If there is any foreign cuisine Taiwan has a delectable abundance of, thanks to proximity, it is Vietnamese cuisine. This fresh, well-balanced and extremely affordable cuisine is athe answer to a backpacker or budget traveller's prayers. One of Taipei's better known Vietnamese restaurants is the well-loved Pho Savoy.

Pho Savoy is the flagship store of the same Taipei Pho mogul that later opened the renowned Vietnamese spot, Yue Yuan Pho. This new space is in Dunhan area - nearby Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT station. Although Pho Savoy offers a very affordable lunch or dinner for this part of town, it is a little pricier than most Vietnamese restaurants in Taipei. For a few extra bucks though, you're enjoying a delicious Vietnamese beef noodle soup in a squeakily clean, English-friendly setting on the swanky side of town.

The Pho itself turns tastebuds on. The Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) is a large bowl or vermicelli rice noodles in a flavourful broth. Shavings of raw, brilliantly red beef cook in the mildly spicy broth, infused with accents of the accompanying onion slices, shallots and fresh asian basil. Aside from the obvious favourites - Bah Min and Pho - Pho Savoy serves deliciously fragrant emerald green curry chicken and offers incredibly generous portions of sticky grilled meat with rice dishes. For exotic thirst quenchers try fresh coconut juice, honey lemonade, milk tea mixed with papaya juice and caffeine-loaded sweet Vietnamese coffee - served traditionally on authentic Vietnamese slow filters. A cheap(ish), cheerful location and a family favourite.