Photime Authentic Vietnamese Eatery — Restaurant in Markham

My whole crew came by on a sat evening after badminton to grab some grub as we had been scrolling through yelp and saw that this place had a pretty high rating.

It's located right next to the TnT supermarket at Woodbine and 16th and there's a ton of parking in the lot.

For the most part, the appetizers were pretty good! The shrimp fresh rolls were not however. The sauce was too watery and didn't have the right consistency (it should be thick) or flavour profile (should be way more peanut-based than hoisin-based). Aside from the peanuts sprinkled on top, the dipping sauce had barely any essence of peanut in it which made the sauce lacking. The rolls themselves were heavily filled w/ vermicelli and lettuce to the point of it being too much. I know they're supposed to butterfly the shrimps but we got maybe 1-2 shrimps per fresh roll which was DEFINITELY STINGY in my honest opinion. Skip the fresh rolls altogether.

The wrap and roll platter looked amazing. I think it's a showstopper when it arrives at the table. The cookery on the meat is also excellent.

Noodle soups all tasted pretty good. The caveat was the portioning. While my friends' bowls all had an ample amount of sliced beef, I myself had ordered a curry brisket pho and it was NOT worth it at all. They gave me 3 small pieces of brisket, 2 ultra-chewy tendons and the rest of the bowl was noodles (all while charging $17!). Extremely, extremely stingy on the portion of meat. The curry broth was really good but I felt jilted that my friend's got so much more food than me. Lesson learned. If I ever come back I'm not ordering any noodle soup outside of P1 - P7 as they're all a bunch of ripoffs.

Coconut smoothie and tri colour dessert were good. Not too sweet but very refreshing.

Mixed feelings about this place. The pho is not bad at all but is the value there? I think I still prefer, Pho Anh Vu, Dear Saigon, Pho Tai Bac or Pho Le. Don't think I'd...

First of all, luv the location of this Pho Time, it's conveniently located at the plaza near 16th Avenue and Woodbine Avenue. There are enough free outdoor parking spots. It's great to eat here and go to Timmy's for coffee or fill up the gas at the ESSO gas station or perhaps go to T&T grocery store after.

In terms of the restaurant, the place is bright, modern, clean and inviting, it has a culture flare with the traditional Vietnamese ricksaw at the front of the resto. There are booths, individual tables and high stool long communal dining table at the centre of the dining area.

Moment we arrived, the staff spotted us and guided us to our table.

The food options are pretty much typical at any Vietnamese restaurant such as spring rolls, pho, grilled meat and smoothie, etc.

In terms of pricing, I do have to say that it's abit on the pricey side as a regular size pho starts at $15.95 CDN and a House Special is $16.95, if you order a large size, it's $18.95 CDN. Other west end places or other Vietnamese maybe $2 or $3 a bowl less. Spring rolls at $8.95 a plate is also on the higher side. Having said that, you do get the good quality of sitting experience (this is a nice resto with a clean and modern decor), and the food is good quality.

The regular beef tendon and beef brisket were with good portion of meat. I was impressed how many pieces of tendon they give vs other places that may give you one or 2 small piece of tendon.

They also ask if you prefer fresh noodles or dried noodles (they put in water to soften it). I prefer fresh noodles. (seriously, who prefers dried noods if they offer fresh ones? LOL).

Anyhow, the broth of the pho is clean, not much MSG, flavourful, not too herby or bitter, which was to my liking. The meat was good flavour and meaty.

Overall, I will come back to try other items as it's a very comfy place. They also have 4 or 5 big TV screens showing CP24 to keep you...

First time I went, I ordered take-out. I scanned through the menu and I saw broken rice with pork chop. I was sceptical at first as most Viet restaurants in Markham/ RH does not give you broken rice and just gives you regular rice. I also added a fried egg. When I went home and opened the box, i was pleasantly surprised to see broken rice but no just a bowl of rice, the portion was huge! Generous amount of broken rice, pork chop was thick and juicy. I poured the fish sauce in the rice and I devoured it. I have to say I tried many different broken rice dishes, all the best ones I had was in west end Jane & finch area.

Oh and second this is what I'm really excited about. THE Viet ice coffee I was extremely happy when i saw the colour of it when I first picked up my order. It was dark and only half-filled in the cup with ice all the way to the top. THIS IS THE REAL WAY OF DOING VIET ICE COFFEE, not the other way around. I knew i had to sip it right away. And no joke it was like drinking a GODIVA chocolate. the coffee was so strong! so dense like drinking dark chocolate. I was a happy man that day.

Second time i went i dined in and I knew I had to try the pho special. Man it was a good pho. It came out piping out. the soup base was top notch, not a lot of msg, can truly taste the beef bone. Noodle was el dente exactly how i liked it. Generous amount of beef, very surprised the amount of beef they gave. the pho was 10/10, i was trying my best to find something to critique but there was none. Overall with the location and decor and great service of the restaurant. I have nothing but good things to say about pho...