I’m in love with Vietnamese food. I’ve only recently really been able to enjoy it during the last couple of years. My sister in law Viet Linh is full Vietnamese so I’ve been lucky to be brought around a new culture as well as new food adventures. Also one of my best friends in the whole world Joanna is Vietnamese and we enjoy a hot bowl of pho over the latest gossip and life trials and tribulations.

I don’t eat Vietnamese food as often as I would like to and I have a ton to learn about the cuisine but here is a little food interpretation of Pho So 1

I frequent this particular chain of Pho restaurants often. This is Joanna and I’s go to place for Pho when we need somewhere to hang out and eat. The Simi Valley location is the one I most often go to but these photos are from the Pho So 1 on Reseda Blvd and Sherman way in Reseda.

Pho So 1  www.phoso1.com/

So I’ll do a little description of the actual locations and then off to the food.

Reseda
7231 Reseda Blvd.
Reseda, CA 91335
Tel: (818) 996-6515
Hours of Operation:
9:00 am – 9:45 pm Mon. – Sun.

This location is in a small strip mall the restaurant itself is relatively small and most of the time crowded. If you’re looking for the best service in town you’ll find yourself a bit of a letdown because from the time you get your order taken you’ll be lucky to get your water refilled. Pho always comes out very fast and the rest of the food will come out at different times. It provides a sense of freshness that I can appreciate because sometimes I wished I could do that when I was working at a restaurant but I understand most people like to eat together not at separate times, too bad for you if you’re that kind of person cause it’s not happening here.

Simi Valley

2837 Cochran St.
Simi Valley, CA 93065
Tel: (805) 306-1868
Hours of Operation:
9:00 am – 9:45 pm Mon. – Sun.

Simi Valley location is much bigger than Reseda. Its can only be described as a giant room of tables meant for one purpose, eating. The wait staff here is much better than at the Reseda location and they are always polite and attentive. Still the food comes out when it does here as well so don’t think that’s going to change.

 The Food side

So what I normally get here is a rare steak Pho with a side order of egg rolls. The broth of the Pho is really something that is the magic of the soup. Pho is made with bones and is brewed for long periods of time to achieve a very potent flavor of meat, this place achieves that goal. These thin noodles are simple made of rice and the trimmings that come with pho including onions, green onions, cilantro floating in your bowl are really a key element. You can put in as much or little of the sides which include lime, bean sprouts, and Asian herbs like Thai basil. Also at table side are condiments such as Hoisin sauce (sweet sauce made of vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce amongst other Chinese goodness) and Sriracha (Thai hot sauce) which add sweetness and heat to the bowl of soup.  

this is the way it comes and then with the addition of what i like what it ends up as

This is a part of pho everyone eats it a bit differently which I like about it. I’ll add a little of this and that and by the end I’m so full I can barely eat the egg rolls that I have to have, when I go there. These are deep fried but not greasy and my favorite part of these egg rolls is they come with lettuce and picked carrots and dikon. The freshness and heat from the egg roll and lettuce veggie combo is a winner every time. They also come with fish sauce for dipping. I love them. They’re not as amazing as Joanna’s moms egg rolls, or Viet-Linh’s moms spring rolls but they are pretty damn good.

My brother likes to eat Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong which is either charbroiled beef or pork, and egg rolls with rice vermicelli and vegetable. This dish is a cold dish that has hot meat served over the top the bottom of the bowl if full of thin rice vermicelli noodles and you add fish sauce to your preference over the top when eating. It’s delicious I recommend pork pictured here is beef.  My brother also ordered this strange kind of special three-colored drink Che Ba Mau which had jellied pieces of green bean, red bean and yellow bean in a kind of thick coconut milk and ice. The textures of the drink are very unique something I’m glad I tried but am not sure I’d have again.

click on pictures for larger photos

There are so many awesome options for the more adventurous eater. A lady aside of us was grilling her own shrimp on a small flame burner and making spring rolls with the fixings they gave her.

If you’re in the mood for Pho, please check out one of these places for a great inexpensive meal, pay at the counter if you go they don’t give you checks, (Pho usually runs about 7 dollars for a huge bowl of soup) and get to know a little more about Vietnamese food.

Eat and be Merry everyone
Cheers

Unrivaledkitch

Twitter and Foodbuzz and RSS FEED