Pho Hoa - Trinoma Mall — Restaurant in Quezon City

I was seduced by the menu. It was glossy and the food pics were visually delicious.

The first thing to note is the attitude of the staff. (And this is - in Manila - in no way unique to this particular restaurant.) There is no welcome, no greeting, no smiles, and absolutely no contact with a staff member that you do not initiate yourself. Perhaps someone could comment on whether or not Manila has a service deficiency…?

We started with San Miguel Lights (the only alcohol on offer) and that confirmed what a truly horrible beer it was. I then ordered their fried rice paper rolls as an appetiser, to be followed by a curry noodles with shrimps and bean sprouts for myself and a mixed beef pho for my mate.

The beef pho appeared first, and 5 minutes later the curry noodles. And the appetiser a distant last. [appetiser /ăp′ĭ-tī″zər/noun: A food or drink served usually before a meal to stimulate the appetite.] “Before” being the pertinent point. As it was the rice paper roll was oily as all get out, and not at all appetising, to string a weak pun out as long as possible.

The pho broth was pretty good, but the curry noodles was bland and needed a good shake of the sriracha sauce bottle to elicit even a modicum of flavour.

Extremely disappointing, and so...

I'm a fan of Pho Hoa as a restaurant chain. I order the same thing regardless of the branch I go to. Beef Stew Pho, and the Sautéed Beans with Pork and Shrimp.

I've been to this particular branch a few times before but never reviewed it. It used to be smaller, dark and depressing. Now it looks like they renovated, so the ambiance has improved greatly.

However, the food was not up to par at all. Especially the Sautéed Beans with Pork and Shrimp. I order this ALL THE TIME. What was served was not it. Far from it. Lacked color, flavor, and was generally unappealing.

The staff seemed to be running at half speed. All of them looked extremely disinterested in what they were doing and with the needs of their diners. One of my drink orders never arrived- but was on the final bill. Talk about inefficient!

I like the food chain. I (normally) like the food. But this branch, I'll probably not...

Always a go to place for healthier options - I mean a meal with mostly vegetables. I have always been getting the fresh spring rolls with fried fish (so the crispness gives texture to the soft roll), Kung pao chicken and their lemonade. The lemonade is sweet for my taste so when it’s already consumed, I add more water and it still has the flavor.

Please ask for a straw only if you need one. Totals costs is 600php even the Kung pao is good for 2 servings.

Place is small and you might have to wait in line for a short time during lunch but that’s okay. There’s no odor and given that the place is small, the servers can attend to you immediately. However, preparation time can be 20 minutes or less, depends on what you ordered.

The toilet is a 2 minute walk, they have no washing area...