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Andrea Nguyen – America’s Vietnamese Kitchen (and Pho) Expert

March 24, 2009

Andrea Nguyen is a source of pho knowledge. She commands an excellent website and blog about pho and other Vietnamese cuisine, with recipes and tips that are easy to follow and enjoy.

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Pho Hoa Thai: Bay Area Pho

March 19, 2009

Having just moved to the Berkeley Area I was eager to get my first Pho fix. There is Vietnamese food on every other corner around here, although many of them don’t have Pho, or if they do it’s not what they are known for.  So I fired up Yelp and looked for a place nearby [...]

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Thumbnail image for Beef Pho and Chicken Pho: Pho Vie II in Garden Grove

Beef Pho and Chicken Pho: Pho Vie II in Garden Grove

February 22, 2009

The half off pho ga (chicken pho) deal has been on for a while, but Pho Vie II is not the only restaurant running this deal in Little Saigon. There are a few others doing the same promotion on pho ga. Pho ga is easy to make, so restaurants can still make profits; pho ga (with free-range chicken) is always better than your regular frozen variety, so the customers wins with tasty food. Those big red “1/2 OFF” signs are magnets for traffic.

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Thumbnail image for Pho HoaCali Express in Mira Mesa: Lunch with My Buddy Mason

Pho HoaCali Express in Mira Mesa: Lunch with My Buddy Mason

February 12, 2009

Express is a reliable pho place in North County San Diego for many years. Clean, airy, well lighted, and good service. There’s always a line during lunch times and on the weekends, so just write your name on the list and after a short wait, you’re in. On this day, even after 1pm, we waited 5 minutes. No big deal. We had our usual fix: pho tai (rare beef) for Mason and pho tai chin sach (rare beef, well-done brisket, tripe) for me.

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Thumbnail image for Pho Ca Dao in Mira Mesa – Real Pho, Real Fast, Real Service

Pho Ca Dao in Mira Mesa – Real Pho, Real Fast, Real Service

January 28, 2009

Pho Ca Dao’s slogan is “Real Pho, Real Fast, Real Service”. This was my third or fourth time here, but I enjoy coming back to eat. “Ca dao” are really Vietnamese folk songs or poems that are popular reminders of who the Vietnamese people are and where we came from. The term ca dao (derived from a line in the Wei Wind section of the classic Chinese folk poetry anthology, Shih-Ching, or Books of Odes) can be loosely translated as “unaccompanied songs.”

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Thumbnail image for Pho Vie II in Garden Grove: Great Tasting Pho

Pho Vie II in Garden Grove: Great Tasting Pho

January 25, 2009

I drove by this place several times and I must admit Pho Vie II always looked crowded and popular. On this day with no long line, I really have to try it. “Vie” means “Life” in French, and I believe the people at Pho Vie II truly believe in a fully enjoyable and immersive life of pho, because their pho is very good and the service is friendly. You can read a few Pho Vie II reviews on Yelp.com. They run 50% off on pho ga (chicken) but personally I don’t think that’s the reason for the crowd. I think it’s because the pho in general is very good – tasty soup stock, fresh ingredients, perfect al dente-like noodle, and fresh Thai basil, ngo gai (culantro) and sprouts.

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Thumbnail image for Pho California Welcomes Pho Lovers

Pho California Welcomes Pho Lovers

January 18, 2009

For West Coast pho lovers. There are pockets of densely populated pho lovers (Vietnamese-Americans and other Americans) in California. Therefore pho bistros tend to pop up everywhere in the areas of San Diego, Santa Ana/Garden Grove/Orange County, Los Angeles and surrounding areas including the LA Chinatown, San Jose, and San Francisco.

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