Quest for good viet: Nhu Quynh

Winnipeg is getting chilly. As if overnight, the sun starts setting earlier and earlier, the leaves turning, and a cold breeze pushing temperatures near the freezing mark. Despite all the negatives of winter, it does afford a whole bevy of delicious eats. One of those is pho. Thus I begin my quest for the best pho in town. Dragging a colleague of mine, we geared up to Nhu Quynh.

It is days like this when I am thankful I know people from Winnipeg. Looking at Urbanspoon I was shocked to see that it listed the restaurant as closed. A quick email to the site quickly re-listed this fine establishment.

Nhu Quynh is your unapologetic neighbourhood Vietnamese family run diner. Focused on the food solely, you have to assume curt service, good prices, and tasty food.

We started with a #48: Charboiled Pork Chop, Pork Skin, Meat Pie on Broken Rice. Tasty big portion of pork that went well with the pork skin and veggies. The curious yellow wedge to the left of the plate is the meat pie, a custardly pie that resembled a quiche.

The #29: Deluxe Beef Rice Noodle Soup (pho) is a staple at most Vietnamese places. Here Nhu Quynh delivers. Flavourful and rich broth with tender noodles and fresh beef slices, beef balls and tripe. A shockingly large portion for a super reasonable price.

I am a sucker for new ways to eating. There is something emotional with making your own food and a new trend in restaurants is the idea of "deconstructed cuisine". We ordered the #11: Grilled Beef Wrapping Leaves.

The star of the show is tender beef wrapped in vine leaves and grilled to perfection. By itself the meat is a little bland but the idea is to take the rice paper, vegetables and rice noodle to make your own rolls.

Showcasing all the ingredients together before rolling. Definitely a crowd pleaser.