Slowly trying out all the new restaurants in the extension of Market Square, last week we checked out the Goc Viet, to which I had read a couple of fairly positive reviews of online. Situated on level one of the complex, it wasn't hard to find. With limited seating inside, they had a few tables outside the restaurant.
As you would expect, all the usual suspects were present on the menu including rice, noodles and salads. Prices were more expensive than you would expect at other local Vietnamese restaurants and the ones at Inala. We ordered at the counter.
Starting with street eats, these were the signature spring rolls. A serve of three rolls came to $8 and they were served in halves and were smaller than the average. The skin was fried but it was very chewy and a bit over burnt. The fillings were also a bit limited and not overly fresh. At least the accompanying salad was fresh though.
There was no rare beef pho on the menu, in lieu of this there was a dish called stir fried rare beef pho, which I tried. I ordered it with additional noodles and it also came with the standard complimentary sprouts and herbs. It was lucky that I ordered extra noodles because the quantity in the bowl was really insufficient, especially given the higher price point. The noodles were at least soft and silky but that was really the only positive of this bowl. The beef was indeed stir fried and only a few parts were rare, the others were quite well done, extremely oily and chewy. I definitely would have preferred a thinner cut that was cooked more rare. Perhaps it was a result of the fatty beef, but the soup was exceptionally oily and very light on taste, every sip left my lips coated in oil and there was not much depth of flavour profile in the bowl.
The soup was so oily that I decided not to pour my extra noodles into the bowl but rather to have them separate in their clear broth. Again the noodles were done well, but for $3, this quantity was extremely underwhelming. Again the soup was probably one of the lightest tasting that I have had for pho for a long time. Will not be back unless drastic improvements are made.
Taste: 4/10
Value: 4/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10
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