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Pho Hoang serves traditional Vietnamese cuisine.
I wanted some pho and this place had won "best Vietnamese" in Georgia Straight so thought would try it out. Big mistake!! The place was filthy. The table was sticky even after wiping. I overheard another patron ask to have their table cleaned again - twice! The food was mediocre. The broth tasted of MSG, which is a cheat in a good restaurant. The chicken ditto. Very disappointed. Don't understand how this place is busy when there are much better places. Don't encourage bad food... This is Vancouver and there are so many more choices!
I met up with a friend for lunch here this week. It's been a long time since we've both been here and it seems to have maintained itself consistently over the years.
Pho and spring rolls again were our cards. Our larges looked bigger than what we actually got, but lots of meat was to be had, but of which was decent at best. It was on the tougher side but that was offset with the jaw gnawing tendon, despite having a few large pieces floating around, which many places are guilty of being stingy on. Broth was good with minimum MSG added. Spring rolls were good but the filling was bland.
You never come to a Vietnamese noodle joint for the service and there is no surprise here. Lone waitress was friendly but her mind was elsewhere. We didn't get any tea or water but that wasn't a dealbreaker for us.
The restaurant is actually pretty clean and has held up well over the years though it feels a little cramped despite the larger space.
The food didn't wow us, but it was comfort food nonetheless.
Dropped by on a rainy weekday during midafternoon about 3. They had about 7 or 8 customers, with just one waitress, typical. The place is definitely more clean than your usual pho joint, and I love how they don't leave the chopsticks and spoons out for you to get yourself like a lot of other places, which is why I gave it a 4 for ambiance. But they play an odd combination of music.. from classical they switch it up to vietnamese music?
The lady who worked there seemed nice.. but it was just her, so she was constantly on her feet. Seemed like everytime she had something to say, she had to yell across the room in Vietnamese. Not much else to say. Oh, and my food came 5 mins after I ordered, which was nice.
I had the in season veggies with noodles in soup. Okay, by in season they meant one kind of vegetable (some kind of choy, looks kinda like bok choy) and carrots. That's it. But the soup base is above average.. I did find it a little salty though, not as in msg or too much salt, but like over seasoned? Maybe my soup was at the bottom of the pot and they didn't stir it as they served it out to customers or something. And they gave me more than enough noodles. For once I didn't drink cups and cups of water after having pho!
My noodles were 6.75, there are no choices for larges or smalls unfortunately. But it's a decent price for the amount and quality I got. Not too bad for a pho joint.
The ancestors summoned us to eat with them and they decided to go to PHVR for some reason. Usually we have Chinese food when we eat with the old ones. I kept thinking that tomorrow is Ancestor Day in China, but since everyone at the table was alive, there was probably no connection. The restaurant was nicer than on my last visit, with new (and clean) carpet and some other renos. Service was good too, but one uncle insisted on talking to the Vietnamese manager in Cantonese. That was disturbing, although she could understand and speak to the venerable kao fu. Extra service points to the manager for putting up with us.
We had a variety of dishes, including spring rolls, salad rolls, roast chicken legs, and a variety of vermicelli-based meals, both with and without soup. I decided to be contrary and I had a beef curry on rice. It was quite tasty, although it was not like other curries I have had before. The other dishes were also reported to be good, and the chicken on vermicelli without soup was the unanimous choice for best dish of the evening. As for price, we all ate well including appetizers and beverages for about 15 bucks each. Luckily I did not have to pay :)
I will be back soon now that pho weather is here.
In spite of some of the opinions of my friends and family, I have alway found the food and service at the Main Street Pho Hoang pleasantly consistent - the larger-than-other-pho-shops dining area also helps the ambience. When I am here, I normally order #21 Pho (large), or their lovely Grilled Lemon Grass Chicken and Pork served on a bed of rice. And of course, a small serving of their deep fried spring roll and high-wiring Vietnamese-French coffee to start.
My only wish is to have them expand on the appetizers section of the menu..and perhaps more seafood dishes.
I passed by this restaurant last week and seeing how empty it was I dropped by for a quick bite. I looked at the menu for a while and no one came to take my order so I walked up to the register. I expected to eat soon but it took them a long time to make a bowl of Pho. By then I was starving and didn't care about the quality of the food. I just wanted to eat. When the Pho came, I first take a sip of the soup as I always do to test the quality of the broth. To my dismay, it was very salty and seemed to have lots of MSG. Well.. alright, no big deal I thought. I would just eat the noodle and meat. Well... the noodle was kinda all clumped up in the middle and was cold. The meat tasted old and rubbery. I guess this will be the last time I come here for mediocre vietnamese food.
Personally, I love pho. However, there is a lot of MSG in the pho. Not the healthiest thing around (not that pho is healthy to begin with) but makes do for an empty stomach craving pho. I miss the lion fish in the fish tank. Overall, its pretty average, nothing spectacular.
Came here Monday night - we had a craving for vietnamese. When we arrived, we were almost the only ones there - this was before 6pm. Shortly after - many people trickled in.
We ordered chicken skewers (good), spring rolls (not the best), vermicelli with lemongrass chicken and spring rolls (okay) and curry beef w/ rice (not bad). For such a well-known place, I expected much better food. I will commend them for using nice plates though - not your average chipped ceramics, but nice modern slightly oversized white plates, both square and round.
Restaurant seemed clean, but once you sit down and looked around carefully, you will notice that the place is in dire need of a good scrub down.
The service killed. Like previous reviewers, if I could give negative points for service, I would. During the meal, we were always polite saying our pleases and thank yous. When we asked for water the first two times, the owner lady said, "yah" then walked away. When we asked the server for water, or anything else, she looked at us like there was a stench in the air (yes, it's called stinky service) and again ignored our request.
I've seriously never had service this bad before. I'd much rather support restaurants that appreciate their customers.
Went there for dinner and shared the wings and spring rolls to start. OK spring rolls, average for a vietnamese rest. but the wings weren't as good as Phonm Penh (sp) in Chinatown.
Large Pho for $5.95 is a good deal and soup was good. Standard quality of meat. What I didn't like was the delay in the other people's food. They ordered fried rice and it came when the pho orders were almost finished. Service needs to be improved as per other posts. Good budget meal.
Went to Pho Hoang on EB yesterday for lunch. The restaurant was packed at just after 2pm when we arrived but the staff quickly found us a seat.
Quickly ordered the Spring Rolls which arrived in record time. Very speedy.
The rolls came pipeing hot and quite tasty. The nice clear sauce with garlic and a splash of lemon juice added to the taste of these spring rolls.
For lunch my dining partner and me ordered the same thing, lemon grass chicken with egg. Very nicely done. A huge portion too by the time I was finished I was stuffed.
The servers, althoug efficient could kick things up a bit in the smile department. Not much personality shown.
Price really have to be improve since they r kinda costly compared to other restaurant!
We've been going to Pho Hoang for around three years and the service has always been crappy! But the pho is awesome. They have a older Vietnamese lady cooking in the back who does a great job. As far as the service and cleanliness goes they could both use improvement. Great value though compared to some other places in Vancouver.
The food was average for the price you pay. The service was poor and to top it all off when I went to pay the $52.00 bill, they said "no credit cards, only debt or cash". So, I presented my debt card, then they said "the machine was broken." I had to empty my wallet to pay. But, when I think about it afterwards, they were accepting credit cards and debt cards from other patrons. So, I don't know why they singled out my family.
We didn't make any extra demands, were very pleasant.
Disappointed that they are a bunch of liars.....
I have dined here in the past, but never again. They have lost a good customer.
I even left a decent tip.
They will learn that it is the quiet ones, who don't complain, but never go back.
Their lost - I will tell everyone not to go there. I work close by so they will lose business.
There is very little deviation in the quality of Pho among Vietnamese Restaurants. "Noodles in Soup" (Pho, Wonton Noodle Soup, etc) is considered to be a 'fast-food-esq' type of meal in Asian Culture (Asians would NEVER host a somewhat important dinner at these places - they're only meant for quick bites when thy feels lazy a la late niters), therefore, the preparation and ingredients are very simple - hence, my assertion that quality varies very little between Pho Restaurants (Pho is Pho).
Having said this, there are 2 major determinants for people to favor one Pho Restaurant over another (whether conscious or unconscious): 1) Price, and 2) Quantity.
The pricing at this place is in line with most other places. Quantity wise, I'd say the portions are a tad more than the average.
That being said, Pho is Pho. Don't expect 5 Star Service, as this is basically a Vietnamese McDonald's - much like Wonton Noodle Places are Chinese McDonald's.
Accept it for what it is and rate accordingly.
The service was not great, but not the worst ever.
The tea literally tasted like dirt, I was surprised by how shockingly bad tea could be.
The pho, well, it beats some places on the west side but when so close to a few others south on main you may as well avoid this place with 1- overcooked meat 2-low quality garnishes 3- extremely salty broth.
There was 5 of us eating dinner here tonight. Sat us at the large, slightly dirty, round table. Asked the girl to wipe it clean, and gave us the look as though we were nuts!
One of us asked for a pot of hot water. She acted as though they didn't have any!!! Don't asian people drink alot of hot water??? Isn't this an asian restaurant??
Ordered 5 dishes. Not very good food. Felt sick afterwards. The Pho wasn't very good. Curry tasted ok but not the best. Small spring rolls and the chicken and pork satays were burnt.
Didn't come and ask how everything was.
When my husband tried to flag one of the girls to get our bill, she didn't come to the table to see what he wanted. He had to ask for the bill from across the room. Weird or what!! We decided not to leave a tip as we didn't get any service. The bill was for $37.10. We had $40 and my husband stood and waited for the change. THey wouldn't give it to him. He had to ask for it. And when they did finally give it to him, they threw it at the counter.
Will we be back? NOPE!! TOo many other great Pho places to waste our time here.
Contrary to some of the reviews below, I've found that the food quality has remained excellent and the portions about the same. Pho Hoang still makes some of the best spring rolls in town and their pho broth is still better than almost any other pho place. However, the service is definitely hit or miss. If you're lucky, you'll get competent (don't hold your breath for friendly) service. Last time we were there with a group of four, nobody came to take our orders for 45 minutes. After which time we waited another half an hour for the first dish to arrive. One of our orders was completely wrong, and we didn't get our spring rolls until the very end of our meal, despite the fact that other tables who were seated later than us received their meals as well as their spring rolls ahead of us.
I'm not a very adventurous pho eater - I always order Pho bo with rare beef. The broth at Pho Hoang is decent, I find it can be really inconsistent, sometimes rich and delicious and other days a bit watered down and bland. When its good its great, but I like consistency. I always have to ask for more basil and sprouts, they are often very stingy with the plate when you go in with a group.
The spring rolls are tasty, crisp and good.
I ordered the lemongrass chicken a while ago and it was only half cooked, they took it back and gave me a new one.
Service is not friendly, always have to ask twice for things, orders arrive at different times. But its cheap and mostly very tasty and I'll keep going back cause its clean.
I went here for a quick bite to eat. At first I had good vibes about this place since it seemed very busy, but I soon learned why it was so full. The service here is VERY slow. Pho should be like an Asian version of fast food, but my total meal time from sit-down to payment took over an hour! However, the prices are cheap and at $6.25 I received (eventually) a large bowl of stir-fried rice noodles with a 1/4 of lemongrass chicken. The noodles were fried just right, though kindof in one large ball and the chicken was tender and moist. Still, I could get good food quicker somewhere else, so the tastiness doesn't make up for the lack of service.
For DiscoDaddy's second review, he will talk about one of his all-time favorite fast food places, Pho Hoang.
DiscoDaddy loves Pho Hoang! He has read some of the negative reviews regarding his favorite joint and feels he needs to clear the air, PHO-SURE!
Many will wonder how can DiscoDaddy love such a plain white noodle? Such a departure from his Italian heritage. DiscoDaddy will explain why Pho Hoang is the best Pho restaurant in Vancouver.
Pho Hoang is located at East 18th and Main Street, a place very far away from his usual discotheque hangouts downtown. For starters, what draws this mackdaddy back PHO more at Pho Hoang is their abundance of parking. There are parking spots at the back and plenty of street parking around so DiscoDaddy can keep a careful eye out on his DB-9.
Now to the PHOOD... what brings DiscoDaddy back again and again to Pho Hoang you may ask? Is it their great Vietnamese Ice Coffee? Or is it their great Lemon Grass Chicken? Pho Hoang does everything good, but what makes them the best Pho in Vancouver is their spicy beef broth. Only Pho Hoang's expertly made beef broth is good enough to match the hotness of yours truly, that's PHO-SURE!
Many need to understand Pho is a fast food and just like all fast food restaurants, staffing can be challenging. This is not an excuse for poor service, it is a fact of life. Pho Hoang serves great quality food for great value. Pho Hoang has excellent service. The little boss lady at Pho Hoang is like DiscoDaddy's second mom, she takes care of him well. When little boss lady is in Da house, you can be sure the spicy soup pot is well attended to.
DiscoDaddy has had some disappointing moments at Pho Hoang. There have been days when the hot soup has just been “regular.” This is when it is created with hot chilli thrown into the regular soup... : ( still, 8/10 times the spicy soup is the best in Vancouver. Please keep in mind, DiscoDaddy is not saying anything bad about Pho Hoang's regular soup, in fact DiscoHunny thinks it is the best. It's just that DiscoDaddy's focus is the hot soup. Unlike most pho restaurants, Pho Hoang's spicy broth appears to be made from a separate batch to the main stock. Not only is the spicy beef broth hot, it is very rich in beef taste, you can tell by seeing all the little beef bits in the soup.
Pho Hoang likes to cook the beef well-done (probably for food-safe practices) so if you like the meat rare, make sure to ask for it on the side. Like many of you disco cats out there, DiscoDaddy is always concerned about the safety of eating raw bean sprouts, but this is never an issue at Pho Hoang because their soup is always boiling hot to cook the sprouts.
Anyways, this review is getting long and the DB-9 is begging to be taken out for a cruise! Be on the lookout for DiscoDaddy's next Pho Hoang review, when he disclose exactly which PHO NUMBER is his favorite!
For good pho, good service and good value, go to Pho Hoang!
DiscoDaddy has left the dance floor.
I've been going to this place for years and I think this place has the best tasting pho soup. I'm not exactly sure what makes this soup better than others but I would say it has a nice balance of flavours - not too salty, a little sweet, nicely spiced, and not a crazy amount of msg.
Aside from the soup, I also love their grilled lemongrass porkchop. It's so flavourful! My bf likes their lemongrass chicken.
I'd also like to add that this place is nice and clean compared to other pho places. That's another reason why I'll keep going here.
| 1. | Pizza Hut (34 m) |  |
| 2. | Church's Chicken (50 m) | |
| 3. | Nikkyu (88 m) |  |
| 4. | Slickity Jim's Chat 'N' Chew (91 m) |  |
| 5. | Public Lounge Eatery (103 m) | |
| 6. | El Camino's (144 m) | |
| 7. | Toshi Sushi (196 m) | |
| 8. | Bean Around The World (210 m) | |
| 9. | Caffe Rustico (225 m) |  |
| 10. | Kwong Chow Congee & Noodle House (229 m) | |
