Phở Bằng Restaurant — Restaurant in New Orleans

This was as pleasant surprise as could be! We went to Dong Phoung Bakery on a friend's recommendation (we already knew about the spectacular bahn mi and the legendary king cake) for excellent pho and arrived to sadly learn it was closed for the Lunar New Year celebration. A guy walked up to us as we were dejectedly trudging back to the car for the longish drive back to the city and told us he'd gone down the road to Pho Bang and dined well. We decided to give it a go and man oh man, it does not disappoint! Singularly the. Best. Egg roll. Ever. Phylo dough? Tempura? Some sort of hybrid breading/wrap made them unique! The portions were huge for the delicious pho and a heaping platter of Asian basil mint with beans sprouts was included as garnish. Not the ornate dining room we'd expected to show off to our Pacific Rim guests - who know from Asian food - but the prices, portions, and deeply palatable fare made up for it, and they said it was easily the flavor equal of anything they'd eaten in the PacNorwest. Definitely a return trip to this friendly space...

Normally, I don't make comment unless the experience is way out of line. This is that one experience.

Come in back to Houston, I found this restaurant on my GPS. Decided to come in.

Ordered Pho and water, they said non-bottle water will be charged. I laughed and ordered bottle water. I hate to say this, but because I live in Houston, I don't expect to have a good bowl of pho outside of Houston. But rather expecting a decent bowl of Pho.

I was disappointed when they brought out their Pho. The noodle over boiled and "smooshy". The only thing that taste good was the soup. It tasted a little better than water.

I was disappointed when they said they charge for a glass of non-bottle water. More disappointed when they charged me for hanh tra^n (steam onion). Never seen a Pho place that charge $1.50 for this. It is free everywhere I went.

Overall, they are about making money and not concerning about their Pho. They should be glad that they are in NO and not doing business in Houston, because they would not survive with our competitors.

No...

My disabled Mom was feeling under the weather, so I recommended she try some Pho. I live in Texas and the restaurants here are amazing. A friend of hers also made the same suggestion. My niece went to the get the order. The veggies were just as I had described - so my Mother was excited. I get a text from her saying she is throwing up 🤮; after having tried the soup. She said the broth had a good taste, but the “chicken” looked like a sponge. When I got pictures of what was supposed to be meat - I was grossed out.

I ask my niece to go back to let them know what has happened; as they might at least offer her the money back. However, since they did not give her a receipt and all she had was there sickening soup with a copy of their menu as proof of her visit- they did nothing.

Spend your money elsewhere and spare yourself from being sick. You might even save Sponge 🧽 Bob’s life. I’m...