8: Pho 24

Finally tried a new pho place!

Pho 24 is a cute, tiny little spot located on 3450 W 6th St in KTown. My friend and I decided to try this place based on their high Yelp reviews.

Parking is pretty impossible if you’re trying to do it on your own but they have a valet for only $2, worth it. First impression – this place is tinnnnnyyyyy! 6 tables at best. But it made for a really cozy environment so I enjoyed it. On the wall directly next to our table was a little sign that said “Write us a Yelp review for a free serving of dumplings!”. Technically you’re not supposed to bribe customer for Yelp reviews…. but who am I to pass up free dumplings? It was very worth it because those dumplings were bomb.COM.

Full menu – amazing prices.

I ordered my usual, Pho Tai. When it came out I was pretty shocked, I mean LOOK AT HOW HUGE THAT BOWL IS! I added the spoon in there for reference. Amazing. And the price was $8.95, which is a solid $2 cheaper than every place on the westside.

So now for the pho itself. It was okay. When I took my first spoonful of broth, without any fixins, I was slightly disappointed to be honest. It lacked flavor. My friend pointed out that it had a much “cleaner” taste than other phos we’ve had, which I agree with. One Yelp reviewer suggested that this has a purer bone broth than most other spots. Not sure what that means, but it sounds right :p However, once I added my sriracha and plum sauce it was tasty. The portions of meat and noodles were extremely generous too which I loved.

Spoon for size reference – such a huge bowl!

While the broth wasn’t really my style, I will say that I felt GREAT after. Usually after I finish a bowl of pho I feel so full I can’t move. This broth didn’t have that effect on me at all! They have a “NO MSG” sign, so maybe it was the lack of MSG? Although, my usual pho place claims to not use MSG either, so not sure. Either way, it felt great not being absolutely stuffed!

Will I drive 50 minutes in rush hour traffic from the westside again to get it? Nope. However, I enjoyed Pho 24 enough that if I was out in KTown and was craving some late night pho (they’re open until 4am) I would definitely go back. So yay for a new late night pho spot and trying new places!

Goodbye Pho Now,

Nahal

 

6: Houston, baby

I know I originally said this blog was going to be about Pho in LA, but I have to include my most recent experience in Texas.

When most people go to Texas they get BBQ. I, predictably, went to Texas and got Pho. Honestly… are you surprised? The place was called Pho Binh and it was located in a cute little area outside of Midtown.

Outside view

This was the first meal I had that day with my friend Megan (hi Megan!!) after a night of drinking. I will stand by my affirmation that Pho is by far the best hangover food out there. I don’t get people who think scarfing down a greasy burger after a night of drinking is the best solution. I tried that once… didn’t turn out well. But there’s something about the simplicity of Pho that really helps calm a very upset stomach.

The inside of the restaurant had some adorable decor (look at those light fixtures) and they were pumping some throwback tunes on their speakers. I was quite pleased.

Inside view, I love this lighting!

As for the Pho, I ordered my regular Pho Tai. Size large. Obviously.

Menu

Now this is the part that makes me really angry because OF COURSE this had to be the best Pho I’d tasted so far and OF COURSE it had to be located in a different freaking state. The Pho gods are clearly not on my side. But it’s okay because that was the best goddamn Pho I’ve had. So thank you, Texas. For the memories, for the great company, for the hangover (sike), and most of all, for the Pho.

Delicious

Size comparison… can you guess which one’s mine? 😉

Goodbye Pho Now,

Nahal

5: 9021PHO

Good news everyone, I’m alive!!

Apologies for not posting in eons, this whole working and being an adult thing is much more time consuming than I expected. But fear not, my pho addiction has not been stunted! 3 months ago (wow I need to get on top of my posting) I finally visited the beautifully named 9021PHO. There are a few locations but I visited the one in Beverly Hills, it felt like the right thing to do. I also dragged along my two friends Rory and Bryce. I later found out during the meal that Bryce had just spent time in Vietnam and got to have pho every day from breakfast. Like full on legit, straight from the motherland, pho. He should probably be writing this blog, not me. Alternatively, does someone want to pay for my ticket to Vietnam? No? Okay.

Anyways, the menu is your standard Pho menu … with the exception of a “low carb” pho option. So very Beverly Hills.

I of course got the Pho Tai, which wasn’t technically on the menu but it’s a staple so it wasn’t hard to get it.

I must say, out of every pho I’ve gotten this was definitely my favorite. There was something about the broth that was so amazing and the ratio of meat to noodle was perfect. I know it sounds silly but it really does make a difference!

 

Basically, you should all go. And tell me. So I can go with you. K thanks.

EDIT 02/18/2016:

I went back here last week and was incredibly disappointed. This time around, the broth was so overly doused in cinnamon that I couldn’t taste any of the delicious savoryness that I had loved so much about it the first time. No idea how it could have been such a different experience from my first time going, but I’m not sure I’ll be going back considering how many other great pho places there are.

Goodbye Pho Now,

Nahal

4: Vegas Baby

It’s been a while since my last post but I figure the hot summer weather is a good excuse for my lowered pho consumption. But don’t worry friends, that didn’t stop me from getting Pho in the hottest possible weather ever. I know I said the goal of this blog was to try all of the pho places in LA but I guess I lied. Last weekend my friends and I did a trip to Vegas as our last hoorah before becoming real adults (RIP having no responsibilities).

It wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t add a photo of the group

So what does Vegas have to do with pho you may ask. By a stroke of luck, fate, or whatever you want to call it, we happened to pick a hotel that had a Vietnamese restaurant as one of its main restaurant choices. It may have only been Treasure Island, excuse me, TI (I see you and your rebranding efforts, TI) but it was perfect. The first day there we were too, ehm, distracted to even think of sitting down for a meal but by the second day our bodies were in dire need of sustenance. Pho was calling our names.

At this point of our trip my body was aching for literally any morsel of food, so my review of this pho may be a little bias. However, taking the first sip of the broth was like drinking from a fountain produced by the gods. Even if I wasn’t on the verge of collapse I really do think I would have enjoyed the broth just as much – it was delicious.

After adding the usual fixings I devoured my bowl at an alarming rate. Delicious enough to make me consider staying at ~TI~ for my next Vegas trip… maybe.

Goodbye Pho Now,

Nahal

3: Pho Citi

Back in my youthful high school days, Pho Citi was the first pho I ever tried. Like a first love that you keep going back to, I go back to Pho Citi every time I’m home in LA. Yesterday, I figured I’d give my old fling another shot. As I drove up to the strip mall located on Santa Monica Blvd and Westwood Blvd I was greeted by a familiar sign and neon light that flashed “open 24 hours”. I made a mental note to keep Pho Citi in mind for my 4th meal cravings.

As always, I ordered the Pho Tai which is the Rare Steak option on their menu. Their broth was delicious. So far my ex love and I seemed to be getting along. I added the usual sriracha along with everything on the plate they give you and dug in.

This is when things started to get a little rocky. While their steak portions are quite generous – some places give you 4 slices of steak and expect you to be satisfied – they had not been separated into individual slices before being put into the broth. This resulted in large clumps of steak that were quite difficult to separate with just chopsticks and a spoon. The same deal goes for their noodles. They were all stuck together instead of floating around in beautiful, individual strands in the broth as they should be. After quite some time shimmying my chopsticks around, the pho was finally ready to eat.

Despite that little setback, I found myself fully enjoying the pho. The flavor was rich, the portion was generous and the steak tasted great. Perhaps it is time to give an old lover a second chance.

Goodbye Pho Now,

Nahal

2: Mama Hong’s Vietnamese Kitchen

The other day I noticed a pho restaurant called Mama Hong’s Vietnamese Kitchen in a strip mall only 4 blocks away from my house. I have no idea how I didn’t notice it before, perhaps I’ve developed pho-vision since starting this blog.

Yesterday, as I stood examining the contents of my fridge, unsatisfied with my lunch options (they all required effort to make), I decided it was as good of a time as ever to see what Mama Hong had to offer. In a true Los Angeles fashion I decided to drive, yes drive, the 4-5 blocks to the restaurant. To be fair the blocks are all very long and uphill which has to count for something… right?

I want that neon sign for my room. Also you can see me taking the picture in the reflection… hi everyone!

The actual location of the restaurant is 11819 Wilshire Blvd #106B, right behind the Subway. Just a warning, the sign for the strip mall has the name listed as “Pho 999”, which was a little confusing but no harm done there.

The restaurant itself was very clean and modern looking. I got the impression that it was a regular lunch spot for people who work in office buildings nearby. I ordered my usual, the pho tai filet. I tried a sip of the broth before adding the sprouts, jalepeño, and of course sriracha. It was delicious. It clearly had been cooking for a while as it was rich and somewhat oily from the fat of the meat. They had also added slices of onion and cilantro into the broth which I love.

The meat itself was tender and cut perfectly thin. After finishing the bowl I cursed myself for driving there. A nice walk home would have immensely helped with deflating my food baby but of course, my lazy self had gotten the best of me. The next time I go back (which I definitely will), I’ll walk… maybe.

Goodbye Pho Now,

Nahal

1: Nongla

I’ll begin my first review by letting you all know that I am by no means a pho expert. I don’t eat it properly (yes, there’s a proper way of eating pho) and I’m pretty sure I put way too much siracha in it. All I know is that I really, really like it. So, now that we’ve established how unqualified I am to be writing a pho review blog, let us begin!

Last night I went to Nongla Vietnamese Cafe, which is located on 2055 Sawtelle Blvd, with my dad and his girlfriend. The entire area (where Mississippi Ave and Sawtelle Blvd cross) is full of delicious Asian food of all different backgrounds. If you’ve never been I would highly suggest it!

View from the sidewalk. I don’t think the girl with glasses was too pleased that I was taking 1000 pictures.

We chose to sit outside and I strategically sat facing the sidewalk to maximize my people watching viewpoint. The crowd is usually pretty entertaining. The menu is pretty simple but it includes all of the Vietnamese classics, the most important of which is obviously pho. I usually just get pho tai which is the thinly sliced rare steak that gets cooked in the broth. However, since I knew it would be my first blog review I decided to get adventurous and order tai bo vien which includes the meatballs. Bad call, I didn’t like the meatballs.

All the goods.

I’m sad to say the pho itself was pretty average. I found that the meat had a very distinct taste of beef, which I know sounds stupid given that it was, in fact, beef, but let me explain! You know when you get a piece of steak from the market and open the packaging and get hit with the smell of raw beef? Well, it tasted how that smells… if that makes any sense. The broth was also lacking in flavor, I had to really overdo it on the siracha to compensate. Needless to say I still finished every last drop of it (minus the meatballs) because it pains me to see a bowl of half-eaten pho. I probably won’t be going back but hey, if you like the taste of very beefy smelling meat I say go for it!

To top it off we went to MJ Cafe right around the corner and got some dessert. They have the cutest little ice cream sandwiches between macaroon shells. I got the one with green tea ice cream because the pink and green contrast was just so pretty!

Alright, first review done! If you’re still reading, you’re great.

Goodbye Pho Now,

Nahal