Updated: 5th Oct 2014; This restaurant is closed.
I decided to visit the newest Vietnamese restaurant in Richmond for lunch on a Saturday. Most importantly, the boys agreed to the idea. I am still in the search of dry mix Vietnamese noodle with lots of fried shallot and brown sauce.
The latest addition to the many Vietnamese restaurants in Richmond is Pho Boi, A Taste of Vietnamese on No. 5 Road which took over the location of Red Mirchi recently. As you can see this restaurant is big.
The interior does not change much except that the buffet area is occupied with more tables. This restaurant has a split level and it’s the size of two shop lots.
The menu is not too big with the normal fan-fare of Vietnamese noodles, rice and appetizers. You can click on the menu to have a better view.
The condiments sit on a lazy susan which makes them more accessible.
Just like any Vietnamese restaurant, hot Chinese tea is served to the adults and ice water for the kids.
I’m not too pleased with the not so fresh looking basil served with the raw bean sprout, jalapeno and limes.
Arkensen ordered the adventurer’s choice section. He ordered the brisket, flank, fatty brisket, tendon and crunchy flank with rice noodle. He usually picks the one with a lot of ingredients. The large bowl costs $7.45 which is a dollar more than the regular size.
Arkensen commented that it tastes good.
Arkensen also ordered a spring roll to share with me. One spring roll costs $2.36. The spring roll is oily, small and not as nice as those from Pho Lan.
Nanzaro ordered Bun Bo Hue from the specialty section. This is $7.45. Although it looks spicy, it is not spicy hot. The soup is tasty though. The rice noodle used here is slightly thicker. Strangely, this does not comes with pork feet which is a good thing as Nanzaro does not eat pork feet. He usually gives them to Ben. It has beef tendon and beef balls which is not common for Bun Bo Hue. Other meats include beef shank, beef flank and pork ham.
Once again, I cannot find the dry mix noodles that I have been yearning for. So, I settled with a Hot & Sour Seafood Noodle Soup. This is also $7.45. It has tomatoes, fish balls, artificial crab meat. prawns and squid. There is a lot of noodles in this bowl. The soup is not as sour as I preferred but it tastes quite good with a strong lemon grass flavour.
Pho Boi accepts credit cards. We quite enjoy the noodle soup in Pho Boi. The good thing is the parking is quite big and it’s not going to be a problem.
Pho Queen has that dry noodle with mixed meat. Its either #25(rice noodle) or #26(egg noodle). Im sure you can ask for mixed noodles. I havent tried it so not sure if its as good as Phnom Phenh. Here’s the link to their menu.
http://www.urbanspoon.com/u/menu/1344667?p=1
I heard that there’s a new Viet restaurant in Ironwood mall that just opened last month. Have yet to visit but it sounds interesting, since there’s never been such a restaurant in that area before. I think the name is Photen or Pho Ten.
I remember driving by the restaurant randomly and a buddy of mine were like, hey it’s a new Pho place. We really liked it, and the fact that it was slightly off from all the crazy traffic you usually get in Richmond. And being in Richmond, sometimes it’s nice to find a place that takes plastic.
I wouldn’t say they make the best noodles, but you definitely get good value out of your meal. It would be interesting to go back in the summer to see if they have their patio open because I’ve never eaten pho outside in a patio setting before.
Hey Suanne,
Are you guys going to Beijing to visit Ben soon then? I thought he mentioned in a post that you guys are going over to visit sometime around now.
Be Patient,Just wait for the Beijing Posts later
Hi Shopaholicinvan and Pinoy Gourmet: Yeah, Suanne is in China now. We are actually in Xian for the next few days. The air here is awful, so bad that we only spent 3 hours sightseeing today. But the good part was that there was a lot of food discovery here. And it is so ridiculously cheap. I still can’t get over the 1 RMB (15 Canadian cents) steamed pork buns we had. Ben
I’m glad to hear that you have been reunited for a little while….
The air quality is really so poor in most of China, though if you ask any of the guides, they will slough it off and say it’s just “heavy air”
Enjoy your time together…….eat lots and share with us when you can!
Hi Suanne,
Thai Hoa and Thai Son also serves the dry noodles that you are looking for. My preference is thai son’s version =)
Happy eating!
Hi Suanne, To get the dry noodles, it’s call “Hui Tui Ko” – It’s good at Tai Son & Cambodian restaurant in chinatown. Just a reminder CRA 2012 finalist will be publish soon 🙂 I miss your blogs! Have a good time in China!