I stumbled upon the Pho Hue while looking for another restaurant. Ultimately, I never did find Le Pho so maybe they have already been replaced. That’s the danger of being in a plaza where noodle restaurants are a dime a dozen, it’s difficult to stand out and thrive.

Pho Hue has an extensive menu with a variety of traditional dishes along with some speciality items and sandwiches as well. Their actual pho is slightly smaller than other restaurants, but prices trend lower as well so it’s a good choice for smaller appetites. I easily polished off the large ox tail rice noodle soup ($19.95), as there wasn’t a lot of noodles. But it did have plenty of fall-off-the-bone ox tail, which was a nice change from the typical flank or brisket and easier to eat than a hulking beef rib.

The broth was satisfying - piping hot, salty enough, and relatively clear. Perhaps, not quite as nuanced in flavour as some places, it still hit the spot on a cold winter day. I enjoyed all the fresh herbs garnishing the bowl, they gave the dish a bright punch.

Their noodles were 100% better than the complimentary vegetarian spring roll (normally $7.95 for two pieces) that was given in return for posting a Google review. I’ve had better spring rolls at buffets: at least they’re not as oily and even buffet fillings are more substantial than the paltry cabbage and carrot that makes up Pho Hue’s. It’s a shame Pho Hue serves their spring rolls plain… a vinaigrette would really help cut through the oiliness.

At least service was friendly and because it’s not overly busy very attentive. During their grand opening period, they’re also offering 10% off, so the meal was at least budget friendly. Just make sure to bring something other than a credit card as they are cash and debit only.

If Pho Hue were situated elsewhere, I could potentially return for another meal. But since they’re in a plaza with so many other options, their offering wasn’t overly impressive, even though I do like ox tail. Good luck to you.

As a brunch staple goes, eggs benny still tops my list. Still, there are times I’m craving something different, even if it’s just slightly enhanced for brunch. Enter Le Lert, a Thai influenced restaurant located near College Station. Don’t worry, they still serve a plethora of egg dishes, it’s just that it’s paired with pork belly and tom yum instead.

Such as the pork belly avo ($20) where a silky scrambled egg omelette is covered with slices of roasted pork belly and placed on avocado toast, which is great for soaking up the other ingredients. The dish is drizzled with thinned hoisin creating a sweet and savoury flavour that’s so different from the traditional salt and pepper.

And for vegetarians, their vegan menu offered some of our favourite dishes of the meal. The coconut curry used in the jackfruit curry ($22) was fragrant and just flavourful enough to entice you to have one more bite. Using large chunks of the fruit, it soaked up the sauce’s flavours and provided a meaty texture to the dish. It’s not exactly brunch but add some of the omelette to the curry to create a hearty meal.

Even though it was the last dish to arrive, the jackfruit dip ($13) could be a great starter. Jackfruit is tossed with Thai salsa, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and a chili jam, creating a flavourful concoction that’s spicy, sour, and slightly sweet. It’s great spooned onto the extra-large pappadums or works wonderfully as a condiment.

You’ll want to make sure you order the jack fruit dip and pork belly avo to go with the salmon tom-yum quesadilla ($18) as there wasn’t an ounce of tom-yum in the dish. Still, the well toasted quesadilla contained a generous portion of salmon fillet, and the poached egg added a nice rich saucy element. Yet, add some of the extra smashed avocado and the jack fruit dip onto the tortilla and the dish is perfect. And for the price, it’s a very big portion.

The umami pasta ($26) sees spaghetti swimming in a creamy miso sauce liberally topped with tobiko. Topped with seaweed and scallop, Le Lert’s not kidding when they say this is an umami laced pasta. Though I’d find it too rich for a single person, instead great for sharing.

Le Lert offers an extensive drinks menu – both alcoholic and virgin. The black jack matcha highball ($14.95) could have used a bit more of the jasmine honey syrup to sweeten the whisky, matcha powdered, and blood orange juice, but it was refreshing and had a floral element from the mint syrup, yuzu, and orange blossom.

Some customers may find the font a bit hard to read but since a lot of their cocktails are card inspired (Black Jack, Queen, King, Ace, Joker) maybe you just close your eyes and pick a card. Sometimes in life you need to try something different, give it a chance.

Noodle restaurants seem to be springing up along Midland monthly. Seriously, travel along the street between Finch and Steeles and there are dozens of options. Modu Three Brothers is a newcomer to the crowd offering Chongqing specialties, a large region of China that’s located in the south close to Tibet.

It’s an area where sheep are a popular source of protein. The Chongqing lamb skewers ($5.99 for two) are shallow fried slightly crisping up the crevices and dusted with cumin and chili powder. The bite sized morsels are like a flavourful popcorn lamb, tender and tasty without the gaminess.

Modu’s menu is dominated by noodles with so many choices that choosing between the soup base, protein, and noodle types can be dizzying. We settled on their signature braised beef noodles ($15.99), which reminded me of the Taiwanese/Shanghainese version of the noodles except adorned with crispy fried yellow beans and chives… I enjoyed the freshness of the chives but could do without the oily hard mini chickpeas.  

Modu uses a digitized ordering process where diners scan a QR code at the table. It is helpful for customization requests given we wanted the beef noodles to be a mild spicy level. Our instructions were dutifully followed so despite the savoury broth looking fiery red the spiciness was tame.

For those who don’t want an ounce of heat, the signature freshly boiled chicken soup with noodles ($13.99) features a spice less broth that has a rich chicken taste. It was a tad oily for me but goes well with the noodles and garnishes.

At first, it may seem like the kitchen forgot the chicken but dig to the bottom and you’ll find a handful of chopped pieces. There’s not a lot of fowl and it does include the bones, so if you’re in the mood for big morsels of meat, you’ll want an order of the fried chicken on the side. Any chicken used in this dish is more for flavour than sustenance.

Yet, you’ll never leave Modu hungry as they offer free noodle refills. Simply request an order online and in a few minutes a bowl will arrive (about a cup and a half). Personally, I enjoy my noodles with a springy texture, so I did find Modu’s too soft. If you’re like me, I’d recommend requesting the noodles do be cooked less when ordering.

Torontonians are spoiled with the noodle offerings found across the city. If you don’t want to travel extensively, make your way up to Midland in Scarborough and you can easily create a slurplicious noodle crawl.

If the walls could speak at Blomidon Inn, I’m sure it would have stories to tell. From its construction as the Burgess family’s private home in the late 1800s, it has gone on to serve as apartments, the residence for Acadian University girls, before finally becoming the current inn in 1980.

The main floor of the ornate inn is largely used as the dining area for their restaurant. Where you can enjoy a 3-course meal ($62.50). Or add an extra $2.50 to receive a small salad course between the main and dessert. For those want a smaller dinner, dishes are also available a la carte (prices reflected in this post).

Their tomato bruschetta ($14) uses a decadent whipped ricotta as the base, building upon the classic ingredients of cherry tomatoes, herbs, and a balsamic reduction. With tons of flavours and not as messy to eat, this was a wonderful starting bite.

Arriving as a big chunk, the maple smoked salmon ($14) could benefit from a bit of preparation to present it in a crostini form. The candy sweet salmon was powerful on its own but balances out with the maple yogurt sauce and baguette. A bit of pickled red onion and/or arugula would add some freshness the dish needs.  

Save some of that bread for the steamed mussels ($14), classically prepared in a white wine and garlic broth. I rather enjoyed the bell pepper used throughout for colour and added flavour. The mussels just needed to be soaked longer as they were still several gritty crustaceans.

You can’t go wrong with seafood in Nova Scotia. The pan seared halibut ($37) was perfectly cooked to a flaky and moist consistency. The thick meaty piece could use more seasoning but if you get enough of the ‘hodge podge’, a medley of vegetables cooked in a cream sauce, onto the fish it helps to add flavour.

The scallops in the scallops picatta ($37) were beautifully seared and just cooked through. The natural sweetness of the seafood was also prominent since the lemon caper sauce used with the pappardelle wasn’t too strong. With a touch more salt, this dish would have been perfect.

While the lobster linguine ($44; $7 supplement with the prix fixe) smelled good, the dish was majorly lacking on taste. The spaghetti was overcooked, and everything screamed for more seasoning, butter, and acid. My nose was more impressed than the tongue.

The grilled filet of beef ($44; $7 supplement with the prix fixe) was a touch over cooked but nevertheless tender and did have a nice crust. I just found the sides of mashed potato and carrot date puree to be too similar and soft. And the red wine jus and bourbon bacon butter was non-existent on the dish. Like the other mains, it was bland.

If you still have room for dessert, I’d recommend the fruit cobbler ($14), which contained tons of berries while still leaving the sweet biscuit on top not overly soggy. Served warm, the vanilla ice cream adds a lovely cooling sensation and creaminess as it melts into the dessert.

Blomidon’s crème brûlée ($14) had a nice thin sugar crust and was flavourful of its own. The side of lemon curd was a nice touch, so you can combine into the brûlée to help balance out the sweetness.

If you like graham cracker crust, you’ll love the blueberry cheesecake ($14) since it has a thick portion of the pastry. The cake itself was a nice balance of sweetness and thickness. In the end, a solid cheesecake with plenty of blueberry flavour.

How anyone could even manage to eat a quarter of the chocolate mousse cake ($14) is a mystery. I could only manage one bite, the cake so thick and dense it’s like eating the chocolate ganache centre of a truffle. The intensity certainly didn’t make it very mousse like. Pack this up and you can have a couple bites per day to get a chocolate fix.

While the food wasn’t the greatest at Blomidon Inn, after a day of wine tasting, it was a treat to not have to leave the inn after showering and relaxing. Plus, after the filling meal, we could easily just roll into the sitting room to continue our conversation. After just spending a day in Wolfville, we had our own new stories to tell.