Pho Review: Golden Pineapple/Xe Lua

Just like Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha's favorite diner hub in Sex and the City, this local pho restaurant (which also also has a sister restaurant just above called Xe Lua) is our hub for good comfort food, asian style.

In the heart of downtown Toronto's Chinatown, this is the one restaurant that is my go-to when I'm extremely tired, hungry and in need of cheap-but-big-portions. And of course they have a gigantic menu from pho to rice to dry noodles and not to mention their extensive drinks and appetizers.

But my regular order is their pho as its their signature item. I get the small size and I am more than filled. This time around I ordered #104 which has brisket and tendon.

My friend ordered the #101, specialty with everything in it (photo below).

One thing I always wonder about this restaurant(s) is why are there two identical restaurants that sell the exact same items but the two have different names? Xe Lua, upstairs, appears to be more diner and casual-like and Golden Pineapple on the ground floor looks a lot more "fine dining". But from what we learned, it's the same owner. 

But in any case, this is my favorite spot to chill out and relax and have a great meal with good friends.