PlanetEye

There is unparalleled comfort found in a large bowl of steaming Tonkinese soup, warming your insides with every bite. With its tender pieces of meat and a heap of soft noodles, topped with fragrant basil, cilantro and thinly sliced onion, there is no denying that this tops the list of comfort foods. Well, healthy ones, anyway.

In Montreal, it seems as though this meal is sold at every corner and ordering one is usually playing it safe, since most of them taste pretty much the same. At Pho Lien, however, a small Vietnamese restaurant in the Côte-des-Neiges area, the soup goes from simply satisfactory to something worth talking about.

There are about a dozen soups to choose from, with beef dominating the menu in various combinations (rare, well-done, etc.). The beef is sliced as thinly as possible and the portions are generous. Although the bowl is filled to the brim with fresh ingredients, the delicious broth is what stands out most. Other than the soups, there are other traditional Vietnamese dishes to be had, just as satisfying and at reasonable prices.

It is recommended you sit on the front-store terrace and enjoy the breeze since the restaurant's interior tends to get packed and muggy. The service is barely passable, although most people would sit through far worse to sink their soup spoon and chop sticks into a bowl of this flavourful soup.