. "0"^^ . "4"^^ . "2"^^ . "2010-06-15T00:00:00"^^ . . "Pho House is my go-to pho place in old chinatown (or chinatown east if you prefer). I am going on a family vacation in 3 days and I have suddenly come down with a cough and cold combination that I needed to take care of, stat. So off I went. I've been eating a lot of pho this year and I have gotten to know a good bowl from a bad one.\n\nThe good:\n- the broth here is clear and has lots of green onions in it. I prefer its flavour to some of the neighbouring pho offerings (in descending order; xe lua, kims and stay far far away from mi mi). It isn't salty or heavy handed on the MSG and you can taste the beefyness in the broth.\n- The table setup is perfect - they have chopsticks, spoons, hoisin and hot sauce along with the dishes to mix them and other assorted condiments at the table. I never have to flag anyone down to ask for something else, it's always there.\n- Easy communication\n- Debit (!)\n- Super bright and clean\n\nThe bad:\n- Like Neil said, the rare beef comes clumped together and cooks too fast. I am also not a fan of the actual cut of beef they use here for this. It is definitely budget beef. (for $5-$7 a bowl though, I guess I shouldn't complain). It can be stringy.\n- The noodles are not fresh, which doesn't really bother me but it is worth noting. \n\nThe weird:\nThe drink menu is confusing. I always order something different just to see what I end up with. Once I ordered 'lychee with ice' and it was exactly that... lychee fruits (whole) in a glass, with ice, and some water. \n\nOverall, this is the place I bring people who have never had pho (just like Susan C did for me several months ago) because its reliably good and easy to order."^^ . "1"^^ . .