Thien Long, Brussels 03-2018

I was surprised to find so many Vietnamese (some doubling with Thai and Chinese) restaurants near where I stayed. It might be a bit disheartening to see that the menus do crossover cuisine quite a bit, but the staff at Thien Long are Vietnamese, including the lady in the kitchen who seems to only speak Vietnamese (ie. not French).

Pho bo is at a reasonable price €11 for a large. I'm quite sure the broth has MSG (as does the Flying Goose sriracha - the cock brand is better FYI). But the broth tastes good and nicely spiced. It is so authentic that they even give you both sawtooth herb (ngo gai) and Thai basil - true pho people will understand the significance of that. I've only ever been given ngo gai in Vietnam, maybe partially because it's expensive elsewhere, but still this was very impressive.

Additionally the noodles were good with a little bit of spring and no mush. The meatballs and brisket were very soft, although the sirloin wasn't the most tender but still acceptable.

Minimal English spoken so it helps to know French (or the Vietnamese names of foods as in my case).

I would return.