Rob H.
Yelp
Bowled over by a noodle bowl on Balls Pond Road. If one can indeed find Salvation in noodles, I'm going to start a noodle monastery and I'm looking forward to spending an afterlife surrounded by awesome SE Asian noodle ladies. I'm excited. SIN (see what they've done there) was a follow up to On the Bap (y'know, trendy looking new Asian places). It's not a small space by any means - a few tables at the front (plus a window bench) and some room at the back.
The menu is pretty straightforward - starters, soup noodles, and cold noodles. There's nothing particularly outlandish on the menu - for starters we picked the shredded chicken with sesame crackers and a plate of pickled lotus root with carrots, pork, and crispy shallots and peanuts. Both starters were pretty large and packed with flavour, really close to similar dishes I'd tried in Vietnam. The chicken dish is well spiced and seems to keep ging forever - my one gripe is that it's a little dry in places (leg would probably be better), but still. Delicious. The pickled salad has a great combination of textures and packs in a lot of crunch.
When we went, the cold noodles weren't on, although it wasn't clear whether it was a one off thing or a Monday thing. It didn't matter, I was going for the bun rieu, whatever happened. Bun riu (crab noodle soup with tomato) has a special place in my heart, being the first dish I ate in Vietnam and was a moment of instant love for me. That part of my heart can belong to nobody else. It's also a dish I've not had outside of Vietnam yet, so to find it brought a tear to my eye. My partner ordered the bun bo Hue, a tangy, herby beef noodle soup.
Like the starters, these dishes are large and packed to bursting with goodies (meats, herbs, banana blossoms...). I really enjoyed my bun rieu. It's not the tangy, full-on flavour assault that I've experienced before - the flavour is more delicate, but it's delicious and has an excellent crabby flavour. The lime also helps to add a little more zing. I tried some of the Bun Bo Hue too - also very flavourful, although could have done with a little more tang too. Still, very good, and tasty strips of beef to boot.
Two nights, both times a full-to-bursting Rob. Seriously, the starters already filled me up a lot and the soups were genuinely excellent. Overall the value for money is really good - large bowls of soup for under 10 quid, and massive starters. The service was friendly, albeit a little slow, but given the quality of the food, it didn't bug me too much. I'm glad they were getting good business on a Monday night too, although I can imagine that there's a queue a lot of the time.
If you are trying to find penance, you know where to go. It's a little out of the way, but worth the trip, and I would happily travel to come back here (need to try the pho!). Despite the trendy aesthetic, it's pretty authentic overall, and a lot of care has been put into the food. It's simple, yet super effective AND holy. What more could I want?