I'm Only Here for the Food!

Pho Viet Vietnamese Fine Cuisine
2141 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC

So one night, while driving through Kingsway after an errand, I ran into the eternal question that pops when your stomach starts grumbling: Food, where??? That quickly remind me of a Vietnamese restaurant I was pending a visit. After a couple of turns, I arrived at Pho Viet.

I must mention that I usually have around a week’s worth of post materials and it is possible I won’t post about a visit until a week (if not more) later. More often than not, that is not an issue; however, when you have special promos and you had such promo then it does. Unfortunately, I procrastinated with this one in particular. Why? Because I went to Pho Viet on late June while they had this promo (If they have a similar promo or the same promo, I can’t say).

Anyway, when I walk into the restaurant, I had a really odd feeling. For some reason, I felt as if they weren’t expecting any customers that night (it was in the middle of the week) because they looked a bit startled. I was told I could sit anywhere and… Probably because of their reaction, I chose the worst possible seat: in a somewhat dark corner, when I could sit on anywhere in the restaurant. Feel free to call it epic fail…

Given the prices listed outside, I new I had to had pho. The question was rather what else. Once I made my order, I started my usual round, starting with my infamous… Condiments on the table picture!

There goes your usual suspects!

Since I ordered pho, there ought be a plate of side bean sprouts and some herbs. The usual herb is there (thai basil); however, the reason why I wanted to came was rather than other herb on the top: culantro, aka, saw-leaf herb. This herb is frequently used in Panamanian and other Latin American cuisine; however, some Asian cultures use it as well. While I know what to expect in Panamanian dishes, I wasn’t sure how it would go with pho… (Although we know it is fragrant, in Panama, we don’t eat this herb “as is”).

In addition to the pho, I ordered some rolls, specifically, an order of Chinese salad roll. On its own, this would have been filling enough but, hey, I was hungry! If you had other Vietnamese salad rolls before then you have a good idea of what to expect. Slightly stringy rice noodles wrapped together by the rice wrap, some herbs inside (most notably thai basil) which gives an anise like flavour. However, unlike the Vietnamese salad roll that has shrimp, this one has cured Chinese sausage and some egg omelette strips. While the substitution is quite interesting, I wonder about the ingredient itself. Namely I did not find it savoury enough, as if it was muted by the other ingredients. Those who have had Chinese sausages before, you know that it is quite savoury and small pieces go a long way. And, no, no matter how much dip I tried to use, it didn’t seem to have any impact.

And the pho. This one has rare beef, tendon and tripe. The soup was quite good, I must admit. It felt light yet not watery, still tasty/savoury yet not salty. The noodles were OK, not much to talk about. But the meats… Had I have to pay full price ($8.50), I would have cried foul; however, given that I was paying only $5, I will instead consider it is equivalent of a small in other places served in a large container. But, going back to the topic, I couldn’t find anything distinctive about the meats, that is, it felt… average.

Overall, it was interesting in its own ways. The food could have been better in some aspects but, given the price I paid that night, I don’t think I should be complaining about it. Would I come back? Well, in Kingsway, there are a lot of other Vietnamese shops (including some that do not do pho) and, until I try others (including a re-visit to this place paying full price), I can’t say for certain. Interesting option for pho, not necessarily the absolute best.