Pho Cali — Restaurant in Philadelphia

We stopped in while running some errands because we wanted bahn-mi and the shop we originally wanted to go to didn't have sit down options. The sandwiches were probably added to the menu because they were requested but they're definitely not the specialty here. While not vile, definitely not great. The roll is a standard hoagie roll that's been toasted, not the traditional roll it should be, the meat (we got char-broiled beef and pork) was ok. The pickled veg and cilantro (my favorite part) were minimal and the miniscule drizzle of sauce they added was sucked up by that huge hoagie roll and barely noticeable.

All in all, it's was fine. No really, it was "fine".

Yeah ok, the reality was it was...meh

And since it felt like we were walking into the local "Family" restaurant in the midst of the Don's meeting with his consiglieres (dark, cool, only table occupied in the center of the room with 10 men in suits and the 11th obvious "head" who hushed as we walked in even though we couldn't understand a word they were saying) I didn't think it would be productive to say anything 😏.

When I want great bahn-mi, I'll stick with Bistro Southeast (1824 South St) even if it's out of the way

#takethepho...

I used to go here all the time during my high school years back in 2013. Thought I'll give it a try to feel a bit nostalgic. First off, I thought the table near me ordered off the kid menu and thought to myself oh I'm surprised they let them order off the kid menu given that they were all adults... noo, I was so surprised by the bowl size that once I actually finished my bowl and was still hungry after. The price has risen up, probably the most in chinatown. 15-18 dollars. The soup was the most decent, but I was mainly disappointed by the pricing for what you get. I counted 4 pieces of meat, and I lowkey felt like I got ripped off. The photo, my hands are alrdy small and the comparison is a joke I almost laughed out loud but Now I know. I'll leave this place as a good memory back in the days and leave it as that. Another thing was the smoothie blending. Their machine is so loud that it filled up the whole restaurant, I can't imagine when it's busy and you have ppl talking and this crazy loud blending happening at once. I didn't bother to order anything else until I had a taste of their pho first - glad I didn't do it. There's quite a bit of pho options in chinatown. This just won't...

In Chinatown there is a real good Vietnamese spot. I just happen to be in the mood for it and stopped in. The place is nice inside with plenty tables. We were greeted and sat away from the door so we wouldn't feel the draft every time the door opened, very cool.

We started with pork and shrimp spring rolls. They come two per order and are conveniently cut in half for you. A peanut sauce is served with it, but i add sriracha sauce to it though. I was surprised at how small they were, but still tasted good.

We ordered a basic pho for the kids and a spicy pho for us. The kids ate all theirs up quick. The spicy one was so good we ordered another and finished it too. The broth was extremely tasty.

The bowls are large, and they fill it up with meat and noodles. Plenty of bean sprouts, jalapenos, herbs, and limes are brought out for you to put in the pho. I also ordered the lemonade and almost drank it right up it was so delicious.

The owners are very nice and I would definitely recommend come trying this place out...