These cold days have me craving noodles and soup daily (ok, let's be real, I always crave noodles at the very least), so what better way to satisfy that craving than with a good bowl of Pho? It always does the trick! My MIL is visiting and she doesn't get the chance to eat Pho every often where she lives, so she was excited to check out a new-to-us spot.
- Vibe -
Located in the Fairfield Shopping Center (across the way from TJ Maxx). The windows are wrapped with pictures of their dishes and the names, so it's hard to miss. When you walk in, there is a vestibule with a take out window, so you don't have to enter the actual dining area of the restaurant.
- Noms -
I took full advantage of having an easy going and adventurous dining companion, so we ordered (I love eating family style):
*Spring Rolls - 2 pieces per order, good size, nicely wrapped and super fresh, sauce was great!
*Tom Hua Tien (wrapped shrimp and scallion) - 2 pieces per order, the shrimps were pretty small and what I would consider more like bites. I probably wouldn't order these again, just because of the value, but the taste was great! Simply shrimps and a chunk of scallion wrapped in spring roll wrapper, deep fried. Nice and crispy, served with sweet chili sauce.
*Pho Tai Nam Gau - Just a random observation: it was served in a stainless steel bowl, typically more common in Korean restaurants, not the typical white bowls, so I thought that was different. I always like to sip just the broth before adding anything to get the feel of the Chef's vibe and style. It was flavorful! Served with typical garnishes like beans sprouts, Thai Basil, jalapeño slices and lime wedges. It hit the spot! I would definitely go back for the Pho!
*Com Suon Dac Biet - My MIL had never tried the Lemongrass/grilled
meats and my fave is the Lemongrass beef, so I asked if we could replace the BBQ Pork with Grilled Beef and they didn't have a problem with that. I was a bit disappointed with the thinness of the meat though. It was so thin that it was pretty tough. I prefer when places get a thicker thin cut when doing Lemongrass Beef. The flavor was spot on though!
This platter includes other things like (see pic):
-Shredded Pork: it's a mix of (most likely) rice noodle and thin slices of pork, but the problem with any rice item that gets cooked and then gets cold is, it becomes unpleasant to eat bc the rice hardens and is no longer supple. Thankfully, it's a small portion, but I think this can easily be replaced with something tastier
-Egg quiche: don't picture the quiche you know. Sometimes, I feel like dishes from other cultures can be translated poorly and should be explained better instead of using English culinary terms to describe the closest thing to the item, but ends up not being similar at all. No cream in here...it's more like an egg that has been scrambled with wood ear mushrooms and other ingredients, that has been baked. This was fine, but again, probably would not order this again.
- Fried Egg: yes, exactly what I said. Who doesn't love a Fried Egg with basically anything though?
- Rice: topped with green onions
-Tomatoes and cucumbers for garnish
-Nuoc Cham with carrots and radish
-Comes with side soup which to me tasted like the pho broth topped with cilantro and green onions. It's the perfect soup to wash down the dish!
*Vietnamese Iced Coffee with extra milk - coffee was strong and made with the extra condensed milk that I requested. It just adds that perfect amount of sweetness for me. YUM! Love Vietnamese coffee!
- TLC -
The service was great. There was a woman and a younger man sharing tasks between tables. We told them we were going to share everything, so they gave us 2 sauces for each app and brought out an extra bowl for the pho. That was so thoughtful!
All in all, I would skip the platters and go straight for the Pho, Spring Rolls and coffee! When in doubt, always go for the Pho!
Stay warm and safe, Friends! read more