For me, Hauz Khas Village (or HKV as the trendy call it!) is the prefect bridge between fast-paced city life and its older avatar of dusty village roads and narrow by-lanes. In this case, the result is an 'urban village' with an artsy, eclectic mix of establishments that continue to keep this place thriving, albeit a little less than it was a few years ago. The walk to these boutique restaurants and shops may be less exciting, (read hanging cables, open drains etc.), but once you are there, you are more than likely to find your own little haven, and a little serving of whatever it is that you are looking for - good food, designer shopping or just a place to hang for a bit with friends and French fries!
Pho King is more recent entrant to this area and is very promising indeed. It is the 3rd outlet of the brand after Saket and Gurgaon, and launched towards the end of 2018. It's a happy place, competitively priced and has some of the best dim sums in town. Yes, the restaurant also serves Mexican and Indian, but I only focussed on the Vietnamese and Pan-Asian dishes. But given that the outlet at Saket serves a mean pasta, chances are this one too serves some pretty delicious Indian fare.
Pho King Hauz Khas
Here Are Some Of The Dishes I Would Recommend On The Menu:
- Vietnamese Pho: Let's start with this one because the restaurant derives its name from this Vietnamese signature dish. Pho is essentially a meat, veggies and noodles soup. It has a broth like consistency and is made fragrant with the use of lots of herbs. It's a popular street food and is typically made with noodles and rice flour. In fact, making noisy, slurping sounds while eating a bowl of Pho is not considered rude at all! It's a sign that you're enjoying it! The Vietnamese Pho here is pretty good, making you want to slurp your way through it. A little extra lemon on top always makes it better!
- Tibetan Chicken Dim Sums: This is amongst the best dishes at Pho King Hauz Khas. Chef Vishal, who works with Head Chef Mukul Bhandari, works his magic here. He may be quiet and soft-spoken in his demeanour, but the dim sums he drums up are bursting with flavour. The stuffing inside is fresh and juicy is so much better than what quite a few pricy, exclusive clubs and restaurants serve these days, at three times the price!
Pho King Hauz Khas: Tibetan Chicken Dim Sums
- Spicy Pork Wonton: Hot, delicious and addictive. Must try!
- Redang Lamb Bao: Three things, in my opinion, must come together to make for a Bao. The stuffing, the bao/bread itself and the ratio of stuffing to bread. Often a bao seems less-appetising because either the stuffing is dry or there is simply not enough meat/veggies inside, and so you end up eating more bread in every bite. Here, the proportions work well. Soft, warm bread envelops good quantity of chunky meat (I tried the Redang Lamb, which was quite good), and makes for a good, heavier snack.
- Stir Fry Veggies/Chicken in Mountain Chilli Sauce: Good old, comfortable flavours. Thick sauce, but not sticky or gloopy. Chunks of chicken were cooked really well, none of that hard, chewy chicken you get passed off as 'Chilly Chicken'.
Stir Fried Beans
- Nasi Goreng: A complete meal, Nasi Goreng is Indonesian 'fried rice', usually served along with some sort of egg - fried, shredded or an omelette. This one was served with a fried egg, and a side of skewered chicken. If you still like to end your meal with a 'main dish', even after the many starters, then try this one. You won't be disappointed.
Tibetan Chicken Turnip Cake
The portion sizes at Pho King Haus Khas are good, and would serve two. Prices are reasonable and there's lot to pick from without burning a hole in your pocket. But above all, they've got good, comfort food that you want to enjoy with friends and family over a relaxed afternoon or evening. With a large TV screen right in the bar area, I can already see large groups planning their evenings here come IPL/World Cup season. Guess, my next trip is on the cards already!
Where: A1, First Floor, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi - 110016
Time: From 12:00 noon to 12:00 AM
About the Author:
Tanu Ganguly is a Content Specialist with over 18 years of experience in producing, directing and anchoring a variety of content for TV and digital. She worked with NDTV from 2000 till Jan 2019, and her last assignment with NDTV saw her heading the editorial and creative team at NDTV Food. During this phase, she introduced a series of successful changes in content strategy and style to maintain and bolster NDTV Food's leadership position in the food-content space in India. Tanu now runs Mishry.com - a review platform she founded in Jan 2019 exclusively for kitchen related products. Mishry.com is based in Gurgaon and aims to make shopping for cooking and dining needs better.