Hole in the Wall Find: Phobobo (Pho-King De-li-cious)

I used to not care much about interior designs. I would say, “oh, nice place” without much thought into it. However, working with the Real Living team helped me become more appreciative of details. I even helped style the Yummy booth before for Yummy Eats’ first year and cried when I stepped inside an Ikea store for the first time. So just imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon Hole in the Wall’s Instagram account. The first thing that came to my mind was… I HAVE TO GO THERE ASAP. But work was a bit crazy for the past few weeks. We even have work on Saturdays. Then again, nothing can stop me with my affair with food.

Hello, Hole in the Wall. It has been a long two weeks of agony not being able to visit you sooner.

I was surprised that the place was quite packed on a Wednesday night. I guess Friday night is now seven days a week.

I was really famished when J and I got there so I wasn’t able to take much photos plus I was feeling shy to take photos of hungry diners. I also didn’t really choose which concessionaire to buy from. My only basis that time was which one had the shortest line. At that time, it was Phobobo and Greencheese. But let me focus more on Phobobo in this entry.

I was actually more excited to try Kwong’s and Bad Bird but the lines were too long for my tummy to understand. And since I got rained on earlier that day, a warm bowl of pho sounded appealing.

After a minute or so, it was my turn to order. I quickly went for the Pho Bo (PHP360) and Ox Tripe Chicharon (PHP160). Unfortunately, the chicharon was not available that night. I ended up with Crispy Spring Rolls (PHP140).

Thankfully, the creative minds behind Hole in the Wall thought of the buzzing wait coasters. (Is that how it is called?) While waiting for my food, I roamed around to check the other stores.

After a few minutes, my food was ready.

The pho had a generous serving of meat. I had a hearty share of braised beef shanks and thin slices of rare beef. The broth had a light taste and was slightly overpowered by the herbs and lime. But it was refreshing.

The crispy spring rolls dish was a combination of pork and shrimp with nuoc mam cham dipping sauce. I’m addicted with the dipping sauce as it is a great combination of salty, sweet and a bit of chili taste. There were only three rolls per order but it was a great appetizer for one. It was served crispy and piping hot!

Overall, it was a great meal. I will definitely visit again to try the chicharon.

Phobobo is located at Hole in the Wall, 4^th floor, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue, corner Salamanca St., Barangay Poblacion, Makati City