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For my first (and last) instalment in our worst-rated series, I really had to dig deep and try to find a dish we have yet to cover. It can’t be local hits, as we’ve done them all before, nor can it be obscure dishes, as nobody would know what they are. Then there’s pho. However, nothing could prepare me for what would be considered Singapore’s worst-rated pho, being NamNam in Takashimaya. How?
Every single person I spoke to bore a bewildered expression. My father gave me the rundown on how NamNam was considered one of the most popular Vietnamese food chains in Singapore, and a friend tried to convince me I was wrong. However, numbers don’t lie, and they indicate that NamNam’s Takashimaya outlet has a rating of 3.2/5 stars in 105 reviews as of the time of writing this article.
Many negative reviews talk about the horrific lack of customer service by the employees, with patrons being chased away by workers in a rude tone and a general lack of communication. Others discussed how prices were unjustifiable given the alleged lacklustre portions.
All in all, this was going to be a fun investigation. A foreboding heaviness pressed on my shoulders as I made my way to Takashimaya, the physical manifestation of the phrase “I have a bad feeling about this”.
My first impression of NamNam wasn’t great. I arrived just before peak lunch hour and saw a female employee asking customers to leave, which confirmed the claims made online. There were also these ‘table reserved’ signs on almost every table at the stall, even though NamNam doesn’t accept reservations. So were the tables reserved or not?
I spent like 5 minutes asking around the stall before I confirmed that the employees placed it seemingly without reason, and the tables were in fact empty.
What I tried at NamNam
Here is their Combination Beef Pho (S$16.90). Yes, you read that right. This bowl costs a whopping S$16.90, which is a questionable price point at best. For reference, Tiong Bahru Chicken Rice opened a restaurant in Takashimaya in Nov 2025, and a plate of chicken rice there costs S$10.
Even if you consider that NamNam is located in Takashimaya’s prestigious food court, S$16.90 is still rather expensive. The craziest part is that their Combination Beef Pho isn’t even the most expensive item on their menu, as they serve a Tiger Prawn Short Rib Pho that’s S$38.70.
Ok, enough whining about the price. The soup was thin, translucent, and showered with an excessive amount of scallions. It was difficult to distinguish the flavours coming from the broth versus the scallions. I tasted a combination of lingering sourness and mild sweetness from the broth, even a hint of MSG. But there was a distinct lack of umami savouriness.
Did they even add beef bones into the broth? Good pho is supposed to be intense and well-seasoned with a multitude of sauces and spices, but there were no complex dimensions of flavour in their broth.
The noodles were just soft enough to chew without issue and even absorbed the mediocre broth well. However, it tasted more like plain factory-made noodles, not rice noodles.
Onto the toppings, and we begin with a downer from the beef balls. I was only given a singular ball, which was hard to chew and clearly store-bought, with how artificial it tasted. Unfortunately, the trend continues with the beef tripe, with an inconsistent texture.
There were 3 strips of tripe, and every single strip had an entirely different toughness and absorbency.
Finally, the beef slices. If you know your pho, you will instantly be able to point out what’s wrong with this. You see, the traditional way to cook beef slices in pho is to lay them onto the noodles raw, drench them in broth, and cook them until they’re medium-rare. This results in a slice that’s slightly pinkish at the centre.
As you can see, the beef slices at NamNam were a dull brown, which meant that they were likely tossed into the broth and cooked normally. I will admit, they were soft and tender, but I can’t let go of the fact that the traditional method wasn’t followed. What’s more, there were only 4 slices.
Final thoughts
Normally, places we visit for our worst-rated series aren’t as bad as people claim them to be. However, I feel like NamNam is actually worse. There was almost zero indication they followed the traditional way of cooking pho, and the number of components in the bowl absolutely did not justify the price. Then again, this is just my opinion. What do you think?
Expected damage: S$16.90 per pax
