Pho Saigon
6516 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC
After yet another errand in South Burnaby, I was looking for places to eat late night. While driving through Kingsway, I was looking for alternatives to Green Bamboo so I was hoping for Vietnamese. I was aware of two of them (Pho Hoa and Pho Hong), they were still several clicks away. But then I spotted Pho Saigon. I have passed by a lot of times and, for some reason, it looks more like a run down house but, with cars parked outside and people inside, I guess it is still a restaurant…
After walking in, I was guided to the dining area, which is oddly shaped. As you walk in, there are two tables to the left and then some tables on the right side, plus what seems to be an annex. The “problem” with this layout is that you have no direct line of sight with the wait staff and, as a result, there is no way to signal them…
After looking at the menu, I started to wonder. So far, with some minor exceptions, I have been ordering pho in Vietnamese restaurants most of the time. Should I order something else (namely, rice dishes)? In the end, I decided to stick with pho. Probably I will stick ordering pho and might re-visit restaurants just to try other dishes. Anyway, here is my bowl of pho and its bean sprout side.
Caveat Emptor: this picture was heavily post-processed!
As I have done in other places in the past, I chose to go for their special, which a lot of time translates into “everything but the kitchen sink”. And, yes, in this case, it had tripe, tendon, meatball, brisket and rare beef.
Once again, this picture was highly post-processed.
I will admit I wasn’t sure where to set my expectation level. Because the location looks “strange”, I wasn’t expecting much, yet, because it has stayed in business they should be producing something “good”, right? Well, overall it was a decent bowl of pho but it had nothing that will make it outstanding. Clean broth, but not extreme flavourful. Your usual meats and almost generic noodles (OK, at least they were bundled together as the ones in Green Bamboo). Did I miss something?
While the pho was par, the spring roll was… Well, I am not sure what to say nor how to say it. I mean, by visuals only, I am sure most people will call the crappiest looking spring roll ever! As for the filling, it was mostly similar to that of other spring rolls but, again, not outstanding. The one plus side was that it was served hot so, at least, there were some signs it was made to order.
While there aren’t that many pho places in that area of town, the fact I can move around means I have other alternatives. Given that Pho Saigon is average in my books, I am not sure if I am too enthusiastic in going back. Probably if I try their rice dishes? :S
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I haven’t been here in awhile but a friend of mine always raved about their sandwiches… chicken in particular. I do remember enjoying their pho though and I plan to come back and try their sandwiches again. I think I’ve had them before but don’t remember anything special about them!
I used to come here for lunch a lot. Like Jacqueline said, nothing special about them. But it’s a fairly cheap, and a spot for a quick lunch.
Jacqueline, Ann, well, that is the one thing. Given that it is so “average”, I might as well try to find something else, right? But, then again, in a hurry and sometimes cash strapped, that will work as well!
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