Restaurant Favorite: Pho Hoa

I love Pho Hoa, its chicken dishes, marinated prawns, spring rolls, tenderloin beef, crepe, and their sweet vinegar dip. Now, let me share with you my love affair with this restaurant.

Vietnamese food? Why?

That was my first reaction when my mom told me to try this restaurant. I was quite iffy since I have never tried Vietnamese food… ever (before).

I then read through the menu and I was surprised that not everything sounded so foreign to me. They have grilled meat, several chicken dishes, soup, salad, and even desserts such as crepes. I remember that I was fond of chicken when I was young so I ordered Grilled Chicken with Fried Spring Rolls (which I thought was just like your ordinary lumpia). I was surprised though that they served it with vinegar… sweet vinegar. And that was the start of our wonderful love story.

Years later, I have tried several other [non-spicy] dishes and I would say that I’d still go back for more. My must-orders though are the Fried Rice Paper Roll with Pork and Vermicelli (PHP127) and the Tenderloin Beef with Rice (PHP295). And that was what my mom brought home for me for dinner one happy Tuesday night.  

Fried Spring Rolls freshly removed from the take-out container

The Fried Spring Rolls were still the crispy and scrumptious rolls I remember. You could taste the pork in every bite. It wasn’t as oily as well. It was not the type that will make your lips shine and blind people when the light hits it. Plus dipping it in the sweet vinegar brought out the savory flavors of the stuffing of the roll.

As for the Tenderloin Beef… well, it really was tender and it stays true until now. I hate it when I get the old chewy meat that I just had to spit out or my jaw will give up on me. But I haven’t experienced it yet with Pho Hoa and hopefully never. I just love how they seasoned the beef and how the flavor passes on to the rice. I love it!

Tenderloin Beef with Rice. Can you sense its tenderness? :)

They should have named the restaurant Pho wHoa. (Okay, maybe they should stick with the original after all.)

Pho Hoa is located at the Ground Floor of SM Mega Mall A, Mandaluyong City and 6^th Floor Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong City 

** Pho Hoa logo source: citydelivery.ph