Tag Archives: Vietnamese

Pho Central

Click to add a blog post for Pho Central on Zomato I had been to Pho Central when it was at the old location. It was filthy and tiny, though their pho were good. I had always walked by it and seen how full it was, so I suspected that their pho must be still good.

I met a with a friend for lunch around 1pm. It wasn’t overly busy, so it was good timing. The interior was quite spacious and nicer than most other whole in the wall pho places. In fact, this must be the best one I’ve been to in Metro Vancouver area. It has a bar on one side with blue LED lighting which gives it a modern, moody look.

idearabbit-pho_central1 idearabbit-pho_central2 idearabbit-pho_central3 idearabbit-pho_central4I ordered the Beef Ball Noodles Soup $8 (regular). I was surprised by the portion. It must be the biggest one I know. The broth wasn’t overwhelmingly salty, and the noodles and beef tasted great. We kept eating, but it seemed like the amount never shrunk. Each bowl of Pho came with a plate of sprouts, slice of lime, jalapenos and Vietnamese basil. I usually put in all the sprouts, a sprinkle of torn up basil and squeeze the lime. No extra sauces. I know most people use them, but a recent reading has taught me that the use of extra sauces aren’t authentic. I guess it’s like how California rolls aren’t authentic Japanese rolls (in fact none of the fancy rolls are). I often don’t like a lot of sauces on anything since it usually covers up the real flavour.

I love this place! I think it’s the best Pho in town – in terms of quality, quantity, price, atmosphere, location and service. Extra points for serving water in glass, and not plastic. The spoons for the noodle soups are also porcelain and not plastic.

Back for Dinner
This time I returned with Sheepie who isn’t a fan of Pho (what?! lol). Anyways, there were plenty of non-Pho dishes to order and he ended up getting the Chicken Curry. Looked spicy, but it wasn’t too hot. The chicken were super tender and really just melted in your mouth. I again ordered the Beef Ball Pho – sorry, I’m just in love with this bowl!

It was super busy this time with usually 3 groups waiting by the entrance. However there were no compromise with the food quality. Service was a bit slower, but that was expected.

My favourite Pho in Metro Vancouver!

Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrotcarrot  Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

Pho Extreme Xe Lua

Click to add a blog post for Pho Extreme Xe Lua Restaurant on ZomatoI was craving for some Pho around 11:30pm, and the only place that was open nearby was this one – open 24/7. I had driven by it everyday from work, and wondered what their Pho was like. I was disappointed to see the poor reviews, but since it was the only one open, I gave it a shot.
Despite being midnight, it was full-house with 2-3 groups waiting by the door. We were lucky that a table had just opened up.

idearabbit-phoextreme idearabbit-phoextreme2 idearabbit-phoextreme3 idearabbit-phoextreme4 idearabbit-phoextreme5 I had been there when it was a sushi restaurant – in fact there were 2 different sushi restaurants previously there in which I had gone to both. With both of them closing down, I thought this location was poor for some reason, even though it was on a prime location on the corner of Broadway and Cambie. I guess I was wrong about Pho Extreme Xe Lua.

Since it was late, I only ordered a small Beef Ball Pho $8 while Sheepie who was not a Pho fan had the Grilled Chicken Sub $4.75 (Zomato’s menu is outdated – so there are price increases). For a small bowl, I thought it was pricey, especially when the best Pho (that I know of in Vancouver) cost $8 for a regular bowl  – and it was one of the biggest bowl I’ve had. Not to mention really tasty.

idearabbit-phoextreme6The bowl came in a cheap plastic bowl, with the noodles all clumped up. I didn’t realize until more than half way through the bowl that I never got any of the toppings!! Argh! I was hungry but also half sleepy, so I guess I wasn’t thinking. Boo – sucks even more that the table next to us had some which they barely had touched. Sheepie explained that his sub would be great if one had walked for miles in the dessert and was all worn out and it was the first food one had in days…lol.

The broth was super salty, and nothing rich about it.

The server’s shoes were almost black with oil and dirt. His pants were dropping a bit. There was a ant fly crawling on our table. The place is overall ok, but feel a bit dirty.

Being open around the clock is a huge plus, but the food isn’t good. Anyways, it’s bad to eat so late, right? Would not return unless I absolutely, really have to.

Taste: carrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrot

Atmosphere:  carrotcarrot   Service:  carrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot

Saigon Venture

Click to add a blog post for Saigon Venture on Zomato I phoned earlier for take out of the Beef Ball Noodle in Soup (small). As I entered to pick up, I was immersed into a gassy, smoky and stuffy tiny hole in the wall restaurant. There were only about 4 tables and 2 were occupied by a family and a single woman.
The young girl who worked there did the cashier, phones, taking orders from diners and help prepare the food. There’s probably a cook in the back, but I couldn’t see.
My order came out to be exactly $7 with tax. Since she was so busy, she had left the till. There was no thank-you or good bye. When I saw my credit card go through, I left.

idearabbit-saigonventure1 idearabbit-saigonventure2The small portion was not enough for me, so it’ll have to be a large next time, if I return. She had asked me if I wanted the broth and noodles separately or in the same bowl, and I had said the same is fine. It was ok, but I found that there wasn’t enough broth…so keep it separate next time! idearabbit-saigonventure3
Food wise was very good and tasty. Not too salty. Things were fresh and packaged well. There were 2 fortune cookies, only which one of them had a message :)

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere:  carrot   Service:  carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot