Sherman's Food Adventures: Pho Hong

Pho Hong

Boy, was I ever tired. Playing 4 games of hockey in 3 days will do that to you. After finishing up an early morning session, I was STARVING. All I could think about was food (well, that's what I always think about anyways...). Got home and Viv didn't really feel like going out to eat. I threw a little tantrum and insisted that we do. Guess who won? However, there was one condition, it had to be fast. I thought to myself and decided on Pho (pronounced "pheu"). Well, there was this one Pho place I'd been wanting to try for awhile. It was suggested by one of my hockey buddies; but he suggested it while he was concussed while I was driving him home from the hospital. So, I was a little apprehensive if he was in the right frame of mind when he recommended Pho Hong to me. Besides, the outside of the place looked nothing like a Pho restaurant. Wait, barely any Pho places look like Pho places! Many of them have taken over former restaurants which could range from Greek to Indian. I think in the case of Pho Hong, it was an Italian restaurant?

First thing I noticed while pulling up to the place, the parking lot was almost full. When I entered the restaurant, it confirmed my suspicions, it's one busy place! I rarely see a Vietnamese restaurant this full! Luckily for us, there were some seats left, in fact, we were seated at a both near the window. As you know, I like sitting near the window, more light = better pictures! Speaking of pictures, please admire the photo of the faux grape vines intertwined with purple lights. I guess they put their own spin on the leftover Italian(?) decor. Anyways, I really didn't need to look at the menu closely since I had already made up my mind as to what I was going to eat. I always have the Pho that has everything - beef brisket, beef flank, beef tendon, and beef bible tripe. In Pho Hong's case, this was #10. All of the Pho's were one price, $6.50 for a small and $7.00 for a large (GST included). We also ordered some fried spring rolls.

Before I could finished laughing about the decor, the food came out! I was so hungry, I almost forgot to take a picture. That's why you see the bean sprouts on top of the noodles. That's too bad, since you cannot see how pale looking everthing was. The soup was very light, probably the lightest Vietnamese beef broth I've ever seen. It tasted very light as well. This can be a positive or negative. The positive is that there is no MSG in it (thanks David!), the negative is that it tasted really bland (I guess this wouldn't be an issue if you used a lot of sriracha hot sauce). The meat was also pale in colour and very fatty. So you're thinking that the Pho wasn't good right? No, it was actually pleasant to eat, the portions were generous and it was very middle of the road. The spring roll was good, being crunchy and hot. I noticed that most people were very happy with their food, whether it be a Pho or a rice dish. I guess the reason the place is so busy is the good portions for the price. I'm not saying the food wasn't good, it's just that I've had better.

The Good:
- Large portions at good prices
- Quick service
- Lots of parking

The Bad:
- Pho is a bit bland
- As with a lot of Pho places, restaurant in need of a makeover

Pho Hong
5975 Kingsway
Burnaby, B.C.
604-454-9727

Business Hours:
10:30am - 10:00pm (7 days a week)

Pho Hong on Urbanspoon

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4 comments:

Ben and Suanne said...

Hi Sherman:
Ahh ... Pho Hong. I remember this place as my first Pho. I would go back every now and then if it's not so far from my house. You gotta smell your clothes after the meal -- reeks of pho! Nice!
Ben

Anonymous said...

For mismatched decore, check Jang Mo Jib's location in Kingway - located a couple of blocks east of Metrotown. It used to be a Knight and Day and when they took over, a lot of the structure was left "as is".

David said...

Hi Sherman, my mom works at Pho Hong and I can tell you that the soup for the Pho contains absolutely no MSG content. My mom told me. Thanks for reading this comment.

Sherman Chan said...

Thanks David! I suspected as much, because the soup was quite light. That's a good thing for people who do not like MSG.

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