Pho Hoa: My Favorite Bowl of Noodles
Discovering new restaurants is always nice, but really, it’s the old standbys that never fail to answer specific cravings. One restaurant that never fails to satisfy me is Pho Hoa. Whenever I go there, I just take a cursory glance at the menu. A ritual I don’t know why I bother with, since I know I’ll be ordering a Pho #4, in either light or small bowl, depending on my appetite.
Pho #4 is actually the Pho Chin Nam, a beef noodle soup with fat glass noodles laden with slices of beef brisket and flank, spring onions, parsley and onion slices. A very flavorful dish in itself, the actual noodle soup is just half the story. Sitting down to a bowl of Pho is a ritual in itself.
As I wait for my food, I usually prepare a dipping sauce of Sriracha, an extremely hot chili sauce from Thailand and hoisin. At this point, they usually serve a dish of fresh bean sprouts, sweet basil, a lemon wedge and some chili slices.
When the noodles arrive, I strip the leaves off the basil and dunk it in my soup, along with the bean sprouts and chili, before squeezing the lemon wedge. While some people would probably have having to undergo several steps before eating, for me, it feels soothingly ritualistic.
What follows is a hearty mélange of flavors and textures, the refreshing mint mingling with the tang of lemon. The hot chili adding more depth to the already flavorful broth. The firm glass noodles offering a nice, soft yet resilient texture against the crisp fresh bean sprouts. The extremely hot sriracha – hoisin mix coating the beef slices I dip in it with a fiery hot sharpness. Bite after bite is satisfyingly hearty and comforting. Even on a hot day, I won’t be able to turn down a bowl of Pho.
Last time I had some Pho, I also tried their Ca Phe Sua Da. This is Vietnamese coffee, served in a special drip container. It’s made of two chambers, the upper part holds the coffee, while the glass that catches the dripping coffee at the bottom holds condensed milk. I was served the coffee in this pot, along with a tall glass containing ice and a spoon. Honestly, I was quite embarrassed because I didn’t know how to go about preparing it, but it was embarrassment that was worth it because it was such a delicious, creamy glass of iced coffee.
Of course, Pho Hoa isn’t just about noodles. They also have great dishes, as J attests. He’s a big fan of their Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio, a meal that combines grilled pork, special fried rice and fried spring rolls. The grilled pork has that appetizing smokey flavor that screams barbecue. The spring rolls are flavorful and satisfying and the special rice serves as the perfect complement to everything. Of course, while I love swiping bites of this dish off J’s plate, it’s still a bowl of Pho for me.
Pho Hoa in the Philippines
http://www.phohoa.com.ph/Pho Hoa International
http://www.phohoa.com/index.html
Mmmmmmm, pho.
I’m interested in that coffee… so do you pour the coffee + condense milk to the glass with ice or do you put the ice into the glass with the coffee and milk?
I looooooooooooooooooooooooove PHO!!!!!!!
I always get the Viet or Thai ice tea i think the coffee is soo very strong for me with the very sweet condensed milk. A little bit of that coffee and i will sleeping 3 days from now lol
Pho lover here too!
My daughter just started getting into Vietnamese food and we made Pho at home recently. It was slurplicious!
Haven’t been to Pho Hoa in a while. Hmm. There’s one in Paseo Center so that’s a must go to place soon in my book.
I love their spicy cuttlefish! I should try the pho sometime.
My boyfriend and I went to a Thai restaurant for dinner last night, and he got the pho. I tried some and it was very good! I think I’ll get that next time we go!
@nina
I poured the whole sticky, sweet mess into my glass with ice. At least I hope that’s how you’re supposed to do it. Yun pala faux pas no? *laughs*
@lalalady7
Hey, that sounds like my kinda of coffee! =))
@JMom
Is it easy to make? And bigger question, is it on your blog? I’d love to try it too. Haven’t had the time to blog hop lately so I haven’t been seeing much of everyone’s updates
@Clair
Balik na! You know you want to!
@aoitenshi
Spicy cuttlefish? What’s it called? Dun sa ricemeals nila? *interested*
@mpkalypso
Pho is love <3
I know. I want to~
Maybe after the trip to Laiya. Waaah. Okane~
Hehehehe. At least that’s something to look forward to after you get back.
love the place.. being consistent and all
Yeah, Pho hoa is absolute love each and every time.
I LUV Pho Hoa. I can always rely on it for a healthy, hearty meal.
Pho Hoa fans of the world unite!
Cafe Sua Da
Is that how it’s supposed to be spelled? I confess, I only followed what was written on the menu. All of their coffee based drinks were written as Ca Phe. ^_^
ah! there was meant to be more to my comment OTL…and not just about the coffee D: I think the html ate the rest of my comment orz
Sorry if the comment came off as meaning something else…didn’t realise not all of my comment came up D: I remember writing about the awesomeness of the coffee..
I feel bad for spamming D: sorry m(__)m
but it ate my comment again D:
Hmm.. I think its spelt Ca Phe too…but being the lazy person I am I just go with Cafe most of the time ^^ It sounds the same when spoken I think..or maybe its just me D:
I was curious, is it just mainly pho? Or is there any other dishes? :o?
Ah, no wonder it sounded like a weird comment. ^_^ No damage done!
There are a lot of other dishes there, I just love the Pho so much so I always order the same thing.