Comfort food means different things to different people. For us, there is little more comforting than a behemoth of a bowl of Cafe Soya’s noodle soup. Cut, amongst other things, with slices of roast pork, fragrant stock and a herb garden of green, the results are as messy as they are glorious.
Situated on the edge of Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter at the bottom of the RAG market, this Vietnamese café is a chow mein or two above the rest. The special steamed pancake rolls are a prime example of Cafe Soya’s focus on fresh, clean flavours. Diced prawns are mixed with pork, wood heart mushrooms, spring onions and shallots and enveloped in a translucent roll, with lashings of a top secret vinaigrette sauce for dunking.
With bright lighting, a myriad of always-on TVs adorning the café’s walls and karaoke parties catered for in an adjoining room, this certainly isn't first date territory. But it is very, very good.