PHO 99 (SFU) — Restaurant in Burnaby

We spent the sunny, warm morning walking around the campus where both husband and I used to spend years studying and ended up having our breakfast at pho 99. The waitress greeted us with a big smile on her face while befriending our little baby.

It is located at one of the prime locations (right around the corner next to Starbucks and a huge parking lot in front), and it is a quite spacious dine-in area compared to other restaurants around so we could comfortably sit in with our baby daughter and park her tricycle out in the front.

The lemongrass chicken was so tender that even our daughter who was usually a picky eater just loved it; for those who love Vietnamese cuisine for the fish sauce, don't skimp on it; be generous with the sauce, or like our grandmom would say, "go nuts".

The Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk was a pleasant surprise: it was like whoever made it just walked to one of those classic street food vendors in Saigon and brought it to us on the spot. The owner came to check in on us and brought us complementary ice cream for it being (close to) the summer (daughter's eyes were wide opened when she saw the ice cream like she just wanted to bury her face into it). They also have bubble tea with white pearls (they're more crunchy than the black ones if you're wondering about the differences).

We wish we could come back soon to try their lemongrass pork chops with more of the ST25 rice grains (I don't know what it is, but according to the owner, it is one of the best types of rice grains on the market - well, which says a lot about the high standard this restaurant has for their food quality); oh, and an avocado smoothie is a must for the next visit.

Sorry, no photos for the food as we aren't big on writing reviews or planning to write one whenever we dine out (and we finished the food too quickly), but since this one was one of the exceptions, we thought we should let our experience be known to whoever has a chance to go to SFU Burnaby campus and wants to try out...

Very disappointing experience with Pho 99 (SFU) in Burnaby.

I placed an online order directly through their website for delivery at around 6:30 PM. The total came to $72 for three people, including a tip. An hour later—when I was expecting the food to be delivered—I received a call from a restaurant employee who told me the order was ready, but the courier who came to pick it up suddenly ran off without taking it. The employee then told me I had to either figure out where the courier went or come pick up the order myself.

I explained that I ordered delivery for a reason and couldn’t come in person. The employee insisted that it wasn’t their responsibility since they apparently use an external delivery service, even though I ordered through their own website. I was then advised to arrange my own pickup using Uber. When I asked to cancel the order and get a refund, the employee refused and said the order was ready and I had to come get it. Then the call was ended abruptly.

I called again, and a different employee answered. When I asked for the manager, I was told there wasn’t one available. This second employee later said the courier had been found and that I could expect the delivery soon. When the courier finally arrived 15–20 minutes later, they seemed completely unaware of what had happened.

To make matters worse, the food was cold, the whole situation was stressful, and the evening was ruined. We didn’t enjoy it at all. For comparison, the same dishes from their New Westminster location were much tastier and better quality.

I won’t be ordering from the Burnaby...

Don't come if you're white !! White people won't understand the flavors as the owner explained in their response.

RESPONSE TO OWNER So you're saying because I'm white that I don't enjoy your food ? Lol My vietnamese girl friend who was born in Ho Chi Minh city agreed with me.. Regardless how many reviews have you had since changing the recipe ? I was told you changed it a few weeks ago, and the amount of chicken was decreased from other stores.. But yeah, because I'm white, I must not know how asian cuisine should taste.. Finally, I don't any previous reviews complaining about the taste of the chicken ? So you took it upon yourself to change the recipe when it's a franchise restaurant ???**

Great restaurant, with poor service. I ordered 72 which tasted bad for the first time in my life. I always get 72, and have always gotten it since I was 16 but I find out they changed the recipe to save money. The new recipe is disgusting, and I'm really disappointed. 10 years of being a customer, and today is my last.

On top of that, I had 3 bites and asked for it to be removed off my bill because it was gross.. the server basically looked dumbfounded when I wasn't happy with the taste.

Very disappointed Pho 99.

update after the meal I asked if the recipe changed for all Pho 99 restaurants.. it is only pho 99 SFU.. thank God!! I will never return to this location. But corporate for Pho 99 should do something about this because...