Terrific Takeout: Pho Saigon Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Owner of Pho Saigon, our friend Bill Tran
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It is both a great day and also a highly unusual day at Whom You Know when we find an entirely new kind of cuisine that Ms. Pretty Picky needs to tell you about!
Introducing what we believe is our first Vietnamese review ever! Pho Saigon is owned by Bill Tran and his family, and Bill moved to New York three decades ago with his family. He had previously lived in Hong Kong, and is from Vietnam. This is our first visit to Pho Saigon and it opened in 2015.
We began with the Cha Gio. We're going to define everything for you because guess who doesn't speak Vietnamese either! (But she speaks tastebuds internationally.)
They are Vietnamese fried spring rolls and are served with lettuce and herbs: mint, cilantro, lettuce and cucumber. Noodles and mushrooms are also alive and kicking inside. You will find them under appetizers, along with Goi Cuon:
We liked these better; they are lighter and of course great for summer because their name is Fresh Shrimp Summer Roll. Shrimp, mint leaves and vermicelli noodles arrive wrapped in rice paper to ignite your appetite. They were not at all greasy and the rice paper has a lovely, thin texture.
This is what a salad looks like! We like that there are many choices. This is the first Green Papaya Salad of Peachy's life, otherwise known as Goi Du Du Bo.
You're not going to believe how fantastic it is! Look what we have been missing.
Here is the traditional version:
Here's its glamour shot. No those are not flying saucers around the edge: they are SHRIMP CHIPS and our studies show they are addictive.
The fresh green papaya was shredded to perfection and they will even hold the peanuts for you if you ask them to. (Peachy only likes her peanuts in peanut butter or in their natural state alone.) This is the no-peanut version. Mint, fried shallot, cilantro and drumroll please, we even liked the sauce of chili lime. We are carnivores and Deegans here NOT VEGANS so we had a round of applause for the grilled beef which was superb. We were also thrilled with this sauce which was light and did not overwhelm the cuisine it accompanied and let it shine concurrently.
We bet you didn't know papaya could smile!
We really like cashews and next in the lineup we had a faceoff with Tom Xao Xoai.
It had smashing seared shrimp dancing in pea pods, tomato, fresh mango, cashew nuts, and drumroll please, the most highly underutilized item on menus everywhere: PEACHES!
It was a genius combination and did not last long. We do not normally like stir frys at all but we liked THIS stir fry.
Bill told Peachy that she absolutely must try their signature dish: Suon Heo Nuong. Once you take a single bite you will see why it is named so.
These grilled pork chops are simply fabulous and marinated in lemongrass, anchovy, and honey garlic, they put the competition to shame. Every succulent bite will silence you as you appreciate both the ideal thinness of the pork and the standout flavor. They also serve it intelligently in bite-sized pieces.
It was a very hot day when we visited, and you should know this cuisine to us was really spectacular on a hot day. Peachy Deegan must look like she's tired so Bill asked her if she wanted to try iced coffee! It was incredible.
It arrives like this, and the coffee is from Vietnam. It's wonderful and it did wake up Sleeping Beauty who is highly dependent on caffeine early in the morning.
Another new item for us was Chinese broccoli, above, Cai Ro Xao Nam, which is sauteed with black mushrooms in garlic sauce with mustard greens. It is the stems, not the head of the broccoli and the greenery will delight you.
Bill also insisted we try the Pho Ga, which is truly outstanding. Another genius combination -and you will not believe how well these flavors combine. Traditional rice noodle beef soup in beef broth hosts bean sprouts, jalapeno, lime and basil and grilled marinated chicken arrives on the side that you will add. Traditionally we understand this is eaten for all three meals a day in Vietnam so we tried it for breakfast the next day and it was still amazing!
Pho Saigon is Terrific Takeout!
We can't wait to see what Bill does next.
