Phở 24 Express…Burnaby’s Newest Vietnamese
Phở 24 Express is Burnaby’s newest Vietnamese restaurant. It took a long while. Last June, this spot was Numero Uno Pizza. The new façade went up quite quickly when Numero Uno vacated. For a couple of months I waited and waited with baited breath for more phở in Burnaby. They teased me by wallpapering the windows with their menu. How cruel is that??! I’d drop by occasionally to check on the progress only to be teased yet again. Finally, around New Year’s, they opened their doors.
Phở 24 Express is a reincarnation of Gold Train Express II out on West 10th in Point Grey. Years ago it was my go-to spot before work at Provence. They made a killer bò kho as well as some great phở. It’ll be interesting to see if they’re still as a good as I remember.
On my first of three visits, this past Thursday, I went with the Bún Cà Ri Gà (Curry Chicken Vermicelli Soup).
I gotta say, this was a fantastic bowl. A solid curried broth jacked with lots of black pepper. Several big hunks of dark-meat chicken…nary a bit of gristle or bone. Plenty of roasted peanuts and chips of roasted garlic…great textures and an abundance of flavor. My only quibble was with the vermicelli. A bit too thin…verging on angel-hair…next time I’ll ask for the egg noodles. Can’t say enough about the broth, though. Great stuff…bowl drained.
Hittin’ The Rails To Hội An
Here’s a good travel tip: When booking an early morning train trip in a foreign country, make sure you’re well caffeinated.
I arrived at the train station in Huế, Vietnam at about 7 a.m. to head to Da Nang. The plan was to book a first-class ticket on the Livitrans car ($17) for the two and a half hour train ride.
Not quite understanding the ticket agent (aside from the phrase “air-conditioned”) I wound up purchasing a $3 “soft-sleeper” ticket. Ooops.
The Friday Lunch 
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