Pho - I'm hooked!

I was introduced to Pho while doing some contract work in Laguna Hills a few months ago. A place called Pho 89 in Lake Forest served me my first taste of this rice noodle soup.

I got rare beef. It was paper thin and raw wrapped in plastic wrap. They gave me a bag full of rice noodles, and another bag with bean sprouts, Asian basil, jalapenos, lime, siriacha hot sauce, and a big boiling bowl of broth. Never having tried Vietnamese food before, I was so pleasantly surprised by this self mixed soup. I'm hooked. A place opened up in Foothill Ranch called Masion de Pho that I've gone to a few times since, but I keep getting the same thing, the rare beef.

Anybody have suggestions for other types of meat? Oxtail? I've never tried fish sauce, would that be good mixed in?

I'm sure I could find a more "authentic" place in Little Saigon (Westminster/HB), any suggestions? Other locations?

welcome to the club!


Phở thịt nướng (whitey pronounciation - FUH TIT NOONG) - not every place serves it like this, but trust me!

and the most perfect accompaniment i have ever found for any style bowl of teh FUH is called...

Bánh Ướt thịt nướng / Chả giò (whitey pronunciation - BAHN OOT TIT NOONG / CHA ZHYO)



Phở 79 in Alhambra is my favorite place... but i have been going there for at least 20 years.

I love pho. Best thing to suggest is to try whatever looks good. There are so many variations and all are good. Most important, kick it up a noctch with some Rooster Sauce.

This is the best Pho in the city.
Pho Cafe - Silver Lake - Los Angeles, CA
A little hard to find if you don't know where to go since they don't have sign and the street number on the building is hard to see.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-e...e.100_9646.jpg

Pho King Way is in the OC somewhere.

Mmmmmmmm. And pho loaded with chili sauce and the jalapeños does wonders for a cold or jacked up sinuses!

i've been eating this stuff since i was a kid. traditionally, it's only a breakfast/brunch meal but i know a bunch of people who eat it for dinner partially because the pho shops are open so late so it caters to everyone's schedules. my dad'll only eat it for brunch or as a midnight snack on his way home from the graveyard shift. haha.

i normally go for pho tai (the one with the rare meat) or pho tai sach (rare meat + tripe). some places are real gnarly with not shredding the tripe appropriately though so if i go back i'll just get rare meat. as a kid, i liked pho bo vien (beef meat balls), that's like the chicken tenders equivalent when you drag your kid along with you, lol.

there are a bunch of places in little saigon i default to, but i couldn't tell you their name. i just know where to drive, park and stroll in. part of my problem is that i don't really speak the language (that's what my mom gets for teaching me french instead) so the names don't really stick in my head so well. i'm just lucky i know how to order what i want to eat. :)

there's a dish that is similar to what ges is mentioning called bun thit nuong cha gio that my husband loves. rice vermicelli noodles with char grilled pork and egg rolls. it's the same thing but you're replacing bun (the rice vermicelli noodles) for banh uot (rice flour sheets).

and hey hey hey, ges, only the commies pronounce cha gio with a "z". ;)

What the pho! Now I want some! :D

there was actually a "what the pho" right on PCH in HB. i never went though. i only go to little saigon or directly outside of it (fountain valley) or the san gabriel valley (rosemead, alhambra, etc.) the prices and flavors are usually right on if you stay where there's more competition. i hate to put it this way, but they don't try to cater to non vietnamese taste buds when they're serving a mostly viet clientele, if you catch my drift...

If you are ever on the 58 fwy between Mojave and Bakersfield, Blue Ginger Pho in Tehachapi is well worth the detour.




Blue Ginger Pho - Tehachapi, CA