Chicago Vietnamese — Sunset Pho

A friend mentioned their noodle salad has a Yunnan vibe — so four of us Yunnanese went straight to Sunset Pho, specifically for the cold rice noodle salad. We ended up discovering an unexpected gem: their spring rolls. 🌯 Spring Rolls — we tried tofu and Cevapcici (Jugoslavian sausage). The fresh mint inside and the thin rice noodles were spot on. But the real standout? The dipping sauces. Especially the sweet-savory one with peanut bits. Tasting it slowly, that familiar flavor hit — it’s exactly like the sweet-savory sauce for Yunnan roasted rice cakes Paired with thin noodles, mint, and rice crepe — super refreshing. The other sauce was a fruity-tangy soy-based one — also great with spring rolls. I recommend mixing them together. 🍜 Noodle Salad — pretty good too. Specifically, it’s a rice noodle salad with sweet-sour dressing. Add a bit of chili oil for extra depth. The salad also comes with fried spring rolls — crispy outside, fragrant inside, perfectly salted. 😕 Unfortunately, I really didn’t like their beef pho. Couldn’t identify the specific spice in the broth — must be their signature, but I personally prefer a cleaner beef broth flavor. 🇻🇳 One of the cuisines in the U.S. that reminds me most of Yunnan is Vietnamese food — especially southern Yunnan and Vietnam share similar geography and climate. Both love thin rice noodles and have overlapping spice profiles. Thin noodles absorb sauces better, making cold noodle salads perfect for subtropical weather — great spot for summer. 🐌 Service here is really slow. Good thing cold noodles don’t need to be piping hot. Grilled shrimp were underwhelming — sauce too salty. Main recommendations: spring rolls + cold noodle salad. The grilled seafood in the menu pics does look tempting though. #ChicagoEats #VietnameseFood #YunnanVibes #SpringRolls #ColdNoodles #DippingSauceHeaven