Pho Sao Bien Vietnamese Restaurant

*** An updated post can be found here.

Right at the outskirts of Pacific Beach is Pho Sao Bien Vietnamese Restaurant. You really can't miss the sign.

Though if you drive a bit too fast you'll zoom right past the restaurant and the small 8 stall parking lot. I'd been told that the Owner of Pho Sao Bien is the son of the Owner of Pho Hoa Huong. But whereas Pho Hoa is all business and bustle, Pho Sao Bien has a more peaceful and laid back "vibe".

The interior of the restaurant is bright and clean, and taking a page from those Asian restaurants with a customer wall, Pho Sao Bien has it's own "Wall of Fame".

This being Pacific Beach, I expected the prices to be a bit higher, but was still a bit taken aback by the prices, most everything was over $5.65. Still this is PB, not Mira Mesa where paying over six bucks for a bowl of mediocre Pho would be hard to understand, when you could get good Pho for under five bucks right down the street.

The one item I was told that I "must" have here were the Cha Gio (Egg Rolls - $6.25). Yep, it's Egg Rolls for over six bucks...these had better be good. What I got were 6 huuuge Cha Gio, that needed to be steroid tested:

These large Cha Gio were wrapped with the thin type of rice paper that bubbles up and gets very crunchy when fried, but due to the amount of filling they start getting soft pretty quickly...so fried lip be damned, it's full speed ahead with these. The Cha Gio filling didn't have very much filler, and I could only finish two of these. This reminded me of something that would be made when suffering from "dumpling fatigue", that happens when the Missus gets tired of making Jiaozhi after making 3 dozen or so, the dumplings start getting more and more filling...The Missus's Mother still can't figure out how She manages to get so much filling into a dumpling!

The Nuoc Mam Cham was mildly sweet, and overall this wasn't a bad dish. Is it worth over six bucks...I dunno, but this could be a meal on it's own.

During that time my garnishes arrived for my Pho:

Pretty skimpy, I ended asking for more basil and bean sprouts.

As for my Pho, I had ordered the Pho Dac Biet("Special" - X-Large - $6.50):

Since there was a connection between Pho Sao Bien and Pho Hoa, I expected a very dark and beefy broth. So much for expectations...the broth was medium dark in color, with a mild amount of oil. The flavoring pulled more toward a clove and anise flavor, not bad overall. The noodles were not the usual clump in the bottom, but loose, and of the thinner variety. There was a good amount of rare steak, which was soft and tender. There was just a scant amount of tripe and brisket, 1 piece of tendon, and 1 piece of flank, not much overall, I'm guessing in keeping with the clientele in PB.

In spite of the price, would I eat here again? Well considering that the nearest Pho is at least 6 miles away.....who knows? And if I'm craving for jumbo Cha Gio, or the Missus wants some Bun Cha Gio with Cha Gio suffering from Elephantiasis....you get the picture.

Pho Sao Bien Vietnamese Restaurant
1958 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Comments

[Kathy]

My god, those are mutant cha gio -they look like they could burst open any second! :)

[Ted]

Wait... you never said if you liked the cha gio! How were they? They look amazing.

[nhbilly]

talk about pricey....let me know when your around OC area, especially Bolsa and I'll show you a good Pho...

[Andy 食神]

every time you make this viet restaurants posts, I start salivating and i run out to the pho house near my work for lunch. thanks to you, they've gotten a good chunk of my lunch business =)

[Trent]

It's good to know there's at least a Vietnamese option in PB. Like Andy, I too am now considering a run down to Pho T. Cali or Lucky Seafood for lunch - rain be damned!

[Jim]

Hey Kirk,

Usually people do drive to fast on Garnet and will zoom by the place…not sure what the hurry is about. Because of the location and prices…do you think this place will survive?

[Chubbypanda]

Kirk,

At least they took extra care to prep your noodles properly. Good pho noodles can make or break the dish.

- Chubbypanda

[Jean]

Kirk, at least these guys add fresh cilantro and green onions in your pho. The northern area, there's no greens to the pho. Pathetic.

[howie]

Ooh, they have the egg rolls with the wrappers I like. These seem to be kind of rare in San Diego for some reason. I know, thanks to you, that A Chau has it, and I think Pho Hoa does too.

I'll have to give these a try the next time I visit Liz.

[Kirk]

Hi Kathy - They are indeed huge mutant Cha Gio!

Hi Ted - I think I said they were pretty good...but here ya go, they were pretty good, and very filling.

Hi Billy - I'll let you know when I'm in the area!

Hi Andy - My apologies...but I'm sure the Pho restaurant is happy to have your business.

Hi Trent - Mmmmm Lucky Pho', for some reason I'm craving the Beef Stew!

Hi Jim - I hope they do well, I think I forgot to mention that the folks working here were pretty nice. Not having another Pho Kitchen in the area(that I know of) helps.

Hi CP - I think Pho Sao Bien is a nice change of pace for the area.

Hi Jean - Really, just soup, noodles, and meat in the bowl, that doesn't sound like very good eats.

Hi Howie - Bring your appetite, the Cha Gio are large and filling.