Pho Saigon Star-Pho to go, Pho to eat in, and other good stuff!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation.  mmm-yoso is the name of the blog.  Today, Cathy is blogging, Kirk is doing something else, most likely eating and photographing the food; it's what we do.

Hi.  Cathy is back... so, one day a few weeks ago when it was raining, The Mister called me and was going to be leaving work earlier than I had expected and I hadn't even thought about dinner yet. "Bring something home" I told him...figuring, since it was a Tuesday, he'd get one (or three) of the $1.99 Tuesday only specials from KFC. {There is a poster, on one window only of your local KFC- look for it.} {It is an exceptionally good deal-2 pieces with  one side and a biscuit}{which is why we usually get three meals}  {sorry, digressing} Instead, he brought home pho!

Now, you must understand,we never had actually done pho as a take out item before.  We have seen many people walking in and picking up at just about every place we were, noting how much toppings we could see were given in the bags (a lot of bean sprouts)...but still, we always just ate in.

In late  March we saw a coupon online  at Get 1 free dot com and we were going to meet there for dinner, but Pho Saigon Star wasn't open yet.  However, that night when The Mister went, it was open- and joy of joys-they had fried shrimp tofu as a side order on the menu.

Pretty much the only places that have fried shrimp tofu are Convoy Noodle House and Pho Pasteur Anh Hong (the place with tablecloths in the mall with K Sandwiches).  I got it once with Bun and was hooked.  It is just a shrimp paste inside of tofu skin that is fried.  Crunchy/crispy and the shrimp paste tastes like shrimp mixed with some sugar and fish sauce... it is just something I crave.

Oh, and as a side (or "appetizer" as I like to call it) it's only $3.

Oh, here is the menu, along with a photo of  Tip Top's paw as she waited for a precise moment to walk over it. For some reason, the website does not have prices. OH-THE NEATEST PART...look closely (click onto any photo and it will enlarge) or, go to the website- The menu is written in Vietnamese, English AND Spanish. I have never seen it this way, but it is neat. Therefore the fried shrimp tofu is, in Vietnamese: them chao tom hoac tau hu ky and in Spanish: adicional tofu de camarones.

So, anyhow, The Mister brought home Pho Tai (raw steak)(filete raro). (Small $ $5.50). Thinly sliced raw steak that cooks in the pho broth.  The broth was rich, slightly oily, and not too overly anise-y/5 Spice-y.  It was still very hot, to the point that when the meat was dropped in, a nice boiling effect came up from the soup.  We live about 7 miles from this place, with quite a few lights between here and there.   As you can see, the accompaniments of basil,  jalapeños, one lime wedge and sprouts was plenty.  The noodles were under the raw meat in the take out box.  This was a *lot* of food.  The large bowl is only 50¢ more and easily could feed two people. 

We got an order of the fried spring rolls (cha ngo)(taquitos fritos de puerco) ($5.50) which also came with a fair amount of accompaniments-there could have been more mint-  There was enough sauce though.  Some chili is in the sauce, so there is a kick to it.  The filling is quite a  meaty ground pork as well as having daikon and carrot in it.  The 'to go' packaging was perfect- they cut off a corner of the Styrofoam box, so that the thin egg roll skins stayed crispy.

Then, my meal- Bun.  How I so crave Bun sometimes.  Inside a restaurant, it is served in a large bowl with the lettuce/cabbage/basil/mint 'salad' on the bottom, noodles over it, then the toppings, shredded carrots, cucumbers, peanuts and whatever topping (I have had it with the fried shrimp tofu, at Ahn...#123D I think) this time, BBQ pork (thit nuong)(fideos de arroz con puerco de la barbacoa),

($5.99). It came in this Styrofoam take out box, and I had to dump it into a mixing bowl (as we had to do with the pho also) so as to get all the flavors mixed in...the noodles are under all of that BBQ'd pork which was *excellent* in flavor and cooking.  The salad as nice and crisp and flavorful with the herbs in it.

So, the other  day, we were hungry.  It seems to happen a lot.  I thought we should try Pho Saigon Star again and eat in.  We were the *only* White people. This is always a good sign.  This restaurant is located where Friars Road turns into Mission Gorge, near Kaiser Hospital, in the curved strip mall with the Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Petco, Coco's, Rubio's, Einsteins, Carl's Jr.  You know where.  You've seen it.  

Very nice, clean interior.  Very friendly young men waiting on the tables.  Very much family owned and run.  everyone seemed to know everyone. ... and there I was, White Girl with Camera.  Oh well,  they never asked me what the heck I was doing.  It seemed that whenever they came around to fill up water, each person did ask us if we had any questions and  were willing to give us information.

We decided to try the papaya salad with shrimp and pork ($5.99)  It came with the sauce on the side.  Unusual, but we saw the table next to us get it that way also.  The sauce had a good amount of chilis in it, and we put the sauce over the portion we had placed onto our plates and it tasted great.  I saw a lady at the table next to us adding sugar to the sauce.   I thought it was fine.  I tasted the papaya, shrimp and pork without any sauce and each ingredient had a good, fresh flavor on its own.

When The Mister was picking up that one day, he saw someone having curry and he had wanted to try it.  He got rice with chicken curry (com cari ga)(arroz con curry de pollo) ($5.99).  You could get it with noodles or French bread also, same price. The curry was sweet, with coconut milk and not very hot (spicy hot I mean). It had an excellent flavor, the chicken pieces were dark meat; flavorful.  There were potatoes and hot onions and cilantro served with it.  The sauce was not overly thick.  it was good, tasty, but not  like a Japanese curry sauce, which is thicker.  You needed to put the rice into the curry to eat it.

I decided to try Sir Fry crispy noodles, with everything ($7.50) (mi xao gio thap cam) (never mind Spanish). You can get crispy egg noodles, soft egg noodles, pan fried noodles or rice... with beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, broccoli, celery, bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, onions, cilantro...and a nice brown sauce.  Great flavors- and a *lot* of food.

But, we got dessert anyhow: the three colored one: pudding/sweet bean/green agar with coconut milk and ice ($3)

Nice and fresh.  We were asked if we wanted it with our meal or as dessert.  We asked to wait and the nice Young Man brought it out when he saw we were finishing up everything else.  The pudding (yellow part) was wonderfully flavored, the beans were not mushy and had good flavor, the green agar strips were..chewy...and the coconut milk was *so* nice.  It was a perfect ending.

Oh- the tea.  It is $1.50 per pot.  It is Jasmine.  It is loose tea with a tea ball inside the pot.  It is great.

..and, the weird thing.  The 'muzak' was in Asian style- those echoing stringed instruments.  But there were only 3 songs that kept repeating and one of them was *definitely* "Numb" by Linkin Park.  Every subtle note of it.  I kind of  found that strange....just an observation. 

Pho Saigon Star 10450 Friars Road , Suite E San Diego 92120 (619)640-2985 Open 7 days 9 a.m.- 9 pm.  website

Comments

[nhbilly]

Sounds like you're a regular at this Vietnamese joint. Didn't seem to miss a beat on all of your visits.

[Cathy]

hahah...Got it Bill. Nope, this was a blogging of only two meals there, so far. It is closer to our house though, so could become a regular spot. Their BBQ pork bahn mi is $3.50- not a significant hike in price compared to places I go to on Convoy Street, but not as cheap. We'll see if they start to recognize me from my visits.

[Danny]

Kathy, Another excellent Vietnamese restaurant posting! Keep up the great work!

[Janfrederick]

Nice post. By the way, I ran into a tri-language menu at Lucky Pho in Vista (Sycamore next to Stater Bros). Too cool.

[Fred]

They have bahn mi? I'm definitely interested. I have friends in that area who get to-go food a lot, and sandwiches and the crispy noodles would definitely make for good to-go food.

[Cathy]

Thanks for stopping, reading and commenting, Danny. I guess my verbiage has gotten better than when I blogged my first Vietnamese place (Mien Trung- on Oct 14 2006) I still know what I like, either way. The food is very good from here and not much more expensive than most of the Convoy Street places.
Hi, Janfrederick- I need to do more posts from North Country. Vista would be easy. Escondido even easier... The menu was so cool though..egg rolls being called taquitos...
Hey, Fred- yes, there on the bottom left first column of the menu- there are 5 to choose from- (click and the menu enlarges). I will be getting A12 soon, I know. Rice Jones used to be so popular and was only a block away. Having even more authentic Vietnamese food in this area is a good thing.

[Steamy Kitchen]

I can't believe how inexpensive it is to eat over there. All the Vietnamese food here in my town is twice as expensive....prob because there is only a handful of V restaurants.

[Cathy]

Hi, again, SK- We have a very large Vietnamese population out here and so there is competition, which always brings down prices. Then again, we are in the bottom left hand corner of the US and have no choice in buying fuel, so our high prices, which you are now experiencing, have been at that level for more than a year. It evens out, I think.

[sher]

Well...now I crave some shrimp tofu! Must find it!

[Cathy]

Hi Sher. Sorry I didn't do a cross section photo. It is wonderful stuff. The crispy tofu skin just makes it 'feel' like it is fried shrimp. Look for it on the Bun page of the menus, either as on of the toppings or as one of the add ons.

[mizducky]

Hi Cathy--great minds think alike, huh? I noticed that same offer for Pho Saigon Star in Get One Free's print circular awhile back. I've since visited the place several times--I currently live just down the road from there myself, and I'm liking having a pho shop so close. Their prices are admittedly about a buck higher than the joints along El Cajon Blvd., but then I'm sure the rent for the Friar's Road storefront must be that much higher than down in da hood. I'd been inadvertently doing this same great-minds-think-alike shadowing of Kirk in various restaurants for some time now, and I guess now I'm unconsciously shadowing you too. :-)

[Cathy]

Hmm, Miz D...The Mister says the legal term is "stalking" ;) But it's OK...Kirk did the same with me also...or so I joked. It's our brains...thinking alike...about food...which is fine. I do like Pho Saigon Star in general; haven't had anything bad from there yet. So close to home also. The prices are not bad, just not as cheap as elsewhere. Everyone who works there is very friendly...Maybe I'll run into you there one of these days!

[Annie]

funny observation about the music! the fried shrimp paste roll sounds good. i think i want to try that next!

[Cathy]

Hi Annie- Long time no hear...I looked at the shrimp paste and fried tofu skin as a 'no carb' option at first, and now, it is just plain great tasting 9as well as crunchy) and I have to try it every time I see it on a menu...
Usually the Chinese music is just sort of pleasant and I can't tell if it is repeating or not, but in this case, because the notes were exactly from "Numb", I could hear that song every few minutes. It was odd...yet pleasant.

[Johnny]

Warning...This place is addictive
Friendly...fabulous food....clean and VERY reasonable $$$
Nicely decorated a plus...never
crowded.........YET!!!!!!

[Cathy]

I have been in there on a Sunday, Johnny, when it is all families and it is crowded. Just saw the bamboo decorations last week; makes it even nicer. It is a great place and I am glad you found it and commented. Welcome.

[bbqdreamer]

Hi Cathy,

I stopped at Pho Saigon Star recently to catch up on the doings.

The kitchen is still run by the original chef, who was mother to the "nice young men" you mentioned in your review. Those brothers departed about the time the bamboo went up in June/July.

The chef's nephew, Nick, is running the front of house now, and he has great ideas for improvement and expansion. On being asked, I suggested adding ceiling fans and buying bánh from K Sandwiches.

To my taste, Pho Saigon Star's soup has improved noticably this summer; it seems more fragrant and rich than it did in the store's early days. Also, the chef appears to be ladling in more meat than before; for me, usually, brisket and tendon. The Chả Giò (egg roll) is always freshly cooked and flavorful, and is served with lettuce, mint, and nước chấm (condiment based on fish sauce and sugar).

While visiting one day, I asked Nick about a couple of side items I've missed: ngò gai (Saw-leaf herb) and chén hành dấm (raw white onion in vinegar). His eyes brightened as he offered "...people don't ask for these things, but we can make it for you!", just what a fat man loves to hear.

In the past, I have appreciated Pho Hoa Hiep and, for a while, even Pho Hoa Restaurant at El Cajon Blvd. and Euclid (doesn't the smiling cow know what's happening inside?), but my recent visits to Pho Saigon Star make it harder to leave the neighborhood when I want a steaming bowl of goodness. Now, if they'd just start importing bread from K Sandwiches...

[Cathy]

Wow- great report, bbqdreamer. I never asked about ngo gai and only assumed they would bring it out if they had it. This is the closest pho place to my home and so we have eaten here quite often. Kirk has blogged about Pho Hoa Hiep (the first Pho place where the waitress told me "You no want that") as well as Pho Hoa. So many places around town. Oh, I go to K sandwiches for something to eat, drink, free wi-fi and then breads to take home...at least once a week. So good...

[bbqdreamer]

Hi Cathy,

"You no want that." Lovely, and similar to my favorite, "You friends drink too much tea... you go home now!" Heard at Kowloon Restaurant in Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown at about 3:30 a.m., many years ago.

Thanks for your kind comment, Cathy. As the man said, "I just calls 'em as I sees 'em," which reminds me, I have to get on the road to the Padres game, where I'll spend a few minutes tonight wondering if the *good* food is somewhere in the ballpark that I just plain can't find.

A question: are you getting the email I send you at
mmm-yoso@hotmail.com ? I haven't heard from you, which is no big deal, but I want to make sure I'm not sending to someone else through my ignorance of blog protocol. - Omar

[Cathy]

Hi bbq dreamer/Omar...that email goes to Kirk, the Top Guy on the blog...I know he has ben working a lot lately, if it is anote to me, he will forward it. NOW...Inside the ballpark food...meh. I usually eat before I go. If it is a Friday night-yikes! First, parking on the street downtown is free after 6 p.m. You can even park in those yellow zones. I like Market Street-Ciros Pizza at 6th, there is a Greek place next to the Pizza Place on that side of the street, Valentine's Mexican at about 8th, and on ninth just north of Market is a Kebab place. When it is *not* a day of ballgames, McCormick and Schmidts, right next o the park in that hotel (with the walkway that crosses right into the ballpark) has these $2 Happy Hour burgers....