Vietnamese Archives - Page 3 of 4

In Four Beakers

DD Mau: ‘Give Me Mau’ Dining Package Review

November 11, 2012

DD Mau is a modern Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich shop. It’s located close to the Yaletown Skytrain. They sell drinks, salads, vermicelli bowls, and sandwiches.

Vaneats is offering a dining package right now that gives you a full sandwich and a drink for $9.50. The items included are:

1/2 Grilled Lemongrass Chicken sandwich
1/2 Crispy Roasted Pork sandwich
1 Smoothie (Choice of avocado or honeydew)

If you are planning to come check out DD Mau for lunch anyways, might as well grab one of the passes and save a few bucks!

You get to choose between 2 smoothies. I bought one more addition to the package so I could try both.

Avocado Smoothie is my all time favorite drink here. You can’t go wrong with this! It’s made of almond milk and avocados. Seriously, you need to get this smoothie!

Honey Dew Smoothie does not have the same consistency as the avocado smoothie. It was very icy and hard to slurp up from the straw. The flavours were definitely there, but way too icy.

Grilled Lemongrass Chicken has grilled chicken thigh, pickled veggies, cilantro, sweet-chili aioli and jalapenos.

Crispy Roasted Pork has crispy roasted pork, sauteed scallions, pickled veggie, cilantro, garlic aioli and jalapenos. I am in love with this half of the sandwich! It has crispy pork skin and the juicy tender meat! It’s like a Vietnamese Meat & Bread.

Overall, KoreanGirl and I enjoyed the items that we were part of this package. One whole sandwich was too large for us to handle, so we each ate one flavour.

Words of Wisdom:

Limited Seating
All of the sandwiches are good, you can’t go wrong

We Rate DD Mau:

Address:
1239 Pacific Blvd
Vancouver, BC

Website:
ddmau.ca

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1239+Pacific+Blvd+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1239+Pacific+Blvd,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6Z+2V2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Cafe

DD Mau: Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches in Yaletown

October 28, 2012

DD Mau is a modern Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich shop. It’s located close to the Yaletown Skytrain. They sell drinks, salads, vermicelli bowls, and sandwiches.

Avocado Smoothie ($4.50) is made with fresh avocados and almond milk. It’s my all time favorite smoothie! The texture is great and the taste of avocado goes so well with the almond milk.

Thai Tea Latte is a new item they just introduced. I’ve never had anything like it, but it had an array of different spices and flavours. It was refreshing and delicious.

DD Mau Iced Coffee ($3.50) has espresso, sweet condensed milk, and Ice. M said it was the best iced coffee he has had so far. The owner said there is a secret ingredient inside! She wouldn’t tell us, but it was yummy!

Braised Sate Short Rib with Caramelized Onions and Watercress ($12) . This was their special feature when we were there. It’s more expensive than their regular Banh Mi Sandwiches, but M really enjoyed the flavours inside.

The sandwich is cut in half, so its easier to eat. The short ribs were very tender and went well with the pickled vegetables . M liked how the bread was a bit softer than most of the other Vietnamese sandwich places, so it doesn’t hurt the top of your mouth.

Crispy Roasted Pork ($8.80) has loads of duck and the addictive crackling! Kind like Meat & Bread, but with a Vietnamese twist.

Overall, M and I enjoyed the items that we had there. Some items can be expensive like their special sandwiches, but their regular sandwiches are still yummy.

Words of Wisdom:

Limited Seating
All of the sandwiches are good, you can’t go wrong

We Rate DD Mau:

Address:
1239 Pacific Blvd
Vancouver, BC

Website:
ddmau.ca

In Causeway Bay

Perfume River Restaurant 香河越南餐廳: Vietnamese Food In Hong Kong

October 10, 2012

Hong Kong at night is very breath-taking! The architecture of the buildings always impress me. Staying out late makes people hungry, so we went on the search for some food.

My grandpa took us to Perfume River Restaurant in Causeway Bay. Perfume River Restaurant is a 2-storey restaurant that sells Vietnamese food. The restaurant was pretty full, so we thought it would be a good place to eat at.

This is the first floor. When you walk to the back, there are stairs that will lead you to the 2nd floor.

Rare Beef Noodle with Soup

Cooked Beef Noodle with Soup

Lime, chilli peppers, and fish sauce is given with pho.

Pork Skewers

Beef Skewers

Vegetable and beef medley

Steamed Mushroom Rice Squares

Since the restaurant is close to Times Square, we decided to walk around. Plus, some shops were still open too!

Overall, Perfume River Restaurant service was very horrible. We had to pour our own tea since the waitress was busy talking to the other servers. The food quality is pretty poor as well. I would probably avoid this place next time.

We Rate Perfume River Restaurant:

Address:
89 Percival Street, Causeway Bay

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=89+Percival+Street,+Causeway+Bay&hnear=89+Percival+St,+Hong+Kong&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Hastings-Sunrise

Bao Chau Vietnamese: Cheap and Delicious

April 30, 2012

Bao Chau Vietnamese is located on Hastings near Playland, they sell the usual dishes like pho, rice and vermicelli noodle dishes. They are best known for their cheap prices and good eats. Simple Vietnamese food.

After my last final exam at SFU, TaiwaneseGirl and BusanGirl decided to head here to grab some food. After a 3 hour exam full of stress, food is needed to make life happier again.

Spring rolls, tiger prawn and grilled pork hash on rice vermicelli was delicious but the tiger prawn was very strange tasting. It was like a beef meatball with a small shrimp inside. Not my favorite item, but the spring roll and the pork hash was yummy.

House Special Beef Noodle (Small- $6.50) was loaded with a variety of beef and the garnishes looked fresh. BusanGirl really enjoyed it because it was cheap and filled her up.

Rice Vermicelli with BBQ Pork Chop and Spring Roll comes with a side of fish sauce to flavour the noodles. We like how there are lots of toppings to the noodles, so the ratio is perfect.

Overall, the food is good for the price, but it won’t be the most sexy looking restaurant out there. It’s quite popular because of their food, so if you can stand some really outdated decor, you’ll be alright!

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in rear
Cash Only
Under $10
Any of the pho with rare beef tastes pretty good

We Rate Bao Chau Vietnamese:

Address:
2717 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

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In Cafe

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant: Avocado Smoothie & Banh Mi

April 29, 2012

Joyeaux Cafe is a very popular Vietnamese Restaurant in Downtown. They are always busy for lunch and most people make a reservation to ensure they get a spot to sit. Their portions are large and their prices are cheap, so it attracts a lot of people during the lunch hour rush.

My coworkers and I had a busy day, so we decided to have lunch at 10:30am and this place was empty. No surprise at all since no one has lunch that early. As we walked inside, the waitress greeted us and gave us menus. I was very surprised since this never happens during the lunch time rush. The waitress even spent time explaining a few dishes on the menu and made a few recommendations.

Avocado Shake ($3.99) was something I wanted to try for a long time at this place. It is a bit expensive, but it was really good. Very smooth with the subtle taste of the avocado. It seems like a strange combination, but I love it.

Vietnamese Sub with Grilled Pork ($4.99) had a lot of filling inside. The bun was hallowed out and filled in with the vegetables and meat. Everything stays nice and neat inside the bread, so no spillage occurs. You even get 2 pieces of fruit.

Overall, super impressed by the service before the lunch time rush. It starts to get busy at noon, so if you don’t have reservations, aim to arrive at 11:30am.

Words of Wisdom:

Large amount of menu items
Noodle soup is most popular ordered item
Good quality Viet Sub/Banh Mi
Under $10
Should make reservations if you want to get a seat right away

We Rate Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant:
Address:
551 Howe St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.joyeaux-cafe-restaurant.com/

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In Hastings-Sunrise

Song Huong: Beef Seven Ways

March 7, 2012

Song Huong ia a Vietnamese Restaurant near Nanaimo and 1st ave. KoreanGirl wanted to try out their Beef Seven Ways (Bo 7 Mon).It was about $26 and it serves 2 – 3 people. It’s a good item to order since you get a sense of the other Vietnamese dishes besides Pho and the rice dishes.

After we made the order, a few dishes came flying back to our table. There was no explanation into what we were supposed to do and what items went with which item. So.. good thing KoreanGirl and Mandu have common sense.

The first dish is a do-it-yourself rice wrap. You are given a hot-pot, raw beef, dehydrated rice wraps, vegetables, noodles, and sauce to create them. The waitress will turn on the stove and just wait for the broth to get hot enough to dunk your meat into it.

The raw beef looks pretty amazing for any meat eaters to set their eyes upon. Since the slices are so thin, you only need to dunk your meat into the hot-pot for a few seconds.

The other items to include in your rice wraps are the noodles and a plate of vegetables.

The plate has a large amount of herbs, pickled vegetables, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and bananas.

You also get some hot sauce, peanuts and onions. If you are allergic to certain things, best to let them know ahead of time.

The rice wraps are dehydrated so you need to soak them first before putting your wrap together.

You just throw it in the bowl with hot water.

Then you take it our and begin assembling your roll.

Mine turned out quite ugly, but at least it ended up in my belly. It can get a bit messy if you can’t roll it up tight enough.

Beef Congee was ok, but not as good as Chinese restaurants. I found it was a bit bland and needed something to it.

Grilled beef slices on pickled cabbage was good. There wasn’t a lot of meat, but I really like pickled vegetables.

This dish has 3 types of meat sausages. I initially didn’t know there was a difference since they kinda all look the same. A few of them had different subtle tastes to them. This dish was particularly everyone’s favorite.

Beef Meatball was a mixture of mushrooms, noodles and other items. It was already cut up in quarters and you can just share it around the table. All of us didn’t particularly like this since it was a bit bland and tough.

It’s not exactly 7 dishes, but it’s 7 varieties of beef. The meal was good for the price and made us 3 full. Now we know there is more to Vietnamese cuisine than just pho.

Words of Wisdom:

Lots of space inside and good for large groups
Free parking on the side
Ok service, but not great
Good affordable prices

We Rate Song Huong:

Address:
1613 Nanaimo St
Vancouver, BC

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In Cambodian

Phnom Penh: Delivered By Foodsters

December 16, 2011

The hardest thing about studying for final exams on campus is how crappy the food is…and how nothing is open at night. M, Scarface and I were studying and we really didn’t want to go off the hill to find food…plus there is nothing good nearby anyways.

There is this new service called Foodsters.ca and they deliver food from any restaurant to you. Pretty awesome concept especially when certain popular restaurants don’t deliver… or are out of range.

Since the three of us wanted some killer study food, we wanted Phnom Penh but didn’t want to do much of anything. So, we put in a request to Foodsters.ca and it was delivered in about 30-40 mins. Pretty good timing since we were near Coquitlam. All you need is a credit card.

We ordered two Vietnamese Ice coffees, Chicken wings, Butter beef and the luc lac. Perfect set of items for our hungry stomaches.

Butter Beef ($8.95) was much smaller than what you would have in the restaurant. Take out food always seems to be a bit smaller than dining -in. They give you this large constrainer of sauce and trust me, do not pour this onto the meat! Best to dip the beef slices into the cup of sauce. Nonetheless it was delicious!

Deep Fried Chicken Wings ($12.50) is another staple dish that you must get! It is topped off with garlic, onion, and other stuff. They left out the lemon and pepper sauce to go with the wings, which is sad since you can taste more the salt or MSG.

Luc Lac with egg is a rice dish with a bunch of tender marinated beef. This beef was really really tender!! It also comes with side of salad and cucumbers to balance out the meaty dish. You probably don’t want to pour all the sauce on top either since unless you wanting it to drown in that sauce.

It didn’t come with the complementary beef bone soup 🙁

Overall, it was pretty painless ordering from Foodsters.ca . It’s great for lazy students who just want food delivered to them! Since there is a delivery fee, it’s always best to order in large groups so it doesn’t seem like a huge addition to your bill. They also have a Christmas Campaign going on right now where you can donate 10 cans of food and receive free delivery!

The food from Phnom Penh was delicious as usual, but it was missing a few items. I had about the same meal when I was dining-in and this is how it com pared (https://foodology.ca/?p=7363). I always find that the usual items that are most popular will tingle your taste buds. Good price with good food! Can’t go wrong.

Words of Wisdom:

Marinated Butter beef, Chicken Wings, Luc Lac, and Deep fried squid!!!

We Rate Phnom Penh:

Address:

244 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

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In Downtown

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant: Delicious Vietnamese Noodles in Downtown

November 28, 2011

Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant is this amazing Vietnamese restaurant on Howe Street near Pender. Just walking by, you wouldn’t expect that this place has some pretty delicious and cheap pho! I never knew this place existed until Flo told me to join her for lunch!

The interior is very large, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Most lunch hours are packed! People actually make reservations to ensure they get a spot. Best to either come earlier or late… or just make a reservation.

They have a lot of choices on their menu…. most items are very affordable and under $10.

They also have pho / vietnamese noodle soups! If you love to look at photos, they have a few photos on a wall too.

Fresh Young Coconut ($4.50) can either come in the whole coconut or takeout in a cup. Flo got her drink in a take out cup since she didn’t have to scrape the coconut meat herself.

Cold Vietnamese Coffee ($3.50) doesn’t have the dripping apparatus, but makes the drink less messy. It is still as strong and delicious as usual. Good for the afternoon caffeine kick.

Special Beef Noodle Soup ($7.99) has a little bit of everything. The size of it is pretty large, so you really get your moneys worth. Its not the best quality, but it’s good near the Waterfront/ Burrard area.

Shredded Crabmeat and Seafood Noodle Soup ($7.99) looks spicy, but its not at all spicy. It is also very large and has a good amount of noodles and items inside. The seafood is the frozen type, so you don’t get the full freshness and flavour of the seafood.

There’s also different sauces at the table if you want to add some more flavour to your noodles.

Overall, good find in the Downtown core. If you want to spend less than $10 and get super stuffed, you should go here. Plus, noodles in the winter-time is a good choice!

Words of Wisdom:

Large amount of menu items
Noodle soup is most popular ordered item
Under $10
Should make reservations if you want to get a seat right away

We Rate Joyeaux Cafe & Restaurant:
Address:
551 Howe St
Vancouver, BC V6C
Website:
http://www.joyeaux-cafe-restaurant.com/

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Vancouver

In Downtown

Viet Sub Vietnamese Cuisine: Amazing Viet Subs

November 6, 2011

Viet Sub is a very popular place on Robson to grab some lunch. The sandwiches can be under $4 and the pho is about $6. There were lineups out the door, but most people were just doing takeout. The interior is very very small, so it’s not a place to take a group of people here. Best to just take out and sit outside the art gallery to enjoy some sun.

The reason why people keep going back is because it’s cheap and worth the price!

Chicken with French Bread ($4.20) was a good price for what you get! The chicken is nicely shredded on the bottom and has a good amount of pickled vegetables and cucumber in a milky bun. I really really like the buns they use. I kinda hate bread, but I could probably eat it all day.

Special Noodle Soup ($6.45) is decent but its not as good as the other Pho places. It’s good for the Downtown core if you are in the area.

Overall, I had a good experience just walking around the street eating it. Quick and easy.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Small interior, best to takeout
Viet subs and the noodle soups are good!

We Rate Viet Sub:
Address:
520 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

In Four Beakers

Pho Tam: Best Pho in Town

October 6, 2011

I started having class at SFU Surrey Campus and I was super excited because I could finally check out Pho Tam! They are known for the best Pho in the Lower Mainland! They may look pretty ghetto, but they do have the best pho and I really had to see for myself.

The interior is alright. It has lots of tables and there is always someone inside chowing down on rice or noodles.

There’s lots to choose from the menu, so it might take you a while to figure out what you want.

Their garnishes looked pretty fresh!

#1 House Special (L-$7.50) has beef and rice noodle in soup. It basically has everything in here. So, if you have no idea what you want in your pho, just choose this.

They also have a special combo, where you can add a spring roll to your pho for $9.75. This was probably the strangest looking spring roll i’ve had, but it was good. Crispy on the outside and savory on the inside.

#7 Well done beef slices Beef tripe and rice noodle in soup (L -$7.50) it has lots of meat and tripe!!

#6 Rare beef slices beef tendon and rice noodle in soup (Large- $7.50) made me super full! There was so much meat inside! Best pho I’ve ever had! This is really worth your money!

It had so much tendon! By the end of the meal, I still had so much tendon. My friends had to basically force feed me to finish the rest.

I don’t remember what this one was, but it looks good too!

#68 Grilled lemon grass chicken and spring rolls with steamed rice ($8.50) this was huge! Large slab of chicken, 2 spring rolls and lots of rice!

Pho Tam definitely met my expectations with their huge bowls of pho full of meat! Cheap too!

Words of Wisdom:

House Pho is the way to go
Limited parking
Closest Skytrain: Surrey Central
Under $10
Cash Only

We Rate Pho Tam:

Address:

10302 135 St
Surrey, BC

In Chinatown

Phnom Penh: Coffee, Butter Beef, Wings and Luc Lac

September 19, 2011

Back to Phnom Penh to try more of their delicious food! @etodac grabbed a few of us here because he just needed to try their famous chicken wings. I wanted to come here for more butter beef…if you’ve tried Phnom Penh before, you know what I’m taking about.

If you are new to Phnom Penh, they are a vietnamese restaurant serving up authentic dishes. It is the most talked about restaurant in Vancouver. The have amazing food at great prices… but it’s in the sketchy area of Chinatown.

Phnom Penh is always packed! For 4 people, it took us about 15 minutes to get a table. The turnover rate of each table gets cleared pretty fast. The larger the group, the longer it will to get a table. They have won numerous awards and is the “go to” place for Vietnamese food! Forget the Pho…theres more to their cuisine that just that.

Condensed Milk Iced Coffee is something I have to get here…every single time! You just wait for the coffee to drip down, then you mix the coffee and the condensed milk together. To cool it down, just add the ice. I love this coffee because its bold and strong!

The Buttered Beef ($8.95) is one of the dishes that I always get! You can’t come here and not try it… unless you are a vegetarian or hate raw beef. Its a dish that is great for sharing…plus you don’t want to eat this all by yourself or else you might get a heart attack.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings ($12.50) is another staple dish that you must get! It is topped off with garlic, onion, and other stuff. There’s also a lemon and pepper sauce to go with the wings.

Luc Lac with no egg is a rice dish with a bunch of tender marinated beef. This beef was really really tender!! It also comes with side of salad and cucumbers to balance out the meaty dish.

It also comes with a a beef bone soup on the side as well.

Phnom Penh two kinds of noodle no broth wasn’t as exciting as the other dishes. The two types of noodles are egg and rice. It was alright, but didn’t stand out.

Beef Bone Soup comes complementary with the rice or noodle dishes on the menu. Very nice clean broth with a good chunk of meat.

I always find that the usual items that are most popular will tingle your taste buds. Good price with good food! Can’t go wrong.

Words of Wisdom:

Very busy during peak hours…line up for sure!
Marinated Butter beef, Chicken Wings, Luc Lac, and Deep fried squid!!!
Metered parking on street
Kinda sketch looking area….near chinatown
Closest Skytrain: Main

We Rate Phnom Penh:

Address:

244 E Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

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Vancouver

In Downtown

Bun Me Baguette Food Cart: Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches

July 27, 2011

Bun Me Baguette is one of the newer Food Carts in Vancouver. They serve up Vietnamese style baguettes. Who doesn’t love grabbing a quick baguette rather than the usual hotdog? This really reminded me of the NomNom Food Truck in the states…but with just Banh Mi.

It took me a long long time to figure out why this cart is called “Bun Me” Baguette. It sounds similar to “Banh Mi”, which is the Vietnamese word of these baguettes.

The prices are quite affordable for $4.25 each. It’s actually a pretty good price compared to the other food carts Downtown. You have a vegetarian option too if you aren’t into chicken.

To keep quenched from the non-existant Summer weather, Coke ($1.25) and Black Soy Milk ($0.75) seemed like a good idea. I have always had regular Soy Milk, but black soy milk was new to me. It tastes more grittier texture since it’s made of black beans and its a bit thicker. It’s supposedly healthier too. I actually just prefer the normal sweetened soy milk than the black soy milk.

I ordered the BBQ Lemon Chicken Baguette ($4.25), it is a classic Banh Mi stuffed with lemongrass chicken, mayo, cucumber, cilantro, and pickled vegetables. It was quite large and I felt kinda powerful carrying this down Robson Street. If someone robbed you, you could take this and hit them over the head with it…but then at the same time you might ruin your lunch.

I really like their bread since its tough on the outside and soft on the inside, the taste of the bread was pretty good as well. I found that the flavours were well put together, but I couldn’t help noticing the amount of meat. There really could have been more since it would have made the baguette more enjoyable.

Overall, it’s decent, but there just needs to have more meat. Maybe they should just have an option to double the meat for a dollar or something…that would be nice.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $5
Vegetarian Friendly
Closest Skytrain: Burrard or Granville

We Rate Bun Me Baguette Food Cart:

Address:

Robson St and Hornby St
Vancouver, BC

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bun-Me-Baguette/154294347972371

In Downtown

Ha Long Bay Vietnamese Restaurant: Good Addition to Pender St.

July 15, 2011

Its interesting when restaurants close and a new one pops up. In the case of The Best Pho House, it looked sketchy as hell. A few weeks ago, a new Pho restaurant called Ha Long Bay opened up. The definitely refreshed the look of the exterior and changed it to a bright blue. It seemed more welcoming, so Mandu and I headed out for some lunch.

The interior is quite small, but there were enough tables for the rest of the lunch crowd. The server was super awkward most of the time as well. This must be run by a family since this young girl kept filling up our tea and clearing out dishes.

Looking at the menu, there are the usual items you would expect in a Vietnamese restaurant. There are also pictures surrounding the walls of the restaurant, so you can see what it looks like before ordering. Everyone loves pictures, I sure do! Honestly, if you are new to the cuisine, you would want to some pictures to see what you are getting.

Mandu and I needed coffee as usual, so we ordered the Vietnamese Coffee with condensed milk ($3.25). Some say this is really strong coffee, but I love it! It is basically drip coffee with condensed milk to give it a little bit of sweetness. No complaints here.

I ordered the Grilled lemon grass chicken sandwich ($4.75) and it was a decent size for the price. It had some juicy lemon grass chicken meat, pickled vegetables, cilantro and cucumber in a bun.

I found that the bun was a bit too much for my liking, there was obviously more bread than filling. Since the meat is in several pieces, there were parts where I felt it could have had more meat. It was still a good sandwich and the price is not bad at all.

Grilled pork with spring roll with vermicelli ($7.75). It comes with a bowl of sauce as well. I think Mandu did not have taste buds this day because either her taste buds were not working or the dish did not have a lot of taste. She used 2 cups of that sauce in it. Other than that, it was pretty good.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Decent food
Coffee is a must for the coffee drinkers!
Closest Skytrain: Waterfront

We Rate Ha Long Bay Vietnamese Restaurant:

Address:

430 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC

In Hastings-Sunrise

Bao Chau: Good Pho & Meh Spring Rolls

May 29, 2011

ConsultingGirl was craving for some pho, but wanted to avoid a few of the horrible places in Burnaby, so we drove a bit further to go to Bao Chau. Since it was another game day, everyone was out Downtown or glued to their screen at home. This is my favorite time to head out since there are no lines and the restaurants are empty.

This place was indeed empty. Only a few tables were occupied. The decor is quite dated, so don’t expect too much from their interior.

I started with the Bao Chau House Special Beef Noodle (Smaill – $6.50). I chose this because it has a little bit of everything. Tendon, tripe, beef balls, and other slices of beef. This is one of the better pho I have had. The broth is quite clear and it’s not too murky.

ConsultingGirl had the Pho Tai Bo Vien – Rare Beef and Beef balls noodle (Small – $6.00). The beef is indeed rare and you can tell when it arrives at the table. What people usually do is to let it sit in their hot soup so it cooks.

The sides of basil and bean sprout were very fresh and it did not look like it was reused or old. I am very picky when it comes to these things because some pho places do like to reuse old customers bean sprouts and basil. This scares me.

We also ordered the 2 Spring Rolls ($3.50). The spring rolls have vermicelli, carrots, a bit of beef and mushrooms. We found the spring rolls to be a bit under cooked. The outside was nice and crunchy, but the inside was a bit doughy. The wrapping was a bit different from other spring rolls and also it is sprinkled with salt and pepper on the outside.

We thought this would be the best spring rolls, but it fell a bit short. In the past, these were spot on, but I guess the quality isn’t too consistant.

Overall, we did like the pho, but spring rolls were a bit of a disappointment.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in rear
Under $10
Any of the pho with rare beef tastes pretty good

We Rate Bao Chau:

Address:

2717 E Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

In Coquitlam

Pho Hoa: All the Way to Coquitlam

May 17, 2011

Meeting up with Cubedtee and Fabo for dessert but, M, ScarFace, TanGuy and I didn’t eat dinner. Clearly, we were not very smart that day since usually dinner comes before dessert.

Since we were starving, we went across the street to Pho Hoa. Cheap, Fast and easy! As long as the food is edible, we were happy.

I ordered the #22 – Julienne Pork & Grilled Pork Chop.

You are first given soup and the sweet sauce for your rice. The soup was very hot… VERY HOT temperature-wise. I think almost everyone had to wait for a while for the soup to cool. The soup was pretty oily and just reminded me of the soup that goes into the pho. It was a bit salty as well.

When the dish came, we were presented with the pork chop, the julienne pork, rice, fried egg and vegetables. The pork chop was very oily and the meat was quite thin and had a few bones. The taste was average but the meat was tender. I did enjoy the julienne pork, but it never seems like pork since it’s all so thin.

Overall, the meal was pretty average. Nothing special, nothing too horrible. I found that Pho Hoa finally got a facelift. Their interior is newly painted and looks more modern. Even the website got a facelift.

Word of Wisdom:

Lots of parking in parking lot
Under $10

We Rate Pho Hoa:

Address:

750 – 3025 Lougheed Highway
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.phohoa.com

In Downtown

Fumiyoshi: Japanese Restaurant with Pho

April 10, 2011

Mandu and I met up during our lunch breaks. I had a “foodie block” and had no idea where to go for lunch. I really didn’t want to revisit a restaurant nor did I want to spend over $10. Eating is an expensive hobby, so I am trying to cut down my expensive. You should have seen my credit card bill last month.. WOW.

Since Mandu was craving pho, she suggested we go to The Best Pho House. At first I was thinking in my head, how on earth is there such a place that has “the best” pho. Quickly I realized that was just the name of the restaurant.

As we met up and walked to the restaurant, The Best Pho House did not look impressive at all.

We were scared out of our mind, so we decided to find the next closest pho place.

We stumbled upon Fumiyoshi. I have visited this place for the sushi and did not have the best experience. But, I was always curious how the pho would taste. Mandu didn’t really care too much as long as the place looked legit and was edible.

Looking through their extensive list of menu items, we just flipped to the back for pho. They do not have many choices and the only one that seemed somewhat decent was the House special pho ($7.50).

It comes with beef balls, beef brisket and some other type of beef. The pho came with the usual bean sprouts, jalapeno and lemon.

The pho does not live up to the usual pho restaurants in Vancouver. The noodles were clumped together, so when you pick up noodles, you pick up the entire bunch of noodles.The meat was decent, but it would take a while for some of the meat to cook fully since it was bunched up, you could tell it was frozen before hand. The broth had a lot of MSG and after the meal. I found myself chugging down a lot of water back in the office.

The size of the Pho was more like a medium if you compare it to the other pho places. Most larges at other places are $7ish, while Fumiyoshi costs a bit more.

After trying their Japanese dishes and Vietnamese dishes, I don’t think I will be returning. For decent pho, I think I will stick with going to the real Vietnamese Pho Restaurants.

If you know any killer pho places downtown, let me know! Mandu is always on the hunt for pho.

Words of Wisdom:

Large menu
Most items under $15
Mediocre Pho
Has Japanese and Vietnamese items on their menu

We rate Fumiyoshi Seafood & Sushi:

Address:

538 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

In Coquitlam

Pho 99: Out Of This World?

April 5, 2011

Guess what happened? JojoCake’s parents left her all alone at home again… but this time she did have milk and bread at home. KoreanGirl and I were here to the rescue. Since last week, we wanted some Pho, so we went to Pho 99. Convenient and close to home.

The Pho 99 is located in Lougheed Plaza below Insadong. We were just looking for some pho to fill our cravings. Pho 99 usually is quite popular since a lot of people go there for dinner.

JojoCake did not understand why Pho 99 had the weirdest branding! What does Saturn have to do with Pho? KoreanGirl and I pondered this a well and we really couldn’t think of anything.

Jojocake remarked “This pho must be out of this world“. haha. Get it? Bad joke.

We got some fresh sprouts, basil and lemon. I am usually cautious when using these because there is a rumor where Pho restaurants like to reuse it from other customers who do not finish it.

Whats good about Pho 99 is that it at least looks decent and not wilted and about to decay. I can not confirm if they reuse garnishes.

JojoCake ordered the 74 – veggie marinated grilled lemon pork and spring rolls ($7.80). She had this at other Pho places before and at Pho 99, it was alright. No jaw dropping good or anything, jus decent.

KoreanGirl ordered the Large #7 – Noodle Soup with Round eye steak, well done flank and beef tripe ($7.15).

Delicious broth and decent quality of meat.

I ordered the Large #14 – Noodle Soup with Round eye steak, well done flank, fatty brisket, soft tendon and beef tripe ($7.15).

After digging around my bowl of pho, I couldn’t find the soft tendon. I thought they left it out, but it turns out they switched my order with KoreanGirls order. Both our pho’s have almost the same ingredients, so I guess it was easy to get our orders mixed up.

We didn’t complain because when KoreanGirl found the soft tendon, she just put it into my bowl. You know you’re good friends when you don’t fear their germs.

Overall, decent food, under par service, and decent price. Nothing extraordinary. Unlike their branding…we did not find them “out of this world”.

Words of Wisdom:

Free parking in lot, if full, park near Honey’s Bistro, they have additional parking for the plaza there
Service is not great, so you will need to stare at them or wave your arms
Under $10

We Rate Pho 99:

Address:

#302 – 403 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.pho99vn.net

In Chinatown

Phnom Penh: Visit #2

March 14, 2011

When DesignGirl told me that we were meeting up with MadamMilton, BaguetteGirl, and DermaMan for Vietnamese food, I thought we were just going to get pho. Boy, was I mistaken! We headed to Phnom Penh, where the menu items are as diverse as our pronunciations for the restaurant name.

Phnom Penh is tucked away in Chinatown, and its tasty treasures are masked behind its ordinary exterior and red and white sign board. But inside the restaurant, things were hustlin’ and bustlin’. DesignGirl had dined here previously, so she knew all the right things to order.

With most meals, you get complementary soup, sprouts and hot sauce.

We started off with the Rice Special A – a Vietnamese hodpodge of rice, grilled chicken, Vietnamese ham, egg, and sides of lettuce. This reminded me a bit of Korean bibimbap, as you have to get a little bit of everything and mix the rice all up in it. I drizzled a bit of their mild vinegar over my bowl, and it sure was delish! DermaMan said that this was his favorite dish of the day.

We then ventured onwards to try the phnom papaya salad, which BaguetteGirl ordered since she loves papayas. I couldn’t quite taste the papaya here, as it felt more like radish. It consisted of ‘papaya’, peanuts, hot peppers, shrimp, and mint. It was definitely refreshing and crispy, but because it was so rainy and cold outside, it was more difficult for me to appreciate a cold dish.

Up next was the phnom 2 noodle. The “2” in the name is for the two types of noodles in this bowl. Upon a first glance, you would think this was another ordinary bowl of pho, but it sure wasn’t! The broth was not msg-ridden compared to other pho places, and the noodles were delicate and cooked perfectly. There was also shrimp and other Vietnamese hams and meats in it. You can eat this with the side of bean sprouts they brought. I liked this dish so much, I had two bowls.

What’s a trip to Phnom Penh without ordering their famous wings? Each table in the restaurant had an order of their wings, which were tossed in chilli pepper flakes and came with a side dipping sauce that was slightly tart and peppery. Wow! I was so surprised when I bit into this chicken – it was moist, and juicy, but incredibly flavorful, especially with the dip. I will definitely order this again.

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for arrived: the butter beef. The butter beef is akin to a beef carpaccio in that it features raw beef (slightly cooked around the edges) in a mild soy like sauce, overlaid with ample cilantro and peanuts. This was an incredible mélange of flavors and textures. MadamMilton was very skeptical about eating raw beef and kept telling us she was waiting for “20 minutes to pass” to see if any one of us would rush to the bathroom. None of us did and she gobbled down the butter beef happily.

By then, we were stuffed. DermaMan had ordered a moomooshake, which was a strawberry iced milk shake. It looked very…cold, so I didn’t not sample it. But everyone else that tried it liked it quite a bit.

DesignGirl also ordered an iced Vietnamese coffee, while I got a hot Vietnamese coffee. The Vietnamese coffee came in an espress drip tin, and a cup with condensed milk (your creamer + sugar, essentially). It was so delicious and rich! However, the caffeine concentration in this drink really messed me up and I was dizzy and had heart arrhythmia for the rest of the day.

Phnom Penh is located in Chinatown. We left around 2pm, and the restaurant was still packed and had line ups for lunch diners.

Words of Wisdom: