Late-Night Pho Until 5am in Geylang: Ăn Là Ghiền

At 2am, when most of Singapore's kitchens are dark, a search for pho near me in the east usually leads to Geylang. Ăn Là Ghiền 5, at 71 Lorong 23 Geylang, Singapore 388386, is a big, busy Vietnamese restaurant that keeps serving until 5am every day. The name translates as eat and you'll be addicted, and the place is less a quiet noodle shop than a Saigon-style eating hall, with a menu of more than 300 dishes, hotpot sets, charcoal grilling and a giant screen for football.

The group's own history is short and fast. Its first restaurant opened in 2019 on Lorong 27 Geylang, next to Aljunied MRT, serving homestyle Vietnamese dishes, hotpot and barbecue. It has since grown to eight outlets around Singapore, each with its own concept, from a claypot rice shop to a vegetarian restaurant on Sago Street in Chinatown. On the group's outlet list, the Lorong 23 branch is the one marked as a party venue with an à la carte menu of more than 300 items, and it is built for groups rather than solo diners.

The noodle soup section is short and focused on the classics. Phở bò tái, flat rice noodles with thinly sliced rare beef, costs S$14.90, and phở tái nạm bò viên, which combines sliced beef with beef balls, is the same price. Phở gà, the chicken version, is also S$14.90. That flat pricing makes ordering for a big table easy. The beef is added raw and cooks in the hot broth, so eat the slices first while they are still soft and pink.

The headline promotion at this outlet is a S$3.90 beef phở, which the group advertises as a special food and drink deal only at 71 Lorong 23 Geylang. At that price it costs less than many hawker-centre noodle bowls, which makes this an easy first visit. Members of the restaurant's VIP card scheme also get 10% off their bill.

Phở is only one corner of the menu. Bún chả Hà Nội, the Hanoi dish of grilled pork with cold rice vermicelli, herbs and a sweet-sour dipping sauce, costs S$15.90 and is a good choice when the night is warm. Bún mắm, at S$14.90, is the pungent fermented-fish noodle soup from the Mekong Delta, a dish that is much harder to find in Singapore than phở and worth ordering if you like strong flavours.

Most large groups here end up around a hotpot. The beef hotpot set, lẩu bò, costs S$49.90, and so do the Thai-style tom yum set and the lẩu mắm, a hotpot built on fermented fish broth with a deep, savoury smell. Hotpots are meant for sharing among several people, and they work well with plates of fried snacks on the side. For a smaller table, a phở each and a couple of shared starters is the better order.

The light snacks section reads like a Saigon street-food tour. Bánh xèo, the crisp Vietnamese pancake with sliced pork, prawns and bean sprouts, costs S$13.90. Chả giò, deep-fried rice paper rolls with marinated pork and vegetables, are S$9.90, and gỏi cuốn, fresh rice paper rolls with rice noodles and prawns, cost S$9.90 too. Bò lúc lắc, the cubed shaking beef served with fries, is S$21.90. Fresh Japanese oysters are S$1.90 each, a promotion the group runs at all of its outlets.

Vietnamese meals balance rich soups with sharp, crunchy salads, and the menu has three good ones. Gỏi xoài tôm, green mango with prawns, and gỏi đu đủ tôm đậu phộng, green papaya with prawns and peanuts, are S$14.90 each. Bò sốt Thái, a spicy and sour beef dish, costs S$24.90 and is big enough to share. Order one salad for every two bowls of phở and the table stays fresh through a long meal.

Late at night, many tables skip noodles entirely and order drinking snacks. Cá kèo chiên giòn, crisp fried mudskipper-style goby fish from the south of Vietnam, is S$14.90. Chân gà ngâm sả tắc, chicken feet pickled with lemongrass and kumquat, is S$12.90, and fried beef balls are S$7.90. Chả thịt heo nướng, grilled pork patties, cost S$12.90, and a side of pickled vegetables is S$5.90. These are the plates that Vietnamese diners pair with cold beer while the football is on.

If phở feels too heavy at 3am, the porridge section is a gentle alternative. Chicken porridge, cháo gà, and minced beef porridge are S$12.90 each, as is the seafood porridge. The white clam porridge, cháo nghêu, is a regional speciality made with the clams Singaporeans call la la. A bowl of porridge and a plate of fried spring rolls make a classic late-night supper in Vietnam.

Ăn Là Ghiền 5 is open daily from 11am to 5am. Lunch is the calmer time to come for a quick bowl. The group says its venues can host more than 250 guests, with private rooms, a karaoke system and a large LED screen for presentations and live football, so evenings suit birthdays and company parties. On big football nights, book ahead through the restaurant's online reservation page.

Aljunied MRT station on the East-West Line is the nearest station, a short walk south to Lorong 23. The restaurant sits in the grid of numbered lorongs between Sims Avenue and Geylang Road. After eating, stroll along Geylang Road, known across Singapore for its late-night fruit stalls, frog porridge and claypot shops. The area stays lively late into the night, and the old shophouse rows along the lorongs are an interesting contrast with the new condominiums nearby.

Ăn Là Ghiền 5, 71 Lorong 23 Geylang, Singapore 388386. Hours: 11am to 5am daily. Phở bò tái S$14.90, phở gà S$14.90, bún chả Hà Nội S$15.90, beef hotpot set S$49.90. S$3.90 beef phở promotion at this outlet only. Founded in 2019 on Lorong 27 Geylang, now eight outlets. Website: anlaghien.sg.