Delicious Pho

Today is that depressing day of the week where you know the next day is 'back to work' or 'back to school' or both. To make it slightly less depressing, I met up for lunch with my best friend's family. We needed to stay within central Coquitlam so her mom suggested we try the newly opened Delicious Pho.

To begin, I'd like to address parking. There is only limited free street parking as well as, I believe, a paid parking lot in the building. It wasn't too difficult to find a spot today as due to the statuary holiday, the surrounding offices are not open. 

There were about five or six other tables of customers which is a fairly good amount for a restaurant of small size. The interior walls are painted a vibrant green, adding a cheerful and fresh ambiance to the restaurant. Since the restaurant is newly opened, there are congratulatory flowers displayed at the front counter. The tables and chairs are sleek black and chic; very clean and comfortable. So far, so good.

Menus and tea were quickly provided and service was efficient. The waiters don't have perfect English and one of them (maybe the son of the operating family) seemed a tad shy. Not saying it as bad or good, just as what I examined. 

The pho ordered by my friend's family came shortly after ordering, like really quickly. Then again, pho is probably the easiest dish to put together; the broth is pre-made everything is just dunked into the bowl. The 'small' sized pho isn't small at all! However, I can't say for sure because I didn't actually touch their bowls. I've heard that at some pho restaurants, the small and large have the same amount of food, it's just the bowl size is different. I mean pho noodles are super cheap...scumbags... Anyways, before arrival, my friend already had complaints that their broth was no good. But her mom argues otherwise.

Pork & Vietnamese Ham Sub ($4) and Grilled Chicken & Grilled Prawns Vermicelli ($9.15)

My brother and I shared a Vietnamese Sub and a Grilled Chicken & Grilled Prawns Vermicelli. The sub was a disappointment, nothing special about it whatsoever. I was unsatisfied with the fact that the pork was a cold cut, not the lemongrass marinated pork I was expecting. There was also far too much mayonnaise (ew..) and the bun wasn't spectacular either. Not an exciting sandwich so do yourself a favour and avoid ordering this.

The vermicelli noodle dishes took a little while longer to get to our table. My friend's grandpa almost always gets these cold noodle dishes when dining Vietnamese. He commented on how large the serving was. This was a pretty good dish; the chicken pieces were plentiful, juicy, and marinated well, and there was a ton of fresh vegetables. The grilled prawns were a bit too oily for my liking though... But at least they were plump. Nine dollars is pricer than usual but it isn't too bad.
 

10 piece Chicken Wings ($7.20)

You may recall hearing about the Queen of Chicken Wings in my Phnom Penh post. It's no surprise she wanted to order some fried chicken wings here too. This 'appetizer' was the last thing to be served at our table. While Phnom Penh still reigns as best chicken wings ever and the ones from the nearby Pho Phu Thinh are still better, these weren't terrible. The crispy batter could've been more even but the pieces were large and meaty. However, the sauce was a disappointment. It is goopey and tastes like prepared plum sauce from a jar, it very well could have been exactly that. If you're craving chicken wings, then by all means, feel free to order this. But it definitely isn't a must-order here.

Delicious Pho didn't serve us anything so horrendous that I'd stay away from this restaurant forever, but there wasn't anything impressive enough to make me want to return either. 

Photos of full menu below:

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh Restaurant

Finally, it is my turn to try this famous restaurant in Chinatown. It's probably in every Vancouver tourist recommendation book, popular to both locals and tourists. I rarely ever venture into that area as it's rather sketchy to do so without some guardians. I followed my best friend and her mom Downtown after a morning church service and we needed to find lunch somewhere on the way. Phnom Penh is located very close to Main street so it was convenient for us to pop by. My best friend has been hailed the Queen of Chicken Wings, so it was a must to bring her here.

Phnom Penh's awards

We arrived at noon on a Sunday and were told to wait 20 minutes for a table. Good thing we arrived a tad bit earlier than the lunch crowd; by five minutes later people were told to wait half hour to 45 minutes for a table. Just by seeing all the proudly framed awards covering the wall and stickers on their entrance door, and the long line up of hungry customers, one would be curious to find out why they have been famous for so long. But is worth waiting to have a taste of their raved-about chicken wings? To put it simply, YES.

Pho Phu Thinh

It's been ages since the last time I've had Vietnamese noodles. If you really think about it, you're paying a good seven dollars for something worth a third of that. I've never been quite fond of Vietnamese noodles because often the soup base lacks flavour so I end up eating way too much hoisin sauce. Anyways, my best friend's family frequently goes to eat Vietnamese cuisine and we got together for lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

Pho Phu Thinh is a considerably new restaurant in Coquitlam, opening it's doors just a few years back. I've visited here once about a year ago but only tried their Combo Bean drink. And that was terrible. The worst 三色冰 I've ever tried. It is literally a tall glass of over-sweetened syrupped beans. Even with a sweet tooth like mine, it was like pure glucose. Don't ever order it here. I didn't listen to Az's advice and had to learn the hard way.

Thankfully, their other items are much more edible than the bean drink. Let's begin with appetizers!

5 Piece Chicken Wings and 2 Piece Prawn Salad Roll