Review: Dinner @ Ben Thanh Viet Thai Restaurant, Cambridge

!Malaysian Seafood Laksa Rice Noodle Soup - recommended

We stopped at Ben Thanh for a quick bite on our way back from Pelee Island to Toronto.  The restaurant itself is nicely decorated, however, the service was terrible.  Even though the restaurant was empty (there were only 3 tables with customers), we were rudely told that we had to wait for 5-10 mins before we can be seated. Maybe it was because the servers were on break?  Still, they could just have sat us down instead of having us wait for a table in an empty restaurant…. besides, it wasn't as much about the wait as the hostess' attitude.  Perhaps we caught her on a bad day.

Other than the bad service, the food itself was decent. I particularly enjoyed the Malaysian Seafood Laksa Rice Noodle Soup, which has just the right amount of delicious spiciness.  I'll probably come back again if I'm in the neighbourhood.

What we ordered

• 5/5 delicious goodness
• Malaysian Seafood Laksa Rice Noodle Soup
• 4/5 good - can hold its own
• Thai fried Spring Rolls
• 3/5 average
• Beef rice noodle soup

Summary

• The Bottom Line: order the Malaysian Laksa Rice Noodle Soup, and don't expect much in the way of service.
• Score: 4/5
• Address: 10 Pinebush Road, Cambridge.

Fried spring rolls - recommended

Review: Lunch at Pho Ben Thanh, Cambridge (9/10)

Pho Ben Thanh

We visited Pho Ben Thanh on our way from a fantastic weekend Pelee Island camping trip back to Toronto.  It was getting late, and I was getting hungry, so we thought - what is quick, cheap and satisfying?  Pho immediately came to mind.  I quickly whipped up out my iPhone and started looking for Pho places near the 401.  Pho Ben Thanh came up, and since it had relatively good ratings, and was right off the highway, it was a no brainer.

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we somehow was made to wait for 5 minutes before being seated, even though the restaurant was mostly empty.  That annoyed me a little. However, the waiter was prompt and the food came relatively fast.

Between the two of us, we ordered spring rolls (deep fried), a Ben Thanh Special Beef Soup, and a Malaysian Seafood Laksa Rice Noodle.

The springs rolls and special beef soup were in line with my expectations, but it was the Laksa rice noodle that stole the show.  Flavourful and aromatic, it offers a delightful feast for my palette.  Granted, I would prefer for there to be more "seafood" - fish balls and imitation crab meat is not really seafood in my opinion, but for less than $10, it offers a good value.

In summary, if you're in the Cambridge neighbourhood next time and looking for a quick satisfying budget-friendly meal, head to Pho Ben Thanh and go for their Laksa noodle soup.

What we ordered

• Malaysian Seafood Laksa Rice Noodle - recommended
• Ben Thanh Special Beef Soup
• Spring Rolls

The Bottom Line

• Clean pho dinner with quick service and good value.
• Rating: 9/10 (great value and decent service)
• Address: 10 Pinebush Rd, Cambridge, ON.  N1R 5S4
• Time to Spend: budget 1 hour

Related Posts

• Afternoon Tea at DEQ Terrace Ritz Carlton
• Dinner at Han Ba Tang (Korean Fusion)
• Dinner at Kinyo Izakaya (Japanese)
• Dinner at Skyview Fusion Restaurant (Chinese)
• Other things to do and eat in the GTA