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Two Pho Thought

The pho quest kicks into high gear - By Hien Huynh, Jul 07, 09

Shanghai is a city of infinite and transitory dining trends. How nice it is for me then, that after something like five years of waiting for the city¡¯s attentions to shift to Vietnamese food, it finally appears to have done just that. Yes, pho appears to be the new Mexican, and so now we can all expect to be bludgeoned with endless puns on the word ¡°pho¡± (Pron. ¡°Fuh¡± as in ¡°Fuuuuhhck"), many of which will come to you care of yours truly. Please accept my apologies in advance.

Herein lies not one but two reviews of new pho places in Shanghai, spurred on as I was by a truly insulting rendition of the classic Vietnamese dish recently suffered at the hands of Golden Bull.

Fresh on the heels of the ever-divisive Phoking on Jiangsu Lu comes Pho Sizzling and Pho Yummy. These are what we will discuss today. Expect more in the coming weeks, as word on the street is that several more pho restaurants are opening soon.

Pho real.

(Sorry.)

Pho Sizzling

This pho chain snuck on the scene without much fanfare. There¡¯s one in Jing¡¯an district as well, but we stopped by the one on Wujiang Lu. First thing that strikes you about Pho Sizzling is its size. It¡¯s actually quite large for a pho restaurant. It seats over 50 people, and the restaurant is split into 3 sections: non-smoking, smoking, and an outdoor deck. The decoration is a mishmash of stock Vietnamese cultural miscellanea, but they¡¯re also shooting for clean and modern as well. Conceptually, it¡¯s pretty similar to the Pho Hoa chain in Hong Kong, and aimed at trendy young Chinese shopping types. That being said, Pho Sizzling still adheres pretty closely to the traditional recipes of the south, and it¡¯s reasonably priced at 22rmb-26rmb. Verdict: satisfied. It¡¯s pretty good. I would stop by for a repeat bowl. Other points of interest: they have a training video on the wall to teach you how to eat pho. It¡¯s a little spurious but amusing nonetheless.

The Rundown:

Broth Taste: Adequate but lacking body.

Size: A healthy portion for 26rmb. The bowl is shallow and wide, though, and gets cold fast, so eat quick.

Condiments: Basil? Check. Bean sprouts? Check. Lime? Check. And they even give you more if you ask for it. Well done.

Quality/Value Ratio: For the price, the value is very good. Noodles could have been better but for the price it¡¯s a reasonable bowl. Worth it.

Arbitrary Rating: 6 verging on the precipice of 7 out of 10.

Pho Yummy

Located just opposite of the (in)famous StarDog fusion hot dog restaurant in the dazzling, dazzling Channel One mall, Pho Yummy stands out against the other food court options in Channel One, and has an inviting simplicity and unassuming charm. Decor is minimal and tasteful, and some professional design talent underlies the whole operation. From the logo right down to the staff uniforms, it¡¯s all -- for a lack of a better descriptor -- very cute. The proprietors of Pho Yummy are coming to us from Vancouver, and expectations are high. The Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver, as well as in Sydney, California, Paris, or wherever else there is a huge Vietnamese immigrant population, are really quite excellent. These are exactly the kind of restaurants I¡¯m missing in Shanghai -- the kind that manage to remain true to the flavors and traditional recipes of Vietnamese food, but still adapt to the best cultural aspects of their given surroundings.

But on to the pho. The first thing that popped into my mind was, ¡°hmm, this tastes toned down¡±. Whether it was a conscious decision to adapt the complexity of the dish to a more local audience, I don¡¯t know, but I felt it was lacking in the ever elusive ¡°authenticity¡± category.

The Rundown:

Broth Taste: It simulates the flavor but lacks complexity and body. Seems tweaked for local tastes.

Size: Small-medium -- for 24rmb it's smaller than the competitors but still not a bad portion.

Condiments: Basil is there but not enough of it. Bean sprouts? Check. But Mint? Should that be in there?

Quality/Value Ratio: For the price the value is okay. Could use more beef though.

Arbitrary Rating: Overall it was a nice place. Improvements could be made on the pho but I¡¯d still give it a 5.4678 out of 10.

***

• Tags:
• Pho
• Dining
 

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