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| - Who would have thought a sushi restaurant would make such great tasting pho?
The first time I stopped by Yama Sushi & Grill, I was very skeptical about how good the pho would be and opted out of trying it. However, this time around, the owner had actually remembered me from my last visit (more than a month ago!) and instantly spoke to me in Vietnamese. Suddenly, it all made sense why this Japanese restaurant was serving arguably the most popular Vietnamese entree.
My coworker and I decided to split a bowl of pho that the chef kindly separated into two bowls for us. I also got an order of the sushi salad as well as the eel and cucumber rolls. Service was extremely accommodating with the waiters coming by to check on us very frequently. We were even given two fresh, hot towels before our meal.
I had envisioned the sushi salad to have lots of seaweed salad and cubed pieces of fish like salmon, tuna, and hamachi. Instead, it actually looked like a typical lettuce salad with a spicy mayo sauce that reminded me a lot of a thousand island. The fish pieces were a tad bit too large and sightly tough to eat while the seaweed salad was practically drowned out by the crab salad and lettuce. I did, however, enjoy the crab salad and the creaminess of it. The eel and cucumber roll was flavored well, allowing me to taste each component separately. While I do wish the sushi rice was softer, that familiar vinegary taste was delicious.
The main reason I increased my score was because of the pho. Surprising, right!? I was absolutely astonished by the broth, full of umami flavor without being too heavy. The noodles weren't soggy and the slices of thin meat were tender. There were even some pieces of tripe as well as juicy, beef meatballs. I was slightly bummed that I wasn't given any basil leaves, a must for pho, but it wasn't too big of a problem since the pho was quite delicious on its own.
It's really strange that a Japanese restaurant made pho so well, even better than the preparation of the actual sushi. This just goes to show that I shouldn't be so quick to judge. The last time I came by I said I was going to stick to the sushi at Yama Sushi & Grill, but I think I'm going to get myself a hot bowl of steaming pho instead. Delicious!
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