| rev:text
| - I've been to Pho MaiLan several times now. It's the closest pho joint to my house, which makes it the go-to by default. Mind you, I wouldn't keep going back if it sucked, and it definitely doesn't.
The pho is decent--good quality meat, broth isn't bad, and they give you a fair portion--and the service is excellent (as long as it's one of the adults doing the servicing... the couple kids who work there definitely don't have the same customer service ethic). Definitely the friendliest of all pho places I've ever been to (although Lemongrass is a close second in that department).
I've had several of the beef pho dishes as well as a couple of the vermicelli ones, one of the new banh mi specials (pork), and their new lemongrass grilled chicken plate. I'll break it down for you:
* The sandwich had more teriyaki-type sauce on it than most I've tried (not sure what that sauce a actually is, traditionally), but was really tasty.
* I'm not the hugest fan of the pho ga (chicken soup) as I find it pretty bland compared to the beef pho bowls, but that's true at pretty much any pho place I go. Oh a whim, I tried the mi van special (like the pho ga but with egg noodles instead of rice), but the noodles were super gross and it didn't have any more flavor than the pho ga. I definitely wouldn't recommend that one.
* Ok, the lemongrass chicken -- well, it was definitely chicken, but it didn't taste at all of lemongrass, and seemed like it was actually covered in some sort of watery yellow curry (like the yellow curry used in Hawaiian cuisine, but waterier and with less flavor). Seemed overly salty, too, and I didn't bother eating my leftovers later. Oh well.
Above varying food reviews aside, I'll still keep coming back for the friendly service & the decent beef pho. They're also always happy to give me extra scallions & onions, which makes my tastebuds happy!
|