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2017-02-18
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Pho. A simple bowl of pho. That is all I ask for. Like how I had in Hanoi, sitting on the stool in the sweltering heat as I wrap my hands around a hot bowl of pho. One bowl. Nothing more.And here comes Pho Bar. Opened in Central, they recently opened a new branch in Causeway Bay. I had heard good things about it and was always curious to try. But Central was a bit far for lunch and whenever I was there at night, it was closed. As it's now near my neighborhood, I came here for lunch.Set up like
And here comes Pho Bar. Opened in Central, they recently opened a new branch in Causeway Bay. I had heard good things about it and was always curious to try. But Central was a bit far for lunch and whenever I was there at night, it was closed. As it's now near my neighborhood, I came here for lunch.
Set up like a ramen shop, it played stylish hip music. The staff was hip. Everything was cool.
Ordering was like a ramen shop. You check off what you want and add condiments as you need. They also offer the very trendy zoodles (zucchini sliced so thin, it's like pasta). Menu in Chinese and English. They offer free water with a lot of lemon in it in the form of a water bottle. Just like a ramen restaurant. Prices aren't cheap but there is no 10% service charge.. You're average $80 a bowl of pho.
For those that are wondering what's in the bowls, they have a lengthier description in a separate menu.
I ordered this: a supreme combo. I mean ... might as well go big, right? This included medium rare filet mignon, brisket, beefy meat balls, tripe, whole pieces of ox tail, beef shank and Vietnamese sausage. All for $88. I also added mint, Thai basil, bean sprouts and scallions. I had the thin noodles.The first thing that makes or breaks a good bowl of pho is the soup. The soup was a complete fail. It was lukewarm. There wasn't a strong taste of beef. There was far too much other flavors but no beef. It was a healthy bowl of soup though as there was no oil in it. At all. I had never had pho where there was no oil! The noodles were chewy and quite ok. The ingredients were quite good but super small pieces. The ox tail were mini! I had never seen such mini ox tail before. Even the tripe was small and thin. Portion size was not big. It's ok for me but I can see a heavier eater leaving the shop starving.
Pho that is geared for the hip and cool. It tries to be chic but yet fails in being nothing more than superficial. Pho is not about using filet mignon or wagyu beef. It's all about the intense beef broth that warms your soul and keeps you happy.. It's a comfort food. And the broth didn't do that. It was nice. It was chic. But it failed in giving me a warm feeling of love. It felt sterile and sad.I'll probably be back as I want to try the zoodles next time. I doubt it would taste good with pho but I'm curious if it would work in place of cold vermicelli. If I'm going to a hipster pho place, I might as well not do the pho and just go with trendy and not normal. So, zoodles will be my next attempt at this place. I may be back. But not for the pho.
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