Noodle ThanhGiong — Restaurant in North Island

NTG is a tiny cafe tucked away in Chew's Lane offering Vietnamese cuisine. The slatted, bamboo furniture will be one of the first items that catch your eye. It effused a degree of "exotic" ambience but being small, rickety and awkward, is not comfortable or practical where dining is concerned.

We were there to check out the pho and so the flavours were fine, as was the portion size and pricing for the pho. The broth seemed to be more natural (didn't taste too much of msg, if at all, and you can always tell by the amount of thirst you develop after a meal if an eatery has used that heavily.) The duck dishes looked interesting but are more pricey than duck noodles elsewhere.

On the plus side, the beef portion was decent unlike some cafes where they can be too tight with the protein. The fresh sprouts and chillies were also commendable, the sort of condiments (and more) usually found in Oz, etc. in generous portions, but disappointingly, not often in NZ.

The main detraction was the lukewarm broth. If it had been piping hot it would have made the dish much more appetising and allowed the raw beef slices to cook easily, without dropping the temperature of the soup drastically, an important factor to consider on cold, winter nights. For this we have rated NTG lower. Service was courteous and quick; there were just a few customers when...

On a cold winter evening, we got a friendly welcome here. Steaming pho bowls were served quickly and proved delicious. My bowl was overflowing with seafood and my partner had the roast duck, which was delicious and tender, with a crust of fat. The noodles portion was so generous, we struggled to finish them. The broth tasted natural and great. With a few veggies in there, it would be perfect. This place is more expensive than other similar ones, but as mentioned the bowls are super size and the place is really cosy and friendly. We will return gladly. Note: photo taken after some of the seafood had already...

Sad, this place used to be so much better in the past! Horrible Vietnamese pancake (bánh xèo), which was very oily and the batter was completely wrong to how it should have been (thin and light, not like a western pancake!!). The beef phở was slightly better but was saltier than it should have been and needed more sweetness. There could have been more rare beef. The decor of the place is not very clean (sauce on the walls), and overall doesn't make you want to eat there. Not worth...