Thai Son
3 Locations in Vancouver
373 E Broadway (Location visited)
Vancouver, BC
OK, this is one of those “lost in the pile” blog posts. Under normal circumstances, I am quite diligent with all my blog posts, i.e., I have them in a queue ready to go. This one instance… Well, it slipped through. How so? It just that this is about a place I visited over a month ago, unlike my usual week or so queue. And what happened a month ago? My trip to New Jersey! It just happens I visited Thai Son during the crazy rainy days before I left to New Jersey and had everything ready to go. Somehow, it was in the queue of eternal draft mode until I realized it was still there. How silly of me. So, without further ado… Thai Son in Broadway!
As mentioned above, this was back in November. Though I shouldn’t be really surprised about it, during that week or so rained… A LOT. Actually, it did not rain THAT much; however, it rained a lot for Vancouver standards. Since it was rainy, cold and damped, what better than a bowl of hot soup? Of course, there is your usual set of options going from ramen, Taiwanese beef noodle, I chose pho. For a change, I went to Broadway, not a place I necessarily love to drive to (lot of reasons) but, hey, food is food! I arrived around 1:30 p.m. and…
WTH?! It was still packed! I was really close to call it quits and go to Sushiyama but, on second thoughts, I decide to stick with the original plans. Fortunately, it was about a 10 minutes wait so, in the end, it wasn’t THAT bad. OK, some people might say that I am starting to seem impatient. If that is the case, I blame that on Sherman – his impatience is contagious! 
After being served some tea and looking through the menu, the decision as to what to order was quite straight forward…
While I did have this, it wasn’t delivered first. In fact, I got it when I was 2/3s done with my “main” dish! I guess timing is not something that is help up highly in Thai Son (or on most of these restaurants for that matter!). But, as for the spring rolls itself, at $5, it is not that cheap nor was the best I have had. While hot and crunchy, there wasn’t much else to comment about, other than it fulfilled what it was supposed to do. Oh, on that note, for cheap fried spring rolls, I prefer Bao Chau and Le Petit Saigon, both in Hastings…
I got this one from the very beginning just after I made my order of pho. Now, do you see something… Strange? Doesn’t it look a bit pale to you? If that is the case that was because they were not provided raw to me. Yup, you read that right! These were blanched when it hit the table. In fact, they were still steaming when I took the picture (not that noticeable though). This is the first time I have been given the bean sprouts this way. Is this a new trend? Or it is unique to Thai Son? Regardless, I do not have preference for either method (raw or blanched).
For my bowl of pho, I usually go for the one that has rare beef, tendon and tripe. However, once in a while, I am curious as to what the special has and that is what I went for this time. In this case, it is pretty much safe to say it has a bit of everything. Rare beef? Check. Well done brisket? Check. Tendon? Check. Tripe? Check. Meatball? Check. Seafood? Nope. Chicken? Nope. OK, most beefy meats but you get the drill. While I am not a big fan of this type of meatball, I must say it wasn’t bad, specially because of that hint of sesame in it. Still, that did not sway me away to switch to ordering meatball pho next time. As for the rest, I will have to say they are about the same, probably slightly above the average one compared to other pho shops. This includes even the broth, which was quite savoury tasting, not hitting yet the point it starts to be salty; I just wished it was hotter (as in temperature). Of course, it was possible it was a cold day. But, at just under $7 the large bowl, the did not really hold back in the amount of food, so I will give some credit for it.
In all, it is a well rounded offering where you can’t go wrong. While being above average in most respects sounds good, it does not have a characteristic that goes above and beyond. Still, I have no problems to come back for another bowl.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
The pho here is pretty good and they have several locations.
I am dying to go back and try their bbq dish which I saw other patrons eating with lettuce wraps. It looks very tasty but a lot of food for one.
As far as pho goes, it’s probably a dependable choice with not much surprises.
I’m with Holly here, it’s dependable with no surprises. Nothing is amazing and nothing is terrible. Makes it a safe place to go with friends. Unless they don’t like Pho…
Holly, if you need somebody to tag along for food…
Sherman, fortunately, there are other options in addition to the pho!
Hi Kim, I used to visit Thai Son’s now defunct location on North Road. Its become a Korean restaurant, unsurprisingly. The pho & rolls were always decent but never outstanding. My favorites have got to be Song Huong and Green Bamboo.
Karl, thanks for the suggestions! I have heard that Song Huong offers an interesting option other than pho: beef seven ways so, if I go, I might try that one first.
Sure Kim, that way we can eat more. LOL.
Also, I just tried a really good vietnamese restaurant on Victoria Drive which is known for their chicken pho. I heard from a reliable source that it is authentic northern style food.
Next time you’re feeling under the weather, just have some of this chicken pho. A tip, squeeze the lime juice into the salt dish for the chicken and you’ll feel like a native.
It’s located between 34th and 35th just across from Dona Cato.
Oh sorry, I meant to leave the name of that restaurant in case you decide to check it out. It’s called Lam Hoa Quan.
Holly, I have passed by that place several couple of times but, for some reason, it does not catch my attention. I guess now I have to give it a try!
Kim, Beef 7 Ways, my very first blog post! I was so innocent back then, before getting Randalled! One dish at Song Huong I really need to try is Bun Bo Ba Mon (http://picasaweb.google.com/gustibus.maximus/VietnameseBunSurvey#5212046215544641202). The sausages are in the Beef 7 Ways…seriously outstanding.
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