Tag Archives: Vietnamese

Pho Queen 皇后越南餐廳

A friend suggested going here after I mentioned I wanted some pho. It was about 4pm on a Sunday and there were only 2 other tables occupied with some take outs during our meal.
The tables and condiment containers were dirty. There was one server lady who was friendly but was serving wearing black rubber boots?! The place seemed like a typical pho place – slightly run down, although there was a nice big chandelier in the middle… Sheepie noticed that the paper wrappers for all the chopsticks were reused. Later on, we saw the serve prepping the supposedly washed chopsticks into used paper wrappers. Argh! One of our tea cups was really dirty – as if it was straight from the grey dish bins that’s been sitting out for a while. Of course, we asked for new one! The dishwasher also brought out the large trays with cups and utensils out to the dining area, making a racket and sorting them out.

The prices had been changed twice.I ordered #10 Pho Queen Dac Biet $7.50 (small). Despite the turnoff points of the actual restaurant, the pho itself was pretty good. I should have ordered the large, as the small wasn’t enough for me. Sheepie ordered the Curry Chicken with rice. Looked good, but he wasn’t too happy with the bones and quality of the meat.

We all shared an order of spring rolls $5 among the three of us which was ok.
Good pho, dirty restaurant. Don’t think I’d return.

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Baoqi Eatery

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So I’ve passed by this place so many times, being attracted to the decor, but I never went in. Then a friend wanted to try out the place, and since I loved pho, we went to try it out.

It was a weekday evening, but it was pretty full. I guess that’s not too hard since it’s a very small place, but I know restaurants nearby who are close to being empty. So this was a good sign. There are only 2 tables – one long one where several strangers sit tightly close together, or one other table, usually for a group of 4 friends or so.

I sat at the end of the bigger table right by the water pool. I had no idea that there were real live koi (fish) in the water until my friend pointed it out. So cute!

Since I always order the beef pho, this time I thought I’d try something new and ordered the Crab meat and Shrimp Noodle Soup $9.75 with crab meat, crab pate, shrimp coconut milk soup with shallots and round tapioca noodle. Now, I’m not a fan of tapioca noodle, so I asked the server if he could swap it with the thin regular rice noodles. He said yes, but when I got my bowl, it was the tapioca noodles…I was disappointed, but I was also very hungry. It was really busy with people waiting, so I didn’t ask for it to be remade. Unfortunately, this detoured me a bit, but I was more focused on my friend and I’s conversation. The soup was on the lighter side. I later realized the chili sauce on the side and regretted not putting some of it in to give it a bit of punch.

Crab meat and Shrimp Noodle Soup $9.75

My friend ordered the baOqi Saté Thick Sauce $9.95 with your choice of beef, chicken, vegetarian or seafood additional $1.50. It came with coconut milk, peanut satay sauce, bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and basil. My friend got the seafood. It was a large portion and she ended up not being able to finish it despite starving upon arrival. I couldn’t try because of my allergy to nuts.

We also ordered the Summer Roll (5 Rolls) $6.95 with vermicelli, shrimp & pork, lettuce, bean sprouts, basil. I am not sure which herb it was, but I had to take it out because it was too strong for me. I also couldn’t try out the sauce because of the peanuts, so I dipped it into my chili sauce.

This place is different from a lot of the other regular ‘pho’ places. Their presentation is excellent, though I wish they had more on their menu. It is a bit limited in terms of choices. However, it is the best Vietnamese restaurant I’ve been to in terms of interior atmosphere, service, food quality and presentation. I would definitely like to go back and try a few more dishes.

Warning: this place DOES NOT have a bathroom!! How crazy is that.

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Tango Vietnamese & Thai

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My friend whom I was meeting up with said that she really liked this place so I was invited to have an early dinner with her.

As I drove up to the dull strip mall, I wondered what the place would look like inside. Most of the Vietnam restaurants that I’ve been to in Vancouver have been a bit run down, cheap and dirty places.

To my surprise, as soon as I opened the door, I noticed sparkling chandeliers and a very slick, modern and high end look. I immediately liked the interior decor.

Water was actually served in glasses and not plastic ones! Yay! Their menu was quite extensive and very reasonable prices.

My friend had ordered a plate of Beef Spring roll (4 rolls), and I had one. It was super hot and very tasty. Delicious. One of the sauce had hair in it, but since there were 3 little bowls of the same sauce, I just used the other one.

My Pho Bo Vien $7.95 with beef ball rice noodle soup; served with a side of fresh bean sprouts, basil and lime was excellent. They only have a Large which I ordered for $7.95 or an extra large.
I’m glad I ordered Large (the smaller size) since it was pretty large portion! I couldn’t completely finish it (meaning a few strands of noodles and sprouts) which has never happened before. Yes, it could be because I had a large dim sum lunch and it was only 5pm, but still. I always have room for noodles

Service was excellent. Other than the hair in sauce, everything was really good. I would love to come back – unfortunately, I don’t go to Calgary often. Would like to see something similar in Vancouver! Thumbs up.

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