Pho Hien Vuong — Restaurant in Greensboro

Little background for context: I'm a foodie and retired chef. I have a high bar for pho, so...with that said:

Not too sure where the stellar ratings are coming from. All I can assume is that the majority of the reviewers are not familiar with genuinely good, authentic pho, vietnamese, etc. The moment I saw soy sauce rather than fish sauce on the table, I knew this was a bad omen. The lack of chili oil was a red flag, too. I can only hope that the restaurant is simply peddling to their local clientele by Americanizing the offerings and flavors.

The lemonade barely tasted of lemons and was overwhelmingly sweet.

The fresh spring rolls: I appreciated that the rice noodles were not overcooked, as they are sometimes at other places we have tried. The ingredients were also fresh. However, there was barely any cilantro and no basil at all, so the rolls were bland. The peanut sauce was adequate, but too thick.

The fried Thai spring rolls were very good, no complaints.

The combination fried rice was lacking in flavor and was too sweet. Thai fried rice is not as savory as other cuisines, but this was sweet enough to make it unappealing. Positive note: The shrimp were well cooked (they avoided the dreaded overcooked, rubber shrimp). For $14, the value didn't seem to be adequate, either.

My notes on the beef pho are almost identical. Too sweet (what's with everything being so dang sweet?!). And I know what's going on there. Shortcuts are needing to be made to save costs. It's apparent that there isn't a hefty amount of bones being used to make their broth ($$), so flavor has to be "made up" for elsewhere. This is done with extra aromatics, salt, and sugar in the broth; making a weak broth without body or umami. The rice noodles were also too soft, breaking when trying to use chopsticks. Again, I knew I likely was not in for too terribly of an authentic experience when I did not see any tendon nor tripe being offered for any pho dishes. I was very disappointed for an overpriced bowl of pho.

All in all, the service was adequate, as the place was very busy. The food was not so horrid that it needed to be sent back, but I definitely won't be repeating...

I'm an Asian guy that has gone to a lot of Pho restaurants in many cities. I visit Greensboro from time to time. In the past I have gone to "I Love Pho" which I would give 4.5. I always get spring rolls and pho special with all the different cut meats, tendon, and tripe. I went to Pho Hien Vuong before the lunch rush. By the time I left they already had a wait.

I tried their fresh spring roll which normal places give 2 rolls. They only gave one but it was larger then most. My 1st one was ok. Nothing spectacular. Most places have these pre-made. I also noticed there wasn't any basil leaves, cilantro, or mint in the roll. I ordered a 2nd one and that one was not good. This one you could taste the lettuce was bad. It had a soggy bitter taste.

When it comes to the Pho their portions were smaller than most places. The extra side ingredients they gave good portions of basil, cilantro, and bean sprouts but served lemons instead of limes which was a 1st for me. I always taste the broth 1st without any Siracha or Hoisin sauce. Normally in Pho you can see the fat oils from the marrow and beef broth at the top. This seemed to have very thin layer and tasted watery.

I also noticed there were no pieces of tendon or tripe in mixed with the cuts of brisket, meatballs, and steak which is in traditional bowls of pho. I had high expectations with all the reviews but this place seems very Americanized. Pho takes a long time for the broth to be made right normally 12 to 24hrs on low. They seemed to mass produce because they are so busy, they seems to take out some key ingredients, and I think this place is just ok compared to other cities...

This is my absolute favorite place for Pho in the triad! Whenever I'm feeling the need for my pho fix and my auntie's not making any, I drive on over to this restaurant where I can always expect to get in within a reasonable amount of time without reservations.

I think it says a lot that the staff here can manage to continuously cater to insane crowds of people during the lunch/dinner rush and manage to keep their food tasting great. This is especially true of their pho which almost always comes out quickest if that's what you're here for. Perfectly portioned for a full stomach, with the tastiest broth, you really only need the hoisin sauce, siracha and lemon to finish it up. Lao people like to have a mess of ingredients to add to their pho, but I enjoy the simplicity of only needing the essentials here.

I'm also a fan of their shrimp spring rolls. You only get one per order, but it's a generous size. It comes with a peanut/hoisin dip that's super thick and a satisfying condiment to the shrimp and herb stuffed wrap.

Also pictured is the pad thai. I think the way the pad thai tastes says a lot about how well a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant can cook and my hubby really enjoyed his. We've eaten a lot of other noodles dishes from the menu including their lad na and drunken noodles to name a few and have also enjoyed them as well.

All in all, hard-pressed to find yummier pho around for the price, convenience, and speed this restaurant...