Cuisine Review

As I have said in this column many times before, the instant you walk into an ethnic restaurant and see it packed with people of that same ethnicity, you know it is going to be good. I guess it would be like seeing Americans in Japan eating at a wings place, up to their arms in buffalo sauce.

A good friend recently called and asked if I had been to Pho 88 on Azalea Road in Mobile, just shy of Michael Boulevard past McDonald’s. Pho stands for noodle, and 88 is thought to be a very lucky number in Asian culture. My friend is of Asian descent and wanted to go with me to choose a meal that would give me a perspective of Vietnamese food.

First and foremost, Pho 88 is primarily a noodle house. What does that mean? Fresh, in-house-made chicken broth is ladled into large bowls with rice noodles, a selection of meats or seafood and sliced green onion. There are other fantastic items as well, but when I saw the enormous bowls of steaming soup, I had to jump in.

There is nothing inspiring about the atmosphere, it is plain, not glamorous, but clean, with a TV tuned into cable news. There is plenty of seating. Come hungry as the portions are enormous, full of fresh ingredients. The soups are perfect any time – especially if you have recently caught a bad cold. Beyond the wonderful flavor and delicate broth of these soups is the fun in slurping them down. You have to slurp – all of the ingredients are large, full of noodles and warm. It is fun.

I had a triathlon of sorts on my visit, so I could try several things. I do not recommend it only because there is no way you can eat all of the food that came my way. We had six dishes between three of us. Since I have waxed on about the soup, I will cover that first.

Hold on to your hat when you see the prices. My friend chose two soups – Tai Bo Vien – a soup with rare steak and meatball ($5.50) and Pho Bo Vien ($5.50) a meatball soup. I had the Tai Bo. Something about the size of a large mixing bowl of soup came to the table, with slices of steak and medium sized meatballs floating about and noodles sunk into the center. No need to fret that the steak was not cooked; it was more medium than rare. The meat was simple but tasty, soaking up the smooth taste of the fresh broth and slurped-up noodles.

My friend thinks that they may make the noodles in-house. In Vietnam and other countries, these types of restaurants stand out from one another based on their noodles. The soups are served with a rich, deep and abundant platter of Thai basil, limes, cilantro and bean sprouts. I could not put enough Thai basil into my soup, with its spicy, fresh taste, along with a squeeze of lime and some cilantro.

And the slurping makes you feel like a kid again. I plan to take my kids to have the experience. The soups have other combinations such as Pho Ga, and oriental chicken noodle soup; Hu Tieu Mi, a rice and egg noodle soup and Mi Dac Biet Hai san which is egg noodle with seafood. Do not be discouraged by the names, as everything on the menu has the English translation below.

Before attacking the soups, we first ordered two appetizers. The first was Goi Cuaon – three generously sized spring rolls in rice paper with shrimp and chopped fresh vegetables ($2.95) with a thick, strong peanut dipping sauce. Bi Cuon – shredded pork rolls with a light, slightly sweet sauce ($2.95). I found the pork rolls to be excellent and different, not something you find in other more Americanized restaurants.

Beyond the soups, there are several other sections. Chow Mein dishes have as their base noodles made with wheat flour and possibly with egg that are served with meat, shrimp and vegetable combinations. The combinations in this section run from $6.50 to $7.50. There are also rice plates of fried or steamed rice combinations. There are some interesting ones to consider, for example Com Ga Xao Sa ot – lemongrass chicken with steamed rice or how about Com Xao rau Thap Cam, which is a platter full of rice, vegetables, pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, crab meat, squid and fish ball! Next is Bun, or dishes with a rice vermicelli base, like that found in the soups. These are mostly either shrimp, pork or both.

Beef and Chicken Noodle Soups, Chow Mein, Chow-Fun uses wider wheat noodles. The Hu Tieu xao Tom ($6.50) was abundant with juicy, medium sized shrimp along with fresh broccoli, mini corn, carrots and onion. There is no MSG here, just good crisp fresh vegetables. The sauce was light and subtle. However, there are plenty of hot sauces should you wish to add spice to any of your choices. The platters of Chow-Fun were stacked with food.

I mean it when I say you should not try to eat all that we tried, as a lot was taken home. I ate most of the Hu Tieu Xao Ga ($6.50) or chow-fun with chicken. Strips of chicken breast meat with the same vegetables as above had been cooked in a brown sauce that was different, not heavy like you are likely used to. They do not seem to use a lot of oil in cooking here. The sauce was more like a thin covering than a gooey one that overtakes the meal.

Eating at Pho 88 is something to experience, not just a place you grab a quick meal or belly up to the buffet. Those who live to eat and enter restaurants in their Little Rascals will not be interested, as there are no fried wontons or banana pudding.

What a shame for them, and a joy for the rest of us!

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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