Exploring the non-pho side of Pho 88

270 Spadina Ave
Phone: Not available

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Posted by Tanja
April 18, 2006

Currently 3.71/5
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Rating: 3.7/5 (7 votes cast)

The last time I did a Chinatown eatery post, I spoke highly of the cheap and yummy pho noodle dishes served up at Pho Hung.

You all suggested I hit up Pho 88 for even more noodle goodness. And so, a couple friends and I did just that, and this became a Pho series. The verdict? 88 was mostly a hit, but a little bit o' miss too.

Once we sat down with our menus, no one was in the mood for broth, so we tried out 1) "broken rice" & pork , 2) a vegetarian rice noodle with tofu, and 3) some vermicelli noodles with pork strips & spring rolls.

A thumbs up from for dish #1 which I didn't even get to photograph, it was devoured so quickly.

#2 was mine, and while slightly oily, was actually pretty nice and fresh tasting. The flat rice noodles were cooked perfectly (pictured above).

And over behind door #3, the owner of this dish was heard mumbling, "pork strips? this is freakin bacon. they could have written 'bacon'.. lots of crusty bacon."

While, yes, bacon is pork, she was not pleased with unexpected cut, so we stopped elsewhere for a dessert of discounted easter chocolates.

Pho 88 - 270 Spadina (a couple windows south of Dundas).

The Pho series will continue: Next time we'll head over to "Pho 66" at St. Clair & Old Weston to see what the slightly more satanic, and less Heil-Hitlerish, numbers might mean for the food.

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For some good Vietnamese food you may want to hit Ossington between Dundas & Queen, or College west of Dufferin.

Posted by: highbrow at April 18, 2006 8:01 AM

It's so funny, I inadvertently ended up there last night for a quick chow. As soon as I saw the name on the menu though, I knew I'd read about it here.

Pretty cool.

Question: I got into a tiff with the boy about whether it's pronounced "Poe" or "Foe". Which is it? I know in Thai, the "ph" is always pronounced with the h silent, so just as the regular English "p".

Posted by: Christina at April 22, 2006 12:09 PM

As far as I know it would be "Foe"! At least that's what I've learned...

Posted by: Tanja at April 22, 2006 1:25 PM

its pronounced "FAH"

Posted by: Meathole at June 12, 2007 11:11 PM

The correct pronunciation is actually 'fuh'... atleast that's what they call it in Vietnam...

I got pretty good at ordering 'pho bo' & 'bia hoi'
(beef pho & home-brewed beer)

Posted by: Kyler at July 9, 2008 1:39 AM