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Vietnamese, page 2
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Yeah, yeah, pho - but don't forget about other great soup noodles dishes like this chicken egg noodle from Pho Thinh. |
Pho Thinh. A Closer Look. 2080 S. King St. in McCully/Moiliili. 947-3638. Lunch and dinner daily, except closed Sunday. Parking outside store. Prices: $. Map. This relatively clean, bright store had a relatively slow start, but people are now starting to catch on, with ever-growing crowds to prove it! It serves up all manner of excellent Vietnamese cuisine, not the least of which, of course, is their pho, which is top-knotch. Vermicelli dishes are also popular, with thin rice noodles in a bowl, topped with bbq beef, pork, chicken, tofu, and other items, as are rice dishes, as well. On weekends you'll find a couple of other specials, including a delicious crab meat noodle soup, with a super-rich broth exploding with flavors. Egg noodles soups are also delicious, its bolder, but thinner noodles a great match for all the delicious broths they serve here.
Pho Bistro 2. 1694-C Kalakaua Ave. in McCully/Moiliili. 949-2727. Lunch and dinner daily. Parking in lot next to building, entrance on fern St. Prices: $. Map. This is one of your newer Vietnamese restaurants, with friendly service and a decent atmosphere. Besides pho there are lemon grass chicken plates, beef short ribs, grilled pork, oxtail soup, seafood stir-fry’s, and more. For appetizer’s, not only do they have the always-found spring and summer rolls, but also an autumn roll! Don’t know if that’s a universal term or if it’s a special name just here, but it comes with tofu, vermicelli noodles, and various vegetables in a rice paper wrapper.
Pho Tri. 1307 Kalakaua Ave. in McCully/Moiliili. 953-2279. Lunch and dinner daily except closed Tuesday dinner. Parking on street. Prices: $. Map. This popular shop at the top of Kalakaua Ave., right in-between Young and Beretania Street’s, serves a good bowl of pho. They carry all the traditional Vietnamese favorites here, including many variations of pho, noodle plates with bbq meats, rice plates with bbq meats, curries, fish, and a host of vegetarian dishes. Perhaps the most interesting item here is a fondue. Most often equated with melted cheese in an earthenware pot that is dipped with bread, here the pot is filled with a broth of tomato, lemon grass, onion, and ginger, then dipped with raw beef, seafood, and/or vegetables to cook. When done to the degree of your liking, the items are rolled in rice paper, along with a few other fresh veggies, and then dipped into their special sauce.
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A Northern Vietnamese specialty not offered at every Vietnamese restaurant, hue soup noodle (bun bo hue) can be found at Pho Saigon near the Ala Moana Shopping Center. |
Pho Saigon. A Closer Look. 655 Keeamoku St. near Ala Moana S.C. 955-1069. Lunch and dinner daily. Parking outside store or on street. Prices: $. Map. This place is always packed, maybe because of the busy location on Keeaumoku st. right outside of the Ala Moana Shopping Center, with a large menu and lots of pictures to help you out. I didn't find the food quite up to par here, but perhaps the crowds know better than me!
| Spicy beef pho from Pho Five-0 in Pearl City. |  |
Pho Five-0. A Closer Look. 98-020 at the Waimalu Shopping Center in Pearl City. 487-5091. 8am-10pm daily. Parking in center lot. Prices: $. Map. You won't find any full-color posters of Steve McGarrett or Danno around, but you will find some decent pho. A great alternative to the lines often forming outside of Cuu Long close by at Pearl Kai, this cozy, clean, and comfortable spot has as large a line-up of Vietnamese dishes as you'll see anywhere. There are noodle soups galore, curries, crispy noodle plates, bbq meats, fried rice, stir-fry's, and more. Vegetarian spring rolls are very good, coming filled with carrots, mushroom, bean thread noodle, and taro.
Pho South King. 2743 S. King St. in McCully/Moiliili. 942-4577. Lunch and dinner daily, except closed on Sunday. Parking lot behind restaurant or on street. Prices: $. Map. This tiny hole-in-the-wall has a cheap, light pho that will cater to those who really don’t care for the richer, heavier broths found in other Vietnamese restaurants. The single staff member serving us was part of the family ownership and spoke just barely enough English so that we could communicate, but was nevertheless warm-hearted and attentive to our needs – never mind that we were the only customers in the restaurant! Though the bowl of beef pho we ordered was of a normal-sized proportion, we had quite a laugh over the small portions of basil and bean sprouts given, and even more so when the lettuce wraps that came with the spring rolls were not of the leafy green or red-leaf types, but actually a few layers of boring head lettuce! It would have probably upset us at any other place, but the mom-and-pop nature of this little restaurant and the homely, friendly attitude of our host actually played up to the cuteness and feel of this hidden spot. The one thing they do have that I haven’t seen anywhere else is a really good, home-made lemongrass/garlic chili paste, which is the perfect complement to the light, yet nicely flavored bowl of pho.
Ba-Le. A Closer Look. 377 Keahole st. at the Hawaii Kai Town Center (map shown), 396-6556 and various other locations. Lunch and dinner daily. Prices: $. Map. Ba-Le is a large fast-food franchise that gained popularity for its French-inspired Vietnamese sandwiches. They are served on French baguettes created at the Ba-Le bakery in Kalihi, and are filled with meat, tofu, and vegetable choices like carrot and daikon radish, which are cut into thick julienne portions. The different locations vary in taste and choices, with the Hawaii Kai Town Center location being, by far, the best I’ve experienced so far. The sizeable bowl of pho and hot spring rolls are good enough to compete with sit-down restaurants, as are the many other entrees, like garlic shrimp, beef or oxtail stew, seafood crispy noodle, and several combination plates. For an interesting twist, try the delicious beef stew pho, which is pho noodles in a mix of pho broth and stew. For dessert, the custard flan is presented in a cheap plastic cup, but it is quite frankly, the best flan I have ever had, coming with a beautifully silky consistency and simple, sweet taste.
| Simple and down-home, Pho Viet in Aiea has a good, hearty, aromatic bowl of pho. |  |
Pho Viet. A Closer Look. 99-163 Moanalua Rd. in Aiea. 486-7688. Lunch and dinner daily, except closed at 4pm Monday. Parking in lot behind building. Prices: $. Map. The sign out-front says best soup in town! I don’t know about the best, but yeah, they do have a very good soup here, making their pho one of the better selections anywhere. As most Vietnamese restaurants, furnishings are simple and humble, with a small, old-school dining room of booths and tables. Bbq meats are also very good, but just be aware that portions are about as small as they get. Pass on the Vietnamese pancakes, as the flour batter is mushy and tasteless.
Pho 777. A Closer Look. 1960 Kapiolani Blvd. at the McCully Shopping Center. 955-7770. Lunch and dinner daily, late-night till 12am Sunday-Thursday, 1am Friday and Saturday. Parking in Center lot. Prices: $$. Map. I knew you were going to ask, but no, this place has no relationship to the former Vietnamese restaurant housed in the McCully Shopping Center, Viet Café. With a beautiful dining room (comparatively speaking) and a large assortment of Vietnamese cuisine available, like fondues, stir-fry’s, porridges, bbq meats, French bread sandwiches, soups, and more, they certainly have an advantage over the competition. However, there are drawbacks in slightly higher prices, a rude and almost non-existent customer service, and a pho that is on the bland side. Some of the more interesting dishes here include catfish simmered in peppers and spices, shrimp simmered in unsalted bacon, coconut juice prawns, and fried quail in butter.
