The Pho Files: Small Rare Beef at Pho King

Small Rare Beef Pho, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Pho King is located on Alberta Avenue (91 Street and 118 Avenue). In an area which has a plethora of multicultural restaurants, Pho King stands out. First, it is the only Vietnamese restaurant. Second, the name. Come on. You get it, don't you? (Bear also in mind that pho, when pronounced the traditional way, sounds like "fuh").

Name aside, the pho here is excellent. Lots of scallions and herbs are floating around in the rich, meaty broth, and as far as the meat goes, there is a lot of it - and it is tender. I ran out of noodles and still had meat hiding away at the bottom of the bowl, something which rarely happens. My only criticism is that there was perhaps a touch too much salt in the broth - I had a few overly salty mouthfuls.

The small bowl is a bit smaller than other pho portions with which I am familiar, but it is also cheaper. In fact, much of the menu is very low in price. I had an order of spring rolls for only $3 to start things off. They were quite ordinary vegetarian spring rolls, but for that price I should not complain.