One of the first stand-alone restaurants to bring Vietnamese cuisine to the city (the other being the Blue Ginger at The Taj West End), Phobidden Fruit has been going strong for years now. We love that there's plenty of light, plants, wooden picnic tables and benches, and an inside seating area. It's as Insta-worthy as it can get. But let's talk about food. While you wait for your order, don’t forget to put your chopstick skills into practice by digging into the jar of pickled veggies kept at every table.
The Iceberg Lettuce wraps are crunchy greens that serve as cups to scoop up some of the spicy minced prawn and chicken mix. Add a dash of nuoc mam, the signature Vietnamese dipping sauce, garnish with fresh sprouts, open your mouth as wide as possible and pile in this delicious mix of flavours and textures.
The beef Pho here is a beautiful, slow-brewed aromatic broth with slices of meat floating in it. It's reminiscent of those from the streets of Saigon. It is pretty authentic. Make the Pho your own by adding crunchy onions and sprouts, fresh basil, and a squeeze of lime, just the way you like it. The spicier Bun Bao, a noodle soup flavoured with beef stock, slivers of beef, lemongrass and chilli can clear up any number of blocked noses.
For drinks, we recommend the Basil Soda Chanh, a refreshing soda-laced lemony punch is a good drink to start with. But you must save up some stomach space for the Vietnamese style coffee, served on ice with a generous swirl of condensed milk.