Pho24: "Posh Pho, although..."

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	Asian
Location:	Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati City, Philippines

I don't know a heap of chilies about Vietnam's national dish. I've eaten it less than a dozen times, but I do like to slurp beef broth once in a while!

An earlier decision to share a meal at the Ayala Triangle Gardens with a friend had me walking briskly there to peruse the different restaurants which also had a lot of people queuing up even if it was a bit late for a Sunday. Usually this area of Makati is a bit bare during weekends, with people flocking to the malls on the other end.

A quick glance, and Pho24 had the shortest queue I could see. So while I was in the mood for some Hainanese chicken rice (never mind if I don't like chicken, its just that I never got to taste this during Singapore visits), I settled for this Asian cuisine instead of the restaurant on its right side.



First impressions -

1 - There are a lot of pho varieties offered by Pho24.
Their menu does not concentrate on the usual beef noodle soup but also offers other meat combinations, as well as chicken.
Which of course, I didn't try *wink*

Pho may be their main attraction but their menu also lists spring rolls (deep fried and fresh ones) and some snack items. Desserts, albeit two only were listed, has also its place.

2 - The restaurant is fancier for what I thought thought of as Vietnam's "street food".
I guess this is also the reason why its pricier here than usual because you are paying for more than the pho on your bowl. Its not 4-star gourmet dining but its not also street stall style.

3 - Soft opening. Maybe that accounts for the little kinks.
If you visit this month and its crowded, once you are seated, do not wait for them to give you the menu or the bill. Call out to the elegant Áo Dài-dressed women servers or the less-snazzily dressed waiters :-)

Now for the food....

I ordered Pho Tai beef noodle (Php 138).
Pandan Agar Pudding (Php 68).
Vietnamese tea with ice (Php 60).

I canceled the prawn skewers as my friend could not make it in time to the resto...I still had this vague notion of having a pie for dessert at Banapple but erred on the side of caution and ordered dessert here too!

* I recommend their Vietnamese tea with ice. There seems to be an elusive taste of honey there somewhere, and I wish they had bottomless offer for this *grin*

Since they served me the dessert before the pho, not that I mind as I never had a problem with eating dessert first - I was happy to see it zooming my way. The other option was white beans pudding...which eerily looked too similar to my vision of mung beans (munggo to us Pinoys and not so exciting). Amusingly, just having a few spoonfuls of the dessert I ordered opened my appetite a bit further!

There are small-sized and regular-sized phos. The former is for kiddies and its really small unless you are in the mood for noodle-cup-broth soups, then I suggest the regular ones.

A plate of colorful chopped chilies, about 1/5 slice of a fresh lemon, aromatic onions, springy bean sprouts, fresh coriander and mint leaves is set before you. You can ask for extra, as I heard another customer do so, am not sure if it costs extra...maybe not.

The table already has the standard hot chili sauce bottle, and a small container of fish paste so you can mix to your palate's preference.

I'm not sure if Pho24 is geared towards the Northern or Southern Vietnam version. The pho is served in a big bowl with what looks to be a generous helping of the broth. The rice noodles were a tasty treat for slurping (no cutting!). The beef slivers were in tender little itty bits.

The broth is fragrant, light and seasoned well.
At first glance it looks alarmingly like there was just too much broth and not enough noodles, but once you mix what was in the condiment plate into your bowl and enthusiastically stir, it actually turns out to be an appropriate ratio.

BUT, (and yes, there is a but).... I still prefer the broth I slurped down like there was no tomorrow at Sen Lek Thai stall. There was just that touch of spice and elusive flavor in that broth in comparison to this one.

I guess, if I were to rank the last 5 phos I had eaten in terms of flavor and repeat visit factor, Pho24's would be at a respectable #3 or...4...
Its almost street food, but cleaned up and marketed as posh version of it...or rather maybe because of the surroundings?

One of these days, I really need to go to Vietnam and taste for myself how the pho on the streets compare to their posh cousins served here in Manila.

However, if you are in the mood for something hot, bracing and light while you are here, do try Pho24.
Beef noodle soup (or chicken or another kind?) is always comfort food when the weather turns cooler.