As foodies in the city know, Golden Turtle is lauded as the ‘best pho’ you can drown your hunger in. Obviously this is debatable. Which is what I love. Everyone has a favourite. Sure, there are commonalities bound to ring true, but finding your own personal restaurant preference is part of what makes food an enjoyable experience.

I do love Golden Turtle, but if you’re looking to try something outside the ‘foodie faves’, head on over to Pho Pasteur just west of Spadina on Dundas. This place is 24 hours. Check mark one. The pho is cheap. Check two. The spring rolls are fat greasy goodness. Check three. You’ll pretty much never finish your entire meal. Check four.

Pho Pasteur has wretched fluorescent lighting and often no-smile service. It’s like a terrible cafeteria/diner. But the pho here is fragrant and salty, the rare beef ample, and at 7bucks for the huge bowl labeled ‘small’, you can’t complain. It’s also more central than the Ossington strip, so if a hankering comes over me at 2am when I’m mangled from too many beers, the trip over is hardly too much for my hazy mind to calculate. “Must. Have. Pho. Now.”

This is my little hidden gem for the week. You’re going here for the food, not the space, not the service. Just some damned good noodle soup.

Pho Pasteur | 525 Dundas Street West, Toronto