mmm-yoso!!!

Pho Fusion and Pho Hoa Huong Revisited

Since it's still fairly cool out; here are a couple of places I haven't been to in a while.

Pho Fusion:

Man, has it been three years since I last visited? I'd actually kinda forgotten about this place. I noticed that they were tearing up the parking lot and saw Pho Fusion open. I had thought the pho wasn't too bad; at least for "pho not to offend" on my last visit, so I decided to drop by and have a bowl.

The place was empty during my visit; probably the combination of all the construction and the time of day of my visit. Late afternoon on a weekend.

I started with the Popcorn Chicken which I thought wasn't too bad on my last visit.

And it still wasn't bad at all. Crunchy, well seasoned dark meat chicken. I believe the popcorn chicken here is better than, well  the now closed Popcorn Chicken down the street.

As for the pho; well, I got #14; brisket, flank, marbled flank, tendon, and tripe. I was provided with one sprig of basil and a ration of bean sprouts. In all honesty, I didn't expect much more. At least it was fresh. The clump of noodles were decent, not over-cooked. The broth on this visit was way too salty, and sigh; like much of the pho in San Diego these days on the sweet side. Not a hint of beefiness nor anise. The proteins were fine, the tiny sprig of tripe had a soapiness to it; the brisket was tender but flavorless, the tendon was decent, not overly chewy, but not soft and buttery either.

Like I said; "pho not to offend". Still, I'd take this over what I last had at a couple of other places in Kearny Mesa.

Pho Fusion
8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111 

Pho Hoa Huong:

So, the next morning I went on some errands and passed by Pho Hoa Huong at around 730am and the open sign was lit. My understanding is that they open at 8....but no, the place was open. So, since I hadn't been here in a while and, it had been even longer since I'd had pho here, I thought "why not"?

Strange, PHH used to be known as one of those "old school", perfunctory, menu slapped on the table, guy hovering over you for your order kinda place (remember - the "Fastest Pho in the West"?)....in fact the woman working was very nice told me to sit wherever I wanted and brought over a men and laid it on the table. On my last visit, I noticed what I thought was a "a softer, kinder Pho Hoa".

The place still looks quite "old school". I went with good ol' #4, which now cost $8.10 for a regular sized bowl.

Damn, when was the last time I actually had such a generous plate of basil, sprouts, and ngo gai? Well, at the other "old school" pho shop; Pho Hoa.

I'm not sure if I'm turning soft in my old age; but this was a decent bowl. The broth looked much too light, but it wasn't too salty, nor too sweet, had a mild beefiness, anise tones, and a mild hint of onion.

The noodles were prepped well, not too chewy, not mushy.

I wasn't a big fan of the flank which was too hard, but the tendon was decently tender and the tripe was nice and crunchy without any off flavors.

The woman who was my Server was very nice and smiled; the Gentleman manning the register asked me how I enjoyed my meal. Man, this sure ain't the Pho Hoa Huong I remembered. If this is the way things are now; well...all hail the old school pho shop!

And, I still got out in less than thirty minutes!

Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant
6921 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Seaside Pho & Grill

A few weeks back, I recently had to run down to Point Loma to pick a package up at the Post Office for the Missus. I thought it a bit strange that the info given on the slip in our mailbox was for the Point Loma location, not the usual Midway Station. And to make things worse, that Post Office is only open from 10 to 1230 on Saturdays! So, I headed down at 1030, found some parking and headed into the Post Office and stood in line. Only to find out that I was given the wrong location....it should have been the usual Midway Post Office! Sigh.....

Well, I decided to grab some lunch in the area before heading back up Rosecrans to the correct Post Office. I decided to check out a place that had been on my "list" for a while.

An acquaintance recommended Seaside Pho & Grill to me for a specific dish. More on this shortly.

I walked on over and easily found a table as the place was totally empty on a Saturday at 11am. The Server was a bit disorganized and kept calling me "honey".....ok. The vibe is definitely fusion, gastro-pub/bar, very modern. Looking over the menu; well, there's all types of Asian noodles; everything from Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Ramen, to Pho.

My source had recommended that I try the "Garlic Noodles" with Shrimp, not cheap at $16.75. I had pictured something like Crustacean's Garlic Noodles or Momofuku's Scallion Noodles. This tended more toward Crustacean's....though more like a version you'd make when you had midnight munchies and robbed the fridge.

The typical noodles were mushy; the sauce was gloppy-gooey with hardly any flavor and definite greasiness to them. The shrimp were nicely cooked but really bland and lacking in "shrimpiness". I added all the parmesan cheese and was definitely tempted to dump Hoisin and Sriracha on this....but I held back.

For some reason; I decided to head back and try the pho. So I returned a few weeks later. In contrast to typical pho shops there are limited options. So, I got the "Beef Combo" ($10.75 - small bowl). But first, some Garlic - Butter Wings (6 pieces - $9.95).

The wings had a nice crunch and were moist and very hot. Not a fan of all the broken bones and discolored flesh. Also, the garlic was too raw and was on the bitter side; the "sauce" was bottled lemon juice with black pepper.

This could have been a winner.....but no cigar.

I got the "Beef Combo" (small - $10.75); rare steak, brisket, flank, and tendon.

As I had anticipated, not much in terms of basil and sprouts; but at least it was fresh. That lime was much needed since the broth was super salty and like most "San Diego style" pho, on the sweet side. It lacked beefy-anise tones that I usually appreciate in a good bowl. The noodles; while in the typical clump were prepped nicely. The rare beef wasn't too rare by the time it hit the table; but it was more tender than the usual lousy top round I get at most pho shops; the flank and brisket were fine, both were fairly tender. The two pieces of tendon were slightly chewy, but passable as well.

In the end; another newish, modern "pho to not offend" shop. Fairly pricey with small bowls of pho near, or over ten bucks and limited options. And no; I'm not going to get the ramen here. The service was kind of; well, distracted, even though I was the only customer in the place during both visits. 

And yes, this place is right next to Shanghai Bun.....still not sure if I should check that place out. What do you think?

Seaside Pho & Grill
1005 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92106
Hours:
Mon - Thur 11am - 9pm
Fri - Sat  11am - 10pm
Sunday     Noon - 9pm

Revisits - Woomiok and Pho Duyen Mai

Well wouldn't you know; it's cooling off a bit for the next couple of days. Time to get in a post with soup in it, right? Here are a couple of revisits for ya'

Woomiok:

In my post on Woomiok, I mentioned trying to get the Missus to check the place out. Plus, I wanted to try out the Galbitang. The weather in the following weeks gave us a good opportunity. And Woomiok is open all the way through from 11am until closing on 9pm, so we headed over right before 5pm.

The Missus really enjoyed the kkakdugi and the squid panchan. The baechu (napa cabbage) kimchi was a bit better than on my previous visits.

The Missus instantly loved the container of scallions; which reminded Her of Seoul.

So, of course I tried the Galbitang. I enjoyed the presentation, with a dried jujube swimming around in the broth.

As a whole, this was not bad, the soup a bit thinner and not as beefy as I prefer, it was also on the salty side. A decent amount of galbi, which was adequately tender. It didn't hold a candle to what the Missus got....

The Seolleontang with Mixed Meat of course....

I had a taste and it was a bit richer than on my previous visit. There was a good amount of mixed meat, especially tendon, which She generously shared with be. It was soft and buttery. The only complaint was that the rice wasn't as good as on my previous visits and the noodles were a bit overcooked.

Still, I believe this is the way to go here. And I think the Missus is sold as well. A week later we had rather quick rain storm....guess where the Missus wanted to go? Yeah, you got it. This time we both got the Seolleontang. It hit the spot. I took my coworker SJP here; she said it made her homesick for Seoul.

So get it while the weather is milder...….

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Duyen Mai:

Man, has it been over a year since I last visited Duyen Mai? I guess that moving our offices really affected things. What really got me to revisit was a text and photo from a good friend of mine. She noted that even though she had ordered the ribs; there really wasn't very much meat. One the good side, PDM opens at 9; even on weekends. So this past weekend I headed on over and got "them bones", which is now $4.99.

I also got a small pho. A few minutes later the ribs came out, it's now four ribs instead of three....which looked fairly hefty.

The basil and sprouts were very fresh.

While waiting for my pho, I scraped as much meat off the bones as I could. The meat wasn't as tender as before; though it was still nice and beefy. I then went to town on the connective tissue and meat on the bones.

I appreciated that the rare steak was still "rare" when the bowl hit the table. It was also fairly tender. The flank and brisket were decent, tender, but mild in flavor. The tendon was a bit more chewy than I prefer, but wasn't bad. Neither was the tripe.

The broth wasn't as salty as on previous visits; though it was still "sweeter" than I like. It could also stand to be richer, but it was clear, with slight beefy-anise tones.

But of course, I really wanted it to work with this.

The noodles were nicely cooked and for the first time wasn't in a clump at the bottom of the bowl!

This was probably too much for me to eat at 9 in the morning. I was stuffed.

"Them bones" had way more meat than I should eat. And Duyen Mai is still probably the best pho in the area. Though I've got to make my "rounds" again.

Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Revisits - Green China Grill and Pho Kitchen

As I was getting things together for this post I noticed something. I've actually done a revisits post on these two places together before! Kinda funny; I'm wondering if there's some internal "calendar" that goes off when I eat at one of these places that automatically makes me go to the other?

Anyway, here goes.....

Green China Grill:

In addition to the earlier combo post with the Pho Shop; I noticed that I tend to revisit Green China Grill about once a year. Strange.

As you can see GCG is a green as ever.

This time around I went back to Beef Noodle Soup with Sour Cabbage, which is now $10.99.

As always; the soup was blasting hot; with a good amount of "ma", numbingness to it. I still think it could be beefier and a bit richer, but at least they didn't go too heavy handed on the MSG on this visit. The standard issue xue cai was fine; though I notice they've cut back on the amount of it provided. Too bad; it adds a nice sour-acidic dimension to the broth, along with a bit of crunchiness. The beef was on the tough side and could have used a flavor injection. Though the Lamian (牛大碗 - Hand Pulled Noodles) were excellent this time around. Perfect chewy-al dente mouthfeel, wonderfully slippery, I think they've finally got things nailed down with regards to the noodles.

Overall, a bit over-priced, but this basically delivered.

Green China Grill
4688 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Kitchen:

On a recent Sunday after working for a couple of hours I decided to head home. I'd been trying to fight off a cold and just wanted some pho relatively close to home. I thought about Pho Hut, but I'd never had anything close to a decent bowl of pho from there. So, I headed on over to Pho Kitchen. I went ahead and ordered the regular sized Pho "Tu Do"; basically pho with your choice of three proteins ($7.50).

When the basil and sprouts arrived, the expected small portion, I noticed that both the basil and sprouts were just on the verge of turning color.

The broth was super hot and like the typical San Diego pho broth, on the sweeter side. The soup lacked richness as it was severely defatted, though it had a hint of oniony-beefiness, an improvement over previous visits.

The proteins were quite good. Both the flank and brisket were tender; but not falling to pieces, and both were flavorful. The tendon, while a bit more chewy than I prefer was decent as well.

The issue this time around were the noodles.

While not in a clump on the bottom of the bowl; they were over-cooked and mushy.

It just seems like Pho Kitchen always just misses the mark on my visits. Perhaps one day they'll put it all together. All-in-all, not bad. It's "pho not to offend", if you like that kind of stuff. Service here has always been nice, which does make a difference.

Pho Kitchen
5375 Napa St
San Diego, CA 92110

 

Pho Nhu Y (Chula Vista)

I thought it might be best to get this post done before things starts warming up around here.

I found myself in Chula Vista a couple of weeks back and thought about getting an early lunch; it was around 10am, but I was kinda hungry. I remembered CC's post on Pho Nhu Y (BTW Happy 13th Blogaversary CC!), and wondering if it had anything to do with the Pho Nhu Y that lasted only a short while on Kearny Villa Road. From what I remembered; that place was owned by the original owner of Nhu Y, and without going into the gory details; there was a break-up and the ex-wife kept the restaurant or something like that.

This incarnation of Pho Nhu Y resides on Third Avenue in the same strip mall as Carnival Market. It's a pretty tiny shop; just a few tables.

The menu was typical of most pho shops. I didn't expect to find Bun Mam down in these parts and it was indeed not on the menu.

On my two visits; it was the same guy working; I didn't recognize anyone, so I'm not sure if this place is associated with the now defunct Pho Nhu Y.

The weather had still been fairly wet and rainy, so I just stuck with the pho; I made it easy for myself and went with the Dac Biet; which was decently priced at $7.49.

The herbs and veggies were as expected; the basil just starting to turn color, the sprouts were fresh, and of course no ngo gai.

The pho soon arrived as did an implement wrapped in a napkin...it was, well...."W(hat) T(he) F(ork)"? I mean really. I moved it away from the bowl as if it were radioactive; the older guy working soon swooped in and picked it up. He told me, "sorry, many Filipino's like to eat noodles with a fork"! Okay, so here's something in common with the "old" Pho Nhu Y...remember when I was the "Korean guy who liked bun mam"? We weren't exactly starting on the right foot here, were we? The broth was actually fairly clear, on the darker side, with a decent amount of fat. There was a slightly beefy "nose" to it. It did have a hint of beefiness and slight anise-oniony tones; but also edged on the really salty, M-S-heebie-geebie side.

The noodles were in a dense clump in the bottom of the bowl and more tangled than Medusa's hair. I took a good three or four minutes working with the chopsticks and spoon to loosen things up. Hey, maybe that fork??? Nah....

If you take a good look at the banh pho above; you'll notice the noodles are different shades. That's because some of the noodles were really under cooked and hard. I'm figuring it was the stuff in the middle of the noodle clump.

The rare beef was over-cooked when it arrived and tough, dry, with a metallic taste to it. I was surprised that the tendon was quite good and fairly tender. The tripe was also decently crunchy with no off flavors.

Basically a mixed bag, but not sadly, even with those noodles, not the worst bowl of pho I've had recently.

Sooooo, I decided to return this past weekend. And is it just me; or did we skip spring and head right on into summer?

Anyway; my intention was to have the Bo Kho, but I felt like it was just too darn hot and went with the Bun Cha HaNoi. Which, interestingly, came out in the same style of plate as the defunct Pho Nhu Y and was even priced the same at $7.95.

First and foremost, the nuoc mam cham was really watered down, which basically killed the whole dish. The daikon and carrots weren't pickled enough; there was just two leaves of lettuce, and the only herb provided was mint. The bun was nicely cooked, good stretch. The meatballs had a mild beefiness and weren't too bad, neither was the marinated pork, which was tender, if a bit too salty. Still; this dish felt incomplete.

Overall, a mixed bag. I've had much worse recently, but that's not exactly a seal of approval and sets the bar pretty low, doesn't it? Still, the flawed pho, was still better than what I'd last had in the Kearny Mesa area, except for Pho Duyen Mai, which coincidentally took the place of the old Pho Nhu Y. Man, it like we've got three degrees of se-pho-ration....okay, that's enough with the puns for today.

Pho Nhu Y
864 3rd Ave.
Chula Vista, CA 91911
Hours:
Open Daily 9am - 9pm

 

Revisits - Chon Ju Jip and Pho 7 Cow

Well; last night was the good old Daylight Savings Time "Spring Forward"....so yes; I guess it's spring, though it's still kind of chilly out there. I'm not really complaining as it gives me more "soup time". Here are a couple of recent revisits.

Chon Ju Jip:

Man, has it really been over 5 years since I last visited? Time sure does fly. For some reason; my recent visits to Woomiok had me wondering how Chon Ju Jip was doing. The place was looking a bit beat and run down....do you remember when this was Ko Hayang Jip back in the 'oughts?

I stopped in for lunch and decided on getting the Galbitang ($10.95).

And just like the interior; the panchan seemed a bit old and tired. The portions were tiny and some of it was kind of on the dry side and very mild in flavor.

The Galbitang came in a sizeable bowl; it was nice and steaming hot. The rice provided was decent; though not very fragrant.

The soup did need a good amount of salt; though it was slightly beefy and not bad at all. The rice vermicelli was over done and mushy. The beef ribs were very tough and all the flavor had been extracted from the meat.

Kind of a sad metaphor for the current state of this tiny little shop.

Perhaps I need to return with the Missus for the Gamjatang or Heukyumso Jungol.

Chon Ju Jip
4373 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours
Mon - Sat 10am - 10pm

Pho 7 Cow:

In my very sad post on the sad state of Pho at Pho Lucky; "Alan" mentioned that perhaps I needed to head back out and start checking out all those pho places again. I was thinking about this while driving down to National City this past weekend. I recalled that Pho 7 Cow had made a decent bowl of Pho during my visits back in 2017. So, instead of hitting up my intended destination, I stopped by Pho 7 Cow.

Like on my previous visits there was a good amount of staff working and things went quickly and efficiently.

The basil looked like it was on brink of starting to turn color, but the sprouts and the cilantro were fine. I was surprised at the amount of meat in this; a small #4 ($7.75). The flank was tender but quite bland; the brisket better, the tripe, of which there was a good amount was well prepped, crunchy, with a slight offal flavor, there was one tiny piece of tendon which was on the hard side.

The noodles were in the typical clump on the bottom and took some work untangling; but was decently chewy and not over-cooked.

The broth was a bit richer than on previous visits; it was on the darker side, but clear. There was a slight hint of anise and onion, with a mild beefiness, and best of all; it wasn't too sweet.

This was not bad. Actually better than I expected. So perhaps I do need to "make the rounds" again at all of those pho shops.

Thanks for the suggestion Alan!

Pho 7 Cow
1025 Highland Ave
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Daily 10am - 9pm

Revisits - Pho Lucky and Pho King

Man, talk about some rain! Hope everyone made it home or to their destinations safely this week!

Here are a couple of revisits for you.

Pho Lucky:

Well, even though the Bo Kho was good on my last visit; I was still wondering about the last couple of bowls of pho I had there. One bowl was terrible; the other barely ok. Our recent chilly and then wet weather made for a nice opportunity to revisit what was once my favorite place for pho in San Diego.

I ordered my usual; the #4; well done flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe....or perhaps as they spell in on the menu "stripe". Soon enough the herbs and spouts arrived, the ngo gai and everything else was sparkling fresh. Then the bowl arrived...and.....

It was seriously defatted, extremely dark, and while it had a mild beefiness and light anise tones, it was much too sweet. Sigh......what a bummer.

The noodles were nicely done and not in a clump; "hallelujah".

The flank was too tough, though the brisket quite nice, beefy and tender, the tripe was passable, but the tendon, once a strong point here was too hard.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. I need to start searching for a go-to pho place..... Because other than the bo kho...well, the pho doesn't seem to cut it any longer.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Pho King:

About every six months or so; I just want the Hu Tieu Mi Kho from Pho King.

Over the years; this bowl of textures, the slightly crunchy egg noodles (mi), and the stretchy, starchy, tapioca noodles (hu tieu). Also, the bowl here has changed over the years as it no longer has any "krab" in it....which to me is no loss. Also, the amount of sprouts and Chinese celery has gone down a bit as well. Still, when the clear broth is not too salty or sweet, it makes for a satisfying meal for me.

On this visit; I noticed the pork and soy sauce broth, didn't have as much pork in it as usual. The clear broth was nice....not too salty nor artificially "sweet". The shrimp was cooked nicely, the squid....well, as usual, "meh". As I mentioned in a previous post I take my time with this dish (you can read about how I eat it as well). It was nice; nothing spectacular....but that's not what I was looking for on this day.

There used to be a really friendly, rather short guy working here....I believe he's the owner's son. I last saw him maybe 5-6 years ago. As a bonus, he was here on this day...apparently he'd been in Vietnam for the last couple of years. It was nice seeing him!

Maybe one day I'll try the Hieu Tieu My Tho again. But for now, I just wanted my "fix"

Pho King Restaurant
4658 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

House of Pho

One of my coworkers wanted to know what I thought of this little shop off Plaza in National City. So, I thought I'd head down to check them out. I was forewarned about the "interesting" service that "MG" sometimes got here.

The little shop is a simple set-up; the menu is status quo for these type of shops.

The young lady who waited on me; was well....different; she dropped off the menu at the table and just stood there, not impatiently mind you, she just stood there blankly looking at....well almost through me, not saying a word. This wasn't say; the perfunctory service of, for example Pho Hoa, this was just silence. I placed my order, she grabbed the menu, turned and walked away; uttering not a word.

I had gone with the well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe.

The portion of sprouts and basil was also average for most pho places these days; rather sparse, but at least fresh.

The broth was cloudy, not very rich, lacking in anise/beef tones, and mostly just salty. Sorely in need of a flavor injection; more cilantro, onions, or anything.....

The noodles were over-cooked and on the mushy side.

The meatballs were the typical squeaky, flavorless orbs; the well done steak tasteless, the one piece of tendon thick and tough; the chewy flank had some beefiness, ditto the brisket, and there were two little "wisps"of tripe.

My check was silently placed on my table; the silent Server, turned and walked away. I did hear her talk to the other woman working.....she just didn't speak to me at all. This was kind of odd.

There really wasn't any reason to return. But a few months later....yes months; I decided to just come back and try something else.

The same young lady was working; same blank stare, same silence...….. I started with the Garlic Wings.

Which arrived sizzling hot and crisp. It really lacked any substantial seasoning though.....not much garlic, or anything else going on here. The skin got mushy rather quickly, lots of black spots in the flesh, whose texture was a bit chewy in spots. I'm thinking there was some oxidation and freezer burn going on here as there was that slightly off flavor in spots.

I had also ordered the Bo Kho; the Beef Stew.

This was basically pho broth with bo kho base. In a completely opposite manner; the broth was super greasy, had a metallic finish to it, and lacked the beefy, tangy, mild-anise/peppery spice of a decent beef stew. It was quite salty and I used a good amount of the lime trying to balance out the flavor of the broth....to no avail.

The beef in the stew were strangely provided in tough and dry "rolls"

The banh pho was decently prepped this time around and had some "pull" to them.

My check silently arrived at my table...….

I decided to see if I could actually get a response from the young lady serving me and when I saw this.....

I had an opening...perhaps the young lady was just shy? I asked her if the owners were from Hawaii? The young lady gave me a blank stare; took my money, turned around and walked away. She did say something to the other woman working who laughed. I guess I just wasn't worth but a single word or response. Strange.....

House of Pho
3120 E Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Sun - Fri 10am - 9pm
Saturday  10am - 10pm

Revisits - Mi Quang Mien Trung and Pho Hoa

It had been about eight months since Mi Quang Mien trung had opened; so I thought it would be a good time to revisit. Plus, they open at 8am, so I can get noodles for breakfast before hitting the office on weekends.

It seems like only half of the menu display was working on this day; but I knew what I wanted. I wasn't very impressed with the signature dish of this place during my previous visit; so I gave the Mi Quang another try.

The pork this time around was vastly improved; nice saltiness, good pork flavor. After that; there was a total drop-off. Still hardly any broth and what is provided is so bland, it might as well be msg flavored hot water. The noodles were nicely cooked and I appreciated the banana blossom, which added a decent texture. The shrimp was really bad; it was over-cooked and had a very musty flavor, not good eats.

Like I said before; it's a pretty nice looking dish and maybe you'd like it....if you've never had Mi Quang before. For me, this is just so bland and lacks soul.

That said; there were a few things on the menu I had wanted to check-out, so I returned the following weekend.

By now it seems the entire menu board is now non-functional. It's back to paper.

I ordered the Bun Hen ($8.50) and Banh Bot Loc (a small order $4).

The Bun Hen is by far the best item I've had here so far. While not nearly as well seasoned or spice as the version at Mien Trung, the clams had a nice mildly chewy texture, had a mild savory flavor, without any sandy-grittiness. That mam nem did it's magic on the dish as a whole; adding a wonderful deep-funky savoriness to the dish. The chicharrons were fresh, light, and crunchy. The bun was perfectly prepared and there was a good amount of banana blossom in the dish. It was very satisfying.....

I can't say the same about the Banh Bot Loc, which was ice cold, really, tough, and flavorless.

You can't win 'em all I guess.

CC recently visited Mi Quang Mien Trung as well.

Mi Quang Mien Trung
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

As for that "vehicle" parked in front of the 7-11....well, you never know what you'll see on ECB.....

For some reason yesterday's time change kind of messed me up....as in, I was up at 4am messed up. After trying to sleep for a few more hours; I gave up and decided to go into work for a while. But first I needed some breakfast....and perhaps some pho. I've had some pretty lousy pho recently and just wanted something decent.....plus it was 645am in the morning. I decided to head up to City Heights and have my breakfast at Pho Hoa, after all it had been over 2 years since my last visit. Plus, they open at 7am.

Not much going on at 7am on a Sunday at Pho Hoa; just a few "old-timers"; me included. The lighting gave the place a rather eerie look.

The drill was as expected. The menu, placed on the table, is basically symbolic, a formality, as the guy taking the order is already standing above you, pen poised in hand, impatiently waiting for you to order before you even open it.

But there was no mistaking the freshness of the basil, ngo gai (yea!!), and sprouts when it hit the table. And man, apparently there's no national shortage of basil as other pho shops will make you believe.

It was good 'ol #4 for me. As I mentioned in a previous post; I'm not a big fan of the rare steak here....it usually has a rather metallic taste to it.

The broth was decent; a slight beefiness, a bit richer than usual, clear, with a nice mildly pungent-anise flavor. Not overly sweet like much of the pho in San Diego is these days.

The brisket was slightly beefy if a bit on the dry side; the flank wasn't overly fatty, the tripe crunchy, but it was the tendon that took the gold medal. Nice and buttery in texture.

Not an amazing or great bowl of pho; but passable and it hit the spot. With the state of pho in San Diego, this will just have to do these days.

Pho Hoa Restaurant
4717 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115 

The Pho Shop Revisted

So, what to eat near Sports Arena at 10am on a Sunday morning? I had to do a bit of shopping and it was a bit too early for lunch at most places. Then I remembered the Pho Shop. I thought it would be good to check them out again since it had been a while. But man, I hadn't realized it had been over five years already! How time flies.

I arrived just as the "open" sign went on. There were fans running in the place. I was obviously the first customer of the day and the only customer during my entire visit.

I just went with the Pho Dac Biet. The herbs and sprouts soon arrived..... as expected the amount of basil was miniscule and just starting to brown.

My bowl of pho quickly arrived thereafter.

The broth was a lot lighter than on my previous visit. It was also, like most of the pho in San Diego these days on the "sweeter" side, though it still had some nice onion tones. Not much beefiness and also highly defatted.

The tai; rare steak was very lean and once past rare quite tough; like on my previous visit, the flank and brisket were nicely done and beefy, the brisket being very tender. There was nary a piece of tendon in my bowl; though there was a lot of tripe; which was crunchy, and had no off flavors.

The noodles were cooked decently this time around.

While obviously not among my favorite pho shops in San Diego and navigating the course of "pho not to offend" this was not terrible. I can't think of any better pho in the area; though I haven't made the rounds in a while.

The Pho Shop
3760 Sports Arena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon - Sat 10am - 10pm
Sunday    10am - 9pm