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Pho Saigon, a closer look
See what the Yelper's are saying about Pho Saigon!
Aloha!
5/5/10 - Quickie today. Kumi and I are taking a visit to Pho Saigon on Keeaumoku St., one of the busier pho shops around town. I'd been here only once before, about two years ago, after which I really didn't care to come back. I found the pho a bit too light, its noodles too soft, and their kalbi just shy of horrendous. Now, I still maintain that I've never, ever had a really bad bowl of Vietnamese pho, but there have been many that, when compared to standard bearer's like Pho 1, To Chau, or Pho Thinh, leave a little too much to be desired.
But that was two years ago. Kumi has been coming to Pho Saigon once in a while with her work buddies, since it's close enough to visit on lunch break. Me, I dunno, I was hopeful for a better experience this time, only without venturing quite so far as to try their kalbi again!
Pho Saigon is located near the bottom of Keeaumoku St., close to both Ala Moana Center and Wal-Mart, in the Sam Sung Plaza Center. Parking is right there fronting the store, where an attendant is usually present to take a few of your precious dollars.
Inside, it's relatively clean and cheery, with glass dividers, wood panels (just surface stuff!), and brass posts that keep things interesting. It's not the biggest place around, and they could probably afford an expansion, as there's always a good crowd during peak hours, sometimes even extending to a line outside.
We usually grab some type of appetizer, either a spring roll, summer roll, papaya salad, or something of that nature, but today was real simple, with both Kumi and I ordering a single bowl of soup-noodle each. Like clockwork, Kumi requested a hot, steaming beef pho. The complementary (could use complimentary, as well, for you English buffs!) plate of veggies was typical, a mix of fresh basil, mint, bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, chili peppers, and lemon, meant to be shared between the both of us:
We usually make good use of it all, too, especially the basil and mint. I know people love ngo gai, or saw-toothed herb, including Kumi, but I, myself don't care much at all for the hard, bitter leaf, which, yeah, can have edges like a saw if you catch it at a wrong angle!
Would the pho be any different for me this time?
Not really.
Looks pretty darn good, but unfortunately, I still find the broth a bit too much on the light side. I could taste all the right herbs and that certain depth of beef broth, but I really had to sit there for a while, my brain-waves spread-eagle'd and reaching out for any hint of pho pleasure. The great thing about this dish, however, is that it's always eaten with the complementary (or complimentary!) sauces of garlic chili, hoisin, Sriracha, or whatever else they decide to include on your table, all of which are absolutely cram-packed with salty, spicy, in-your-face flavors! Even so, the first thing you always wanna do, before veggies, before sauces, before spices, before anything, is to taste the broth itself, all alone, just to see how worthy a place it is. But alas, it was pretty much the same for me, this time and last.
The bowl I actually ordered myself is a Northern Vietnamese specialty, and, although not particularly uncommon, is also not a dish every Vietnamese restaurant will include on their menu. It's called Hue (not pronounced hyooo, but hweey, kinda) noodle soup, or bun bo hue. A friend who's been to Vietnam several times and loves the culture says it was his favorite soup/noodle, as it seemed to carry a certain prestige all its own, as there are so many more ingredients added to it than a normal pho, and you can instantly tell, too, with its deep-red color and myriad of ingredients:
There's lots of variations associated with bun bo hue, with a broth primarily made from beef and beef bones but possibly other meats, as well, while also coming kicked-up with fish sauce, shrimp paste, sambal oelek chili sauce, lemongrass, and other such ingredients. After that, there's onions, green onions, sliced meatballs, blood gelatin, and, of course, vermicelli noodles. Dang, I forgot again! When my brain is somehow working on all cylinders, I'll always remember to ask for the flat-shaped pho noodles instead of these white spaghetti-looking strands, which I absolutely do not like, for some reason. Besides getting soft and mushy much easier, and coming as slippery as a box of live unagi, they just don't taste as good, for some reason! What it is, I have no idea.
Aaah, one big ingredient I forgot to mention was another part of the cow, namely - that tough-gelatinous tissue called tendon. It's supposed to contain lots of collagen, which Kumi is always after since it promotes healthy skin. Taste-wise, it doesn't exude much of anything outside of bland, so it all depends on how you cook and season it; texture-wise, it's either tough and rubbery when not done right or soft and tender if done correctly. This bowl was loaded with the stuff, and it was done correctly, all hidden in surprisingly large quantities, deep under the broth. More than half went straight to Kumi's bowl:
You may also notice the cuts of beef are much thicker than the thin slices in Kumi's pho, and each chunk came soft, tender, and dee-licious! They were the best part of the bowl! You'd think, though, with such a vividly red, complex-looking broth, that it came with plenty of big flavors and fiery-hot peppers, but it really wasn't too high on either, actually, prompting me to employ the same hoisin/chili sauce used for Kumi's pho. It was just, well, a bit lacking in that extra something that sold both Kumi and I on Vietnamese restaurants a long, long time ago.
I don't know what it is. People love this place. Crowds are always here. I mean, like I said, neither bowl was terrible (although their kalbi a while back came close!), and I'd come again when meeting Kumi on lunch-break, but truth be told, I'd probably try to veer her away to somewhere else first. I'd like to offer a better report, though, as the cheery server was nice enough to save the cell phone I left by accident! I was thinkin' "who is this Vietnamese lady answering my phone?" Thank you so much kind ma'am, and don't worry, Kumi will still be coming back with all her work-friends, kay? Hey, you folks aren't hurting for business, anyway, and I'm just one little voice, after all!
Before takin' off, I'll leave you with one more shot of my bun bo hue, covered with all those fresh veggies and herbs:
I'm in, and I'm out! Have a great and wonderful week! Just bought a Canon Vixia HD camcorder, so beee-ware!!!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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