Phở Hải Vân — Restaurant in Houston

I finally found my place for bố lúc lắc (shaken beef). Theirs tastes just like the kind I had from a restaurant on Bellaire Blvd when I was a kid which has since been gone with the wind. I don’t know what cut of beef they use and the fair price (I think it was $14) reflects that, which is ok with me. Many other places charge filet mignon price but serve it with less expensive cuts. Perfectly caramelized, succulent, and garlicky. I ordered it with the fried rice - apparently there’s no tomato in it.

My partner’s spicy lemongrass tofu vermicelli (was delicious as well. It looked dry but it was flavorful and wasn’t desiccated or overcooked at all.

We got a side of the pho broth so we could get an idea I’d say we were both underwhelmed, it tasted a bit too fatty. The taste was a bit bland but maybe intentional. By itself it was 7/10 compared to what I’m used to from restaurants on Bellaire.

Since I grew up in Alief, I never sought out another Viet area outside of SW/W Houston but I was visiting family on this side and I’m so happy I had the chance to check this out! Our server was great too, he helped me pick between this dish...

Pho Hai Van is a small, physically unimpressive restaurant crammed into a shopping strip off Scarborough Rd in Houston, an area with a significant Vietnamese population. The inside is mostly hard wood tables and wood chairs with a few wood-bench booths. However non-aesthetically pleasing it is, the food more than makes up for! I've never been one to care much for appearances and Pho Hai Van delivers here! Their spring rolls always seem fresh and their pho always hot and delicious. Lately I've been ordering the B6 "Bun Xao Xa Ot", a vermicelli bowl with stir-fried beef (you can also get chicken) green onions, peanuts, lemongrass, and just the right amount of chili peppers to give it a little kick. I admit I'm not a fan of spicy food but the flavor combination plus the little kiss of spice that it gives you really makes this dish a favorite of mine! The price is also good as this will top out around $17 or so with the spring rolls. Don't be fooled by the appearance- this is a good restaurant that also has the benefit of being next to a Vietnamese grocery store named My Quang that really gives you a glimpse of...

Look, this place has good food. That’s where the appeal stops and the one star is earned. We tried it out last year and everyone got their food but me. I sat there for over half an hour before walking out because there was no one around to even ask about it. I just gave them another shot this evening (I thought last time had to be a fluke due to the exemplary reviews.) No. Even WORSE service than last time. My order was wrong and our two year old children, who were getting hungry as there was other food sitting on the table, didn’t get their food or drinks until someone was told that they hadn’t arrived. How do you look at two kids and not see that they don’t have food? Or that there is ONE cup of water on the table for four people? Drink orders were never corrected because at that point it wasn’t even worth it. Most of the food was boxed up and the bill was paid but we will never go back nor...