I found a new hideout in the NW for pho

[FoxTrot]

In harvest hills theres two new pho joints, one is Pho Vam and other is just Vietnamese sub and grill. Both on the west side of harvest hillvs blvd right by that big car wash.

Living in this area, im glad I now have options cause Saigon Pearl has gone downhill the past year. They really skimp out with weak meat portions and their service leaves a lot to be desired. Their prices increased about 20% a few months ago, $6.xx for salad rolls? $10 for vermecelli bowl? No thanks. The quality has dropped lately, its not nearly as good as before so ive been on the lookout for other pho places nearby.

Havent tried pho vam yet but i will be soon.

I tried the viet sub and grill and its really good. I will say that the food here is incredibly fresh! i like it a lot better than saigon pearl. Bit cheaper, more meat and tastes better and most importantly tastes fresher. Had the popular vermecelli bowl with spring rolls and beef, tasted really good for just $9.19 with tax. This same dish is like $10.75 at Saigon with tax, ridiculous.

I like a strong fish sauce, and their fish sauce here is much much better as i find saigons a bit tastless as of late.

Another day had the pho and huge portions with decent amount of meat. Lots of flavour, really liked it. they have two sizes with the large being huge. A lot of people most likely wont even be able to finish it.

The place is tiny but has chairs and few tables to dine in. No servers, its a take out place with the option to eat there.

I havent tried the subs here yet but from what i remember theyre the usual $5.50 price or so.

Should try it out if youre like me and not really a fan of saigon pearl anymore.

[phreezee]

The fact that you like Saigon Pearl in the first place kind of discredits you lol. :rofl:
Regardless I will keep an eye out for your suggestions. Maybe try a sub first.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by phreezee
The fact that you like Saigon Pearl in the first place kind of discredits you lol. :rofl:

No shit. That place sucked since day 1, not just last year.

So are the new digs opened up right by Koiji?

[Machi]

Originally posted by phreezee
The fact that you like Saigon Pearl in the first place kind of discredits you lol. :rofl:
:rofl: :werd:
I haven't tried the pho before but tried the beef sate sub. I didn't think it was anything special.. overloaded with veggies and barely any beef in it. The location is convenient and prices do seem cheaper but I'd rather hit up Thi Thi or something..

[FoxTrot]

Originally posted by phreezee
The fact that you like Saigon Pearl in the first place kind of discredits you lol. :rofl:
Regardless I will keep an eye out for your suggestions. Maybe try a sub first.

Well Saigon Pearl was pretty good but in the past year its dropped in quality and with their recent prike hike on everything on their menu, and already weak portions of meat, it doesnt justify the price. Place is still super busy and its mostly white people who eat there from what i notice.

Its too many times now where i got take out pho only to find out the noodles are still half uncooked and i need to recook it myself. :thumbsdow

But there wasnt any other options then, there is now.

[Disoblige]

Originally posted by phreezee
The fact that you like Saigon Pearl in the first place kind of discredits you lol. :rofl:

:werd: haha

Let's see if Pho Van is any good when it opens up (the place near Koiji).

[Speed_69]

Originally posted by phreezee
The fact that you like Saigon Pearl in the first place kind of discredits you lol. :rofl:

Another :werd:

[jsn]

What do you guys think of Pho So on center and 16th? That's the place I usually go but mainly because it's somewhat close and I don't feel like driving all the way to forest lawn for pho.

[K3RMiTdot]

i love pho so 1, i always go there! the meat portions are pretty good

[taemo]

I used to go to Pho So 1 years ago, extra extra tendon :drool: and the super friendly owner with his "excellent fantastic" greets; now probably once or twice a year to reminisce the good ol' days.

Pho Kim is the place to hit on 16th.

Around the Beddington area, Pho Thanh on 64th.

Forest Lawn, Pho Dau Bo

[jsn]

I actually don't like Pho kim. I haven't been there in a few years but I stopped going because they went downhill. Not sure if they improved again since then. Whenever I'm in that area looking for Pho, I go to Pho So.

[Recca168]

I like Pho Thanh too in beddington too. Not really convenient anymore since I moved. Go to Pho Kim more now but its hit and miss

[FoxTrot]

Wheres this pho than located? I tried veitnamese village across from deerfoot mall in the summer and it was terrible and way overpriced.

[taemo]

Originally posted by FoxTrot
Wheres this pho than located? I tried veitnamese village across from deerfoot mall in the summer and it was terrible and way overpriced.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Pho+Thanh+Calgary&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=Pho+Thanh&hnear=0x537170039f843fd5:0x266d3bb1b652b63a,Calgary,+AB&cid=0,0,8758326736249740090&ei=vhgYT47aN4zYiAL874WwCA&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CBIQ_BI

Right beside the KFC on the plaza district on 64th ave and 4th st

[gqmw]

I don't like pho kim haha and I also don't like pho thanh. I just find pho thanh really unappetizing, when I go inside I feel like I lose all appetite. But a lot of people like pho thanh.

Imo basil is the best for sate pho :) pho so is good too.

[Civic_Drift]

Originally posted by Disoblige

:werd: haha

Let's see if Pho Van is any good when it opens up (the place near Koiji).

I'm hoping Pho Van is good since there aren't too many excellent Pho options in the NW/North area besides Pho Thanh. There's Nha Trang or however they spell it in the back of Panorama, it's okay but overpriced.

[Gibson]

I liked Saigon Pearl a lot when it opened, but I haven't been in a really long time. Sad to hear it went down.

Pho Thanh is ridiculously fast, and their prices have always been pretty fair.

I hate not having pho in Lloydminster :cry:

[bignerd]

I have had a sub from Vietnamese Sub and Grill, the place beside the carwash.

It was good but I thought skimpy on the meat, also had some sort of weird veggie mix on it, wasn't onion, maybe some sort of radish?? Like I said tasted okay, but too much bun. Springrolls were also good, sizzling hot and yes the fish sauce is also good.

[403ep3]

I only go to Saigon if I'm carving pho and I don't really care how good it is lol.

All the nw pho suck!

Pho dau Bo ftw and back in the day pho so 1! I like the upper, fantastic, terrific waiter

[toyboy88]

+1 Pho So 1!

[Benny]

Originally posted by 403ep3
All the nw pho suck!

Pho dau Bo ftw


This. I live by Crowfoot and I still drive all the way across the city to Pho Dau Bo because I've never had a sate pho around here that's anywhere near as good.

[FoxTrot]

im gonna check out Pho Dau Bo this week just so i can compare it to Saigon Pearl.

[sabad66]

There's a place right next door to Seniore's pizza in Beddington that is really good and not too far of a drive from Hidden Valley. They aren't open on sundays though, so I usually just drive down 4th street to Pho Thanh in Hunterhorn if I need my fix on Sunday

[me_dennis]

the "excellent, fantastic, wonderful" man at pho so 1 hasn't been around in a very long time. I usually go here when I'm off work and too lazy to cook. Consistently good.

Another good pho place in the NW is in Ranchlands next to DQ, close to crowfoot. Pho Huong Viet I believe it's called.
The owners also own two other vietnamese restaurants in the SW near 17th ave.

[Stunt66]

Originally posted by FoxTrot
im gonna check out Pho Dau Bo this week just so i can compare it to Saigon Pearl.


You will end up throwing rocks through Saigon pearls windows once you find out how badly youve been taken advantage of. I havent been to saigon pearl in years but the last last time i went there i got a bowl of mildly flavored hot water with noodles(it was early lunch though so maybe the broth was too new) and when my coffee came that was the biggest let down. It dripped within seconds because there was barely enough coffee in there, i actually had to complain because it was so bad.

If you're in the NW just go to Basil on 32 because their pho is pretty much the same as dau bo(Basil used to own dau bo), the one thing i don't like about basil is the one size only pho and they've been getting a little stingy on the meat lately.

[K3RMiTdot]

Originally posted by me_dennis
the "excellent, fantastic, wonderful" man at pho so 1 hasn't been around in a very long time. I usually go here when I'm off work and too lazy to cook. Consistently good.

Another good pho place in the NW is in Ranchlands next to DQ, close to crowfoot. Pho Huong Viet I believe it's called.
The owners also own two other vietnamese restaurants in the SW near 17th ave.

the one in crowfoot sucks... i went when it first opened.
stingy on meat and noodles

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by Stunt66
You will end up throwing rocks through Saigon pearls windows once you find out how badly youve been taken advantage of.

+1, while imo before Dau Bo changed management/owner i thought they were better, it still is the best in this city imo.

[gqmw]

Originally posted by n1zm0


+1, while imo before Dau Bo changed management/owner i thought they were better, it still is the best in this city imo.

how is it compared to basil?

[rawsensation]

Originally posted by me_dennis

Another good pho place in the NW is in Ranchlands next to DQ, close to crowfoot. Pho Huong Viet I believe it's called.
The owners also own two other vietnamese restaurants in the SW near 17th ave.

:werd:

Nice and close to, not bad for the NW.

[Stunt66]

Originally posted by gqmw


how is it compared to basil?

it's pretty much the same thing(pho dau bo seems to have more flavor to me though), the old cook that cooked for dau bo before changing owners now works at basil. If you go to either place you need to ask for the oil on the side, it's basically flavored oil that will change the soup taste big time.

[LadyLuck]

My favourite Pho place is Trong Khanh on centre street...the Beef Sate is the best I've had :drool:

[VWEvo]

Pho Huong in Mcknight plaza FTW!!! Best Sate pho I've had, and owner is awesome. Also, Sate Chicken dish is killer. I have a peanut allergy, so its one of the few places that doesn't have a peanut based Sate sauce.

[taemo]

Originally posted by sabad66
There's a place right next door to Seniore's pizza in Beddington that is really good and not too far of a drive from Hidden Valley. They aren't open on sundays though, so I usually just drive down 4th street to Pho Thanh in Hunterhorn if I need my fix on Sunday

It's 2 blocks from my house but only been once, I thought it was ok, the soup bowl seemed small but had decent taste.
The owners are friendly too, maybe I'll give them a 2nd try.



Originally posted by Stunt66


it's pretty much the same thing(pho dau bo seems to have more flavor to me though), the old cook that cooked for dau bo before changing owners now works at basil. If you go to either place you need to ask for the oil on the side, it's basically flavored oil that will change the soup taste big time.


yes! most viet places have nuoc beo, ask for some.. just watch out your cholesterol
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RI2u360vL_8/ShoVwkNvAcI/AAAAAAAADyQ/vwNAuL7SX6Q/s400/pholucky_nuocbeo1.jpg




oh and yes, the pho in the mcknight/falconridge side is good too, the one in Castleridge/Safeway side not as much.

[Stunt66]

^^ That shits better than crack!!!! How'd you get that pic lol Basil/dau bo are the only places where the oil adds flavor, i've tried it at other places and i swear its just plain corn oil.

[npham]

Originally posted by taemo
Pho Kim is the place to hit on 16th.


Gone way down hill over the years. I've give you a little secret that is Pho Phuong Vi Noodle House. It's across from SAIT, in the little strip mall with the liquor store, art supply store and Minut Lube. Completely gutted and renovated since the last pub/restaurant was there. Super friendly, and competent staff with generous portions of great food. I'm there weekly.