Pho Number One
1120 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC
In my continuing blog of restaurants in the West End, I went to one of my first restaurant I visited after moving to the West End, Pho Number One. Back then, I liked the food and visited it every once in a while. But, when I moved out, going all the way down just for a bowl of pho was no longer an option, not to mention I started to expand my horizon. But, about a year or so ago, I heard there was a change of ownership and, as a result, was not sure what to expect anymore…
Pho Number One, located next to Tanpopo, Qoola and Dulcinea, the last two blogged previously.
I arrived just before lunch time and it was still empty. That gave me the opportunity to choose where to seat. Given that day was sunny, I chose to seat on the stools facing outside, which gave better lightning. Or so I thought… More on that later. As for food, so far, in almost every visit to a Vietnamese restaurant, I have ordered pho, so there was no reason not to order it. So I went for the “special” pho, which is basically, meatball, well done flank and rare slices of beef. And, of course, it comes with your usual bean sprouts. Not much to say here, as it is the “default”.
And, then, the pho. OK, here is the small “lightning” issue. Actually, I knew I “avoid” the glare by moving around but, when you are sitting on stools, that’s not much of an option. Hmmmm… Feel free to call it bad judgement…
Anyway, as for the pho itself, the noodles were OK, as expected, though, fortunately, not bundled together. The meatballs was the only one that stood out, as it had a hint of sesame. The biggest disappointment was the broth. It was bland and did not have any meaty flavour at all. Probably worst of all, it did not feel “clean” (as in too much scum left over after simmering the bones/meat to prepare it).
Overall, my experience in this visit was not even the shadow of the one years ago – Which is a shame. Sometimes you wish places be the same or improve after the years. Oh, well…
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Ahh… I’m sorry that this did not satisfy your pho expectation.. isn’t it always such a disappointment?
Oh the evil glare game. The sun always seems to win with me!
Pearl, yes, sometimes it is… But, then again, that means I have reasons to go to other places and not always stick with the same, hehehehe.
With your lighting issue that’s an easy fix – just meter for the light better and get the right exposure and you won’t have that issue even sitting next to the window with side lighting pour onto your table.
shokutsu, I was playing with the settings but eventually gave up because the food was starting to get cold. But, I think the picture is good enough to represent the food… I think… ^_^;;;
What a ***** ****** ****** you are! Amazing. Maybe you should focus your energy on trying to *** **** than slamming this honest business.
Hmmmmmmm…. I let your comment go through but edited it out due to “interesting wording”. However, if it boils down to insult…
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