Pho

[Blue Heron]

This is a continuation of a discussion on Pho that was started in the Taqueria Pancho Villa thread....

Where do you all like to go for pho?  Has everybody tried it?  It's soooo good, you gotta try it if you haven't.

I think I've only been to 4 pho places, one of which is no longer in business (it was on Calif. Ave. in W. Seattle, but is now Kamei Japanese Restaurant).  

I like Pho Bac very much.  I've been to their location on Hanford (off Rainier Ave), and their location up at the top of Little Saigon.  Both are good, and I like the Vietnamese casual ambiance there, too.  

We also go to Pho Hoa 618 S. Weller.  It's an Americanized looking place, but always packed when we go, and the pho is Mr. Heron's favorite.  Where ever we go, we always order the combo, which I believe includes thinly sliced steak, brisket, tendon, meatball & tripe.  Even if it's not on the menu, which might be the case at Pho Bac, one can ask for the combo and they will gladly make it.

And what condiments do you like to put in yours?  I load mine up with bean sprouts, basil, jalapeno, lime and some hot sauce.  For some reason, I don't put much if any hoisin in mine.  Mr. Heron loads his up with everthing except the hot sauce (I think it's called sricchia or something like that?).

[col klink]

Thanks for starting this thread BH because I LOVE PHO. But I'll confess, I've only been to the Thanh Bro's on Aurora and 78th. Deep rich broth and a lot of different pieces of beef to throw in. I always stick to eye of round but I'll vary the other meat, I've tried brisket, well done flank and tripe. I liked the tripe but that was mostly because I liked the idea of eating tripe more so than the tripe itself.

I throw in all of the basil and lime that I can as well as some jalepeno and bean sprouts. I usually throw in some of the rooster sauce or the crushed red chiles in oil. I don't throw in any hoisin because it's just too sweet and destroys the complex profile of the broth.

But of course the icing on the cake would be the homemade cream puffs that come with every bowl. You can also purchase a package of 15 separately for $6.50 (at least I'm pretty sure it's that much).

[Blue Heron]

Wow, cream puffs served w/every bowl?  Now I really have to try Than Bros.  They also have a location in the U district near University Way & 45th.  Anybody been to that location?  A couple of time I almost went, but at the last minute went to Thai Tom instead.  I believe it was at Pho Bac on Hanford St.  that I also tried a fried bread stick/roll kind of thing with my pho, which was about 50 cents extra.  It was ok.

You hit the nail on the head about adding hoisin.  The broth tastes better to me without it, too, although some people might disagree.

Regarding the tripe in the soup.... if my memory serves me, the pho's tripe is kind of honey combed looking, white, and chewy, and tripe in the tacos was completely different looking (& tasting).

[mamster]

Yes, I've been to the Thanh Bros on the Ave, and the creampuffs and pho are just like at the Broadway location.  I haven't been to the Aurora one, but I assume it's about the same.

Now I have to confess that I've only one had non-Thanh Bros pho.  A friend of mine at school told me that he thinks the Thanh broth is too sweet, and he prefers a place near 12th and Jackson.  I can't remember the name, but I have it written down somewhere.  It's not that one that has two locations right next to each other, one in the parking lot.

I like the fresh jalapenos and a bit of hoisin in my pho, and I generally go with a mix of rare beef and brisket, but sometimes I'm in the mood for tendon.  I don't like the tripe at TB, though I've liked other tripe preparations.

[girl chow]

I love pho. But I can't believe I have never been to Than Brothers. I have never tried a cream puff I didn't like, so I must get there. It's now on the list.

As for cooking pho, it's something I like to do in the winter at least once a month. Making it at home is actually pretty easy. I got the recipe from a local chef who specializes in SE Asian cuisine. His recipe calls for a base of chicken or beef stock. I almost always use chicken, although beef is just as tasty, I think.

To the simmering stock, I add 2-3 whole pods star anise, 2-3 whole pods of cardamom, a cinnamon stick and 4 to 5 cloves (hubby likes more, but I think cloves can make the broth bitter) and some peppercorns. Sometimes I throw in several cloves of garlic and some onions and sometimes even mushrooms, but it depends on what I'm in the mood for.  I let that simmer for about 45 minutes, then I strain the broth.  

While the broth is cooking, I usually put a good handful of rice noodles into a bowl of lukewarm water, which usually gets the best results. I like my noodles tender, with a little chew. I find that if you cook them with boiling water, they get gloppy and gooey, that's why I use lukewarm water. I usually let them soak for 30-45 minutes until they get the right texture.

I usually get flank steak and I let it freeze for a bit to harden up, which makes slicing it thin a LOT easier. And it's a lot better if you slice it thin, I think. I slice up the steak just before service and let it cook in the broth for a few minutes (until it's like medium rare), then I add a dash of fish sauce (and sometimes a touch of sugar if the broth doesn't taste balanced), lots and lots of sweet basil (I love the stuff) and/or cilantro (usually whatever I have on hand), slices of jalapeno and green onions and several squirts of sri racha and the noodles. Occasionally, I'll slice up some lemongrass and add that, but hubby really doesn't like lemongrass (he's insane), so sometimes I just skip it. I've also used anchovy paste in my soup, but it always seems really too salty for me. I serve the soup with lime wedges. For the record, I don't like bean sprouts, so I rarely add them or use the ones provided at pho restaurants.

             

I've tried pho at a lot of different holes in the wall. A few years ago, I had quite a list going of my favorite pho places, but I only eat at one or two places now. My favorite place for pho and where I eat it every few weeks is Pho To Chau in the Great Wall Shopping Mall (18320 E. Valley Hwy, Kent). I usually order the nam, ve don, which is a soup with rice noodles and skirt flank. I've tried the ph bo vien, which is pho with meatballs, but I hate the rubbery texture of the meatballs. Their pho with shredded tripe is decent, but it's not my favorite. They also have really good fresh spring rolls (although I like the fresh spring rolls at the Thai place next door better, as I've posted here before).

Ok, so here are the places where I've tried pho in the past. I haven't visited some of these places in a really long time, so they may not be open (call first!)

Andre's Eurasian Bistro, 14125 N.E. 20th St., Bellevue; 425-747-6551 (this is where I got my pho recipe)

Saigon City, 15045 Bellevue-Redmond Road, Bellevue; 425-401-0823

Taste of Saigon, 4019 Factoria Square Mall S.E., Bellevue; 425-643-4656 (the cheapest pho anywhere, I think their pho used to be something like $2.50 a bowl).

Pho Hoa, 15169 N.E. 24th St., Redmond; 425-641-7898.

Pho Saigon, 924 Bronson Way S., Renton; 425-917-0305.

Pho Hoa Vietnamese Restaurant, 2844 N.E. Sunset Blvd., Renton; 425-226-6886. (the best pho in the area)

Pho Xuan Ha, 25006 Pacific Highway S., Kent; 253-941-3388.

Pho Hoan Vietnamese Restaurant, 31871 Gateway Center, Federal Way; 253-529-7288. (I think this was the first place in the south end area serving pho, way back in 1996ish or something like that)

Pho White Center, 9642 16th Ave. S.W., White Center, 206-763-8765.

As for the ID, there are lots of good pho places and many have already been posted here. I like the usual suspects, but there's also this really dingy hole in the wall place 1 or 2 blocks east of the Wing Luke Museum that serves REALLY good meatballs. I know where it's at, but I can't remember the name of it. Anyone know the place I'm talking about?

Happy slurping!

[col klink]

I finally tried another Pho place besides Than Brother's on 99 yesterday. This place is called Pho Saigon and it's on the corner of 45th and Wallingford, right across the street from the QFC in Wallingford. Batgrrrl liked that there were other items on the menu besides pho. I was happy because the house specialty is beef, soft tendon, tripe and meatballs. A combination you can't get at Than Bro's. However, you don't get a puff pastry and it's $6.50 for a medium bowl instead of $4.25. Though the pho was decent, I still felt ripped off since I knew more money was being spent on rent than on the food. The condiment plate had everything that Than Bro's has, bean sprouts (yuck), plenty of basil (in poor, but edible shape), jalepenos and a wedge of lime. To Pho Saigon's benefit, they have $1.50 Coors everyday.

[Blue Heron]

You mean only $1.50 for a glass of beer? Isn't that cheap?

Do you remember what other items were on the menu? ie. did they have spring rolls or salad rolls?

With the weather getting crisper, it's a good time to have some pho again.

[malarkey]

Saigon City on Bell-Red is definitely still in business, as they are close to MS campus and they get a lot of business from geeks who have discovered pho. I'll confess this is the only pho I've had, wait no, that's wrong, I had a version of pho at the Fremont Noodle House before they moved & changed their name. I love and adore it, and Saigon City is one of those places that keeps me sane while working on the eastside. I made it at home once, I think the recipe was out of Saveur, and I'll be damned if the broth wasn't really close to what they serve at Saigon City. I realized that its the fish sauce that makes the broth taste the way it does. At Saigon City you get lime, jalepeno, cilantro, bean sprouts, hot sauce and hoisin, I think. I add everything but the hoisin ;-)

I must try Pho Bac, because I've heard many, many people talk about how good it is.

--Oh, and the small bowl of pho at Saigon City is $5, and its more than enough for me.

[col klink]

Tried a new pho place today. Although I first went to Than Brothers, they weren't quite open yet at 10 so this was the perfect opportunity to try a different one. First drove up to Pho of Aurora, but they were close as was the Pho joint on the corner of 99 and 145th. But Pho Hoa was open.

Not a bad place, same general options as Than Brothers but a little pricier. A small bowl runs $5.25 and a large $5.75. One cool thing about Pho Hoa is that you can make your own like mixing meat balls and steak. Their broth isn't as complex as Than Bros and of course you don't get the cream puff but it's still gets rid of the pho shakes. They also serve a number of different vermicelli dishes and terryaki dishes so if someone the party isn't into pho, they're covered. Of course basil, bean sprouts, lime and sliced jalepenos come with it but the amount of basil is about half of what you get at Than Bros.

I would concider going back, though it would probably coincide with a trip to Central Market, a 1/4 mile further up on 99.

[mb7o]

Pho Hoa (old looking website) is supposedly the country's largest chain of noodle shops. Locations in the int't district (weller between 5th and 6th), east side (NE 24th in Overlake), and througout the world.