Pho Vietnam: Comfort In a Bowl
1280 Kennedy Road
Phone: 416.755.0909
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The tired-looking sign in the parking lot warns of "BEEF N ODLE S" inside, but the crowded tables inside make it clear that the diners value food over exterior decor in this popular Scarborough restaurant.
Pho is comfort in a bowl: a flavourful broth, rice noodles, and boiled beef, garnished with herbs and spices. For those wondering, the word is pronounced "fuh" (rhymes with "duh") and as Frank Kocis pointed out in his Pho Linh review, there are probably more pho joints in the city than there are opinions about them.
The origin of pho is hotly debated among pho fanatics. Some theorize that although the Vietnamese valued cows more as beasts of burden rather than their meat, the French occupation of Hanoi in the mid-1880s had an influence on local cuisine. Others insist that the French had nothing to do with it, but that the Chinese alone invented the dish.
Whatever the history, there's no denying the appeal of a savoury bowl of pho. I order the most basic pho selection on the menu: P1 House Special Beef with Noodle (see photo at top), $6.25 for a "small" bowl (quotes because of the generous serving). The broth is flavourful and beef tender, served with bean sprouts garnished with Thai basil.
I haven't had much experience with pho (or eating connective tissue in general), so don't recognize tripe.
ME: "Ooo, this is an interesting kind of noodle!"
MY FRIEND: "Um, that's not a noodle."
ME: "What is it?"
MF: "I'll tell you after you try some."
I take a tentative bite. A bit rubbery and bland, but I suspect it's an acquired taste. I also try a piece of gristly tendon, reminding myself that tripe and tendon are important elements in good pho.
We order the spring rolls appetizer (A6, $4.50 for small), and they're amazing: crisp (not tough or overly chewy) on the outside, savoury inside, with a tasty dipping sauce.
The strawberry shake ($3.99) is refreshing, sweet and light. I'd come back in a heartbeat for just the shake and spring rolls.
One of my companions ordered C12: rice with fried lemon grass, hot peppers, curry chicken ($7.25):
He lets me sample, and I decide I'm going to order this next time I visit.
Another had B12, the vermicelli with grilled chicken, meatballs and bean curd ($7.99):
We share A13, the Vietnamese sausage with ground pork in steamed rice flour rolls ($6):
The ground pork rolls are good, but the slices of Vietnamese sausage look and taste like bologna to me.
A tip for those looking for a place for quiet conversation: make sure you get a table as far from the kitchen area as possible, where noise from the blender can be distracting.
If you're in the mood for more pho, do check out blogTO's reviews of Pho 66, Pho 88, Pho Hung, Phi Linh, Golden Turtle and Pho Phuong.
Comments (5)
Hehe, I always like watching rookies eat tripe.
And I've been pronouncing it "faux" all this time! My face is red.
Have visited twice. First, a Tuesday for lunch - 3 girls. 12-1:30P. By 1P, restaurant was full - surprised me for a Tuesday. Ordered Pad Thai with Chicken ($10), Vermicelli Noodle with Stir Fried Beef and Vegetable ($7) and large order (4) Chicken Spring Rolls ($8.50). EXCELLENT food. One of the best Pad Thais and Spring Rolls I've had. Good service. Could be tight to get in and out in an hour though. Great portions - large in fact. After we ate to the point of being stuffed, fair portion of Pad Thai and Vermicelli Beef to take home.
Second visit - Thursday night dinner with husband. 7:30P-8:30P. Arrived and there were about 10 people there. Lots of empty tables. While there another 20 people came in. Again, Pad Thai - Shrimp, Pork, Tofu ($10) and small order (2) Shrimp & Pork Spring Rolls ($4.50). Great portions. Fresh food. LOTS of meat, veggies in Pad Thai. A Pad Thai to be proud of. One that you would make for your own family at home. No skimping on the ingredients here. Cilantro on the side for those who don't like it.
Both visits:
- Excellent green tea (complimentary)
- Ice water (need to ask for it)
- Assortment of hot sauces, whole peppers, condiments on table
- Lunch + Dinner menu are same (items and prices)
- Clean, contemporary decor
- Seating for 60 easily
- 2 Big screen TV's
- Lots of free parking
- Fast wait service when you need something (can be difficult getting their attention)
* Take-Out available. No delivery. No take-out menu (too bad, I think they'd do a lot of take-out biz).
* To Take-Out - either Place order in person or call ahead and pick-up.
Will definitely return again and again....
I've been to Pho Vietnam a few times already and love it. I usually go to Pho Dau Bo at Markham & Lawrence 'cause it's close to my place but Pho Vietnam's spring rolls are bigger! Yes, that does it for me! Nice review!
HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE Service!!- Extremely rude!
4 of us went down here around 1pm. Based on our experiences with pho places, we know the portions are large so we decided to order two dishes so we could share them. Our waitress took our order.
Then, she came back to kick us out, saying we can't sit there in the restaurant because we only gave in 2 orders. We said alright we can wait (you would think we were still being nice by wanting to buy their food) and do it take out but she gave us the funniest and weirdest look ever, brought our order back to the cash area (I guess to ask the owner if that was OK) and didn't come back to confirm if they were going to give us our order or not. So after a few minutes, we decided to leave the place. When we got up, the owner yelled at us while we were in the restaurant and chased us OUTSIDE, called US rude because we put an order in (they never even confirmed) and that they asked us nicely (if "nice" means giving your customers a funny look for asking to do take-out, then the owner and her servers need customer service training) and told us never to come back again. I
have never EVER been treated by a restaurant SO rudely. I would understand if we're taking up table space that other customers could use and the restaurant could make more money from but the place WASN'T EVEN FULL! Ridiculous!
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