs just east of Joyce ?
And where’s Perfect Place ?
Yeah I’m in on whatever you guys feel like eating. Email me offline.
Am going on the road after this week Lotus. Anyway, Perfect Place took over the exiting Alisan. Alisan (I think you know where it is) is on the south side of Crystal Mall. Ben
Pho 24 Express is right between Bubble World and Curry King on Kingsway in Burnaby.
Looking forward to reading about Pho 24 Express on your blog when it is up, Karl. Ben
Thanks, Ben. Have a good road trip!
NANZARO SAYS “EPIC FAIL REVIEW!!!!”
Hi Neige: Let me ask Nanzaro to read this post and see what he says. 🙂 Ben
Hey Ben…
haha….too bad you didn’t get TBN 🙂
for some reason God wants you to return to Green Bamboo
….I was looking forward to hearing all about it too…I LOVE TBN!!! so now I will wait patiently for your return visit.
BTW. ..I am really enjoying your short and sweet iPhone posts and the picture quality is surprisingly good.
Hi joyluckclub: Been waiting to read of your sunny Toronto adventures. 🙂 Thanks for the feedback. The pictures are good this time round simply because it was very bright today. I think that made the big difference. Ben
BTW, I heard only Mandarin spoken by all the GB staff, so I’m presuming they are Chinese-owned, but I may be wrong.
My colleagues at work go to Green Bamboo every Friday. They’ve been doing this since the place opened. I go out to eat for lunch one day during the work week but have only gone there once and only tried their traditional house special pho. Hmm, I should join my colleagues more often and maybe try their TBN.
Hehehe … just look at the power of LotusRapper’s recommendation. I think there is gonna be a run on Green Bamboo’s TBN for the next little while — this is called the “LotusRapper effect”. 🙂 Ben
Oh my gosh ……
You type this all up on your iPhone, complete with pictures? Such patience.
Hi UH: The app was easy to use if I use the “happy path”. That is to type a sequence of notes but a pain to edit and format because it is hard to navigate within the small screen. The thing to master is to peck fast which over time anyone can do. Yeah, I do take time to stop for a few minutes to type every now and then. Takes a bit longer to type and eat but it’s easier to write a story because what I want to put on is right on top of my head. If I write days after the meal, I forget. Taking pictures is the easiest bit. Two taps, snap and it is loaded into the bottom of the post. Ben
I was always curious about this place since it’s near where I’m staying. Do return for another round, maybe order a couple more dishes. That way, I can choose the ones that look the most appetizing.
About the pictures, I agree about the beauty. It’s so nice to take photos during spring. Managed to take lots of pictures of cherry blossoms around the neighbourhood and in downtown. Looks like you were around the library area, right? Where did you take the last photo?
Hi Kenny: Yeah, those pix were taken at the Burnaby Public library park grounds. It was just around the corner from Green Bamboo. Ben