Pho Hoa - Federal Way

Address: 32034 23rd Ave. S, Federal Way , WA 98003

Phone: (253) 839-0133

Prices:
Small - $5.76
Large - $7.14

Rating: 2.5

Pho Hoa is conveniently located off the freeway in Federal Way. When you walk in, you will quickly realize that it is a corporate chain and after looking at their website I would guess it is one of the largest, if not the largest, pho chains in the US and possibly the world. The interior was clean and nice, and the service was fast. 

Unfortunately it is also plagued by the same problem that most corporate restaurants suffer from: blandness. There really isn't that much I can say about the meal. It was okay. I ordered a spring roll to start; it was good but nothing special. The condiments were fresh and standard. The broth was okay but nothing special. The noodles were good and there was a proper amount. The only notable thing about the entire meal was the meat. The meat was a lower quality than I would expect from a truly good meal. The beef looked like thinly sliced bacon it was so fatty and I received one thin slice of nothing but fat.

Overall I would eat here again. The price is good, but I would not go out of my way to find one of their many locations. Go local; you will walk away more satisfied.

Noodle Zone

Address: 858 Southcenter blvd, Tukwila, WA 98188 (South Center Mall Food Court)

Phone: N/A

Prices: $8.95

Rating: 0.1

In an attempt to be fair to pho, I am willing to try any place that claims to sell the wonderful soup. But seeing a mall food court operator selling pho automatically sets off alarms in my head. Noodle Zone proved that these alarms and fears are well founded.

Noodle Zone is located in the food court of the newly remodeled Southcenter Mall. They serve many different Asian noodle dishes and one bowl of what they call pho. When I ordered the beef pho I was handed one of those pagers that you commonly see at places like Olive Garden. I was told it would go off when my food was ready.  I waited a very long time.  Finally I was given a bowl and a small plate of bean sprouts and a small container of hosin sauce. I was told I could find seracha sauce at the end of the counter. I loaded some seracha sauce into the soup and headed for my table.

After my first bite I knew I would have a hard time finishing. It had a strong taste that I cannot put my finger on until a coworker who was enjoying lunch with me said that it smelled strongly of cilantro. In normal pho you might expect cilantro but there was no cilantro to be found in my bowl, only a small about of onions floating around. This lead me to believe that it was some sort of additive. After the cilantro, the next thing I tasted were extremely dry and low quality noodles which I would not expect for the price I paid ($8.95!). Now let me next describe the meat. It was not anything I have ever been served in a true Vietnamese restaurant. It was thick and chunky like you would expect in a Chinese or Thai stir-fry. The meat was also extremely chewy and flavorless.

I would not really call this pho. I tried it but I will never, ever be back. We do not need people watering down the concept of pho.

Pho Of Aurora

Address: 12752 Aurora Ave N Seattle, WA 98133

Phone: (206) 363-5840

Prices:
Small - 5.95
Large - 6.95

Rating: 4.5

Pho of Aurora was a huge surprise. As you drive by, all you notice is a rundown, bland, grey building which made me a little weary. Expecting a dirty run down interior, I was surprised to find that the inside was a little run down but was extremely clean. The people who run the restaurant take pride in keeping the place clean. My waiter was quick to help and extremely friendly. The menu was typical Vietnamese fare with vermicelli and rice dishes and the typical full gamut of pho options.

As the soup arrived at my table I noticed how fresh the condiments and soup looked. There was a perfect amount of noodles to meat ratio and a perfect amount of tripe and tendon. The broth was a little lighter in color then I have become accustom to but it was very flavorful and balanced. There were no tastes that stuck out more than others. Really the only thing that I can complain about my experience at Pho of Aurora was the fact that the jalapeno was sliced a tad but thicker then I normally like, but that was easily forgiven.

This was one of the best bowls of soup I have enjoyed since starting this blog. If they offered a free cream puff I may have given them a perfect score. They even take credit cards, which is so rare at small local pho places in Seattle. Please don't be scared by the meager looks on the outside. If you go in you will have a great meal.

5 Seasons Grill

  

 

Address: 9724 Aurora Ave N Seattle, WA 98103

Phone: (206) 522-5550

Website: http://5seasonsgrill.com

Prices:
Small - 4.99
Large - 6.49

Rating: 3.5


5 Seasons Grill is conveniently located close to 105th on Aurora. The outside looks like many of the rundown restaurants that sport Aurora, with the difference being the appearance of the 5 Seasons trying to look nicer. The inside appears to be a remodeled older Chinese restaurant. They offer a full Vietnamese menu with all of the standard pho options. The restaurant was so busy that it took longer then one would expect. The people at our table received their food at a staggered rate - the people who did not order pho got their meals almost 10 minutes before those who did.

I have tried the pho here before and was very unimpressed. I was a little worried about visiting again but i wanted to make sure to give it a second try and give it a proper review. To my pleasant surprise, my meal this time around was much better but it wasn't without its flaws. I ordered a bowl with tripe, but the tripe was missing. The noodles were just slightly over cooked but not so much that they were too mushy to enjoy. Other than these small issues I found the soup much better than my first visit. The broth was full flavored and slightly sweet. The meat was quality and the condiment plate was both fresh looking and tasting. I also ordered a few spring rolls on this visit - they were nothing special but were tasty and I would order them again.

Overall, I will eat here again. I enjoyed it and it is very close to my house at the moment but I am fully aware of the fact the I might not always get the same quality meal.

Pho Duc

 

  

 

Address: 3815 196th St SW # 102 Lynnwood, WA 98036-5749

Phone: (425) 672-2466

Prices:

Medium - 5.49
Large - 6.49

Rating: 1

While out in Lynnwood recently, I decided to use Google Maps on my Blackberry to find an early lunch spot. Pho Duc was the first place that popped up. Pho Duc is located in Lynnwood about a mile from the Alderwood Mall, tucked away just off a main road. As you drive up you notice the almost standard pho restaurant sign. They offer a large dinning room and have quick service.

I ordered my regular bowl filled with beefy goodness. The standard condiments came out wilted and looking that they had been sitting out for a few hours. The soup came quickly but from the first smell I realized that I was in for dried pho noodles. The noodles were so bad that the whole broth was tainted with the taste of cheapness. The broth also did not help in this manner - it was thin and lacking any real sustenance. To top it off,  the meat also tasted cheap and was sliced far too thick for a good bowl of pho.

Even though I finished my meal, I will avoid this place in the future.  Any place that uses low quality noodles is not worthy of my time and I would say they are not worth yours, either. The low quality noodles along with the thin broth just shows me that this store is more concerned with cost instead of quality.  Why spend your money at a place like that when there are many pho restaurants in the area that truly care about providing you with a great meal?

Than Brothers - Ballard

Adress: 2021 NW Market Street Seattle, WA 98107

Phone: 206-782-5715

Website: http://www.thanbrothers.com

Prices:
Small - 4.35
Medium - 4.75
Large - 5.25
Extra Large - 6.25


Rating: 2

If you ever look at other review websites such as Yelp, people either love or hate Than Brothers. Being the largest chain pho restaurant you can pretty much expect this. Personally, I like somewhere in between.  I have eaten at a few of them and they have decent pho but nothing to rave about. On this trip, though, I did not have the most pleasant experience.  I walked in and the woman behind the counter glanced at me in such a manner that made her look like she was annoyed that I was there and the waiter that came to my table looked very bored.

The food that I ordered did come very fast, but it did not look too good. The condiments plate looked like it was at least two days old and a bit wilted. It only came with one slice of jalapeno which was so thick that it must have been a third of the the pepper. I ordered a medium but when they brought it to my table it looked like I had ordered a small and they decided to add a little broth. In the photo above you may notice that there is a huge slice of tripe half way out of the bowl. Now i realize that most Americans probably don't order the tripe but is it necessary to display it? With all that being said, the soup was actually pretty decent. The meat is tasty but nothing special, the broth is very tasty and the most enjoyable part of the meal.  All orders of pho come with a cream puff and they are delicious.

There are 13 Than Brothers throughout the Seattle area and I do plan on visting them all over time and giving them reviews, but I certainly hope that my experiences will be better than this one. The soup is good enough that I'm not dreading going to another location but since I know there are other great pho places close by, I will probably avoid this one in the future.

Pho 99

Adress: #302-403 North Road Conquitlam, BC V3K3V9

Phone: (604)-939-2288

Website: Http://www.pho99vn.net

Rating 3.6

On a recent business trip there was a nice looking pho restaurant close to my hotel. Pho 99 had a pleasant interior, with typical Asian influenced art and decorations through out the store. As I walked in I noticed the staff sitting at a table with the largest mound of whole garlic I think I have ever seen. They appeared to be peeling it. The menu was larger then expected. It included vermicelli salads commonly know as "bun" rice dishes, sandwiches, and various types of "beef stew" that was apparently different from pho. Since this was a dinner for me instead of a lunch, I ordered a sampler plate of the spring rolls and a French styled iced coffee with condensed milk on top of a bowl of pho.

The food was a little slow to get to me but that was forgivable since the place was pretty busy (and the staff was busy peeling garlic). The very first thing I noticed was the fact that the "Rare Beef" that the menu boasted of was actually raw and set to cook in the hot broth, which was a pleasant surprise since that is what I always envisioned but it is very rare to see. The fatty brisket was truly fatty brisket. The broth was one of those great indescribable broths that is not overpowering but leaves you very satisfied. My only complaint really was with the amount of tripe that was given to me - I wasn't expecting tripe soup. The spring roll sampler included a shrimp roll, a pork roll and fried veggie roll and I thought it was superb and if I ever end up going back I certainly will order it again. The coffee was also delicious and I enjoyed it.

Overall it was not the best pho I have ever had but I would definitely eat there again and enjoy the spring rolls and the truly rare meat. According to their website they have a few restaurants here in Washington and one in Seattle that I will be sure to check it out.