Enchanting Pure Beef Noodle Soup - Pho Minh [Review] w/ Pics!

[exilekiss]

(Formatted with All Pictures here:
http://exilekiss.blogspot.com/2008/07/enchanting-pure-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html

)

Being a So Cal native, I've been lucky enough to have been exposed to many cuisines while growing up. My perspective on some cuisines I thought I knew while growing up, have completely changed thanks to a variety of circumstances (whether visiting the country of origin, or being invited to have home-cooked meals of that cuisine from friends, acquaintances, etc.). One such cuisine would be Pho: A bowl of Rice Noodles with Beef Broth and various cuts of Beef, originating from Northern Vietnam.

While growing up, my knowledge and taste for Pho were from random Pho restaurants that I got dragged to by friends, places like Pho 79 or Golden Deli (and random "Pho [insert number between 1 - 999]" places). I found it generally salty and MSG-laden and just "ehh~," in final result. I got used to humoring them and would eat a few bites (or turn to ordering other stuff like the Rice plates while everyone else had their Pho noodles).

It wasn't until one fateful day a few years back that I was invited by a friend of a friend's Vietnamese family to come over and try their homemade Pho. My entire perception of Pho changed that night. It was a slowly-cooked, long-stewed (10+ hours!) process of creating a pure, amazing Beef Broth, so light and supple, and full of home-cooking love. They used no MSG, and the mom told us that this was the way Pho was supposed to be, but that many restaurants didn't have the time to spend making the traditional broth, so they resorted to using ingredients to speed up the process of making a flavorful broth, using manufactured Consomme, MSG, etc.

Since then, I had given up on finding Pho on this level of quality in a restaurant, but a few years ago, I was dragged off to Pho Hien in South El Monte, where my friends claimed that it was a slow-cooked, pure, No-MSG soup. And it was true to their words, wonderful, simple, purity. Sadly, some ownership issues caused a disruption in this restaurant, unofficially leading to other spinoffs and copycats along the same street. And I was back to looking for a replacement...

Thanks to the wonderful post by Erik M, I found out about Pho Minh, a new restaurant that Erik ranked as the best Pho in town! I had to try this and dragged some of my Pho Hounds with me to try it out.

Pho Minh is located in a quiet strip mall, on the south side of Garvey Avenue, and walking in, we found a simple, L-shaped restaurant (occupying both corner spots of this mini-mall). They had the A/C going, and we opened up the menu to see a good sign: All they serve are 4 general items - Pho, the Vietnamese Noodles in 22 variations of essentially the same thing (e.g., "Pho with Flank Steak" "Pho with Brisket" "Pho with both of those + Tendon" etc.); a Bun Bo Hue (Special Hue Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup); Cha Gio (Vietnamese Egg Rolls); and a Com Tam dish (Broken Rice plate).

We all ordered their standard Pho Dac Biet (Special Combo with Rare Slices of Steak, Well-Done Brisket, Flank Steak, Tendon and Tripe, in Rice Noodles and Soup). When it arrived, it already looked like the real deal: Clear, light-colored Broth, with only a little bit of fat "bubbles" on the surface. The cut of Steak looked wonderfully fresh and not fatty at all (BTW, you can have the Steak added in the Soup already to start cooking, or have it outside and add it yourself).

We quickly added some of the fresh herbs that come complementary with these Beef Noodles - Rau Que (Thai Basil), Rau Thom (Mint), Ngo Gai, Bean Sprouts, and a little fresh Pepper slices, squeezing some of the fresh Lime as well - and dug in!

In a word: Wonderful. This was amazingly light, authentic Pho, with a beautiful Beef Broth could only be achieved by slow-cooking for hours and hours. The manager confirmed to us later that they cook their Beef Soup overnight, every night: "It's the only way to make Pho," as he stated. "We make it authentic, no MSG," he further added.

The actual cuts of Beef were good, but I preferred Pho Hien's Beef Brisket a little bit more. On another visit, I ordered their Dac Biet Pho Bac (Beef Filet (Tenderloin) Slices with Noodles and Soup, item "1." on their menu), which turned out to be my favorite. Their slices of the Filet were extremely tender and added the right amount of beefy goodness to their amazing Beef Broth.

It should be noted that if you're used to Pho from places like Pho 79, Golden Deli, etc., eating the simpler, "long-cooked / homemade" style of Pho may not be for you: I've had people tell me that it tastes "bland" or "not salty / rich enough." I liken it to Chicken Soup: A good, homemade, long-cooked Chicken Soup versus a bowl of a fast-preparation / rushed Chicken Soup at a standard American restaurant; there is a difference. It may take a few visits, but once you switch over, there's no going back. (^_~)

We also ordered their Cha Gio (Vietnamese Egg Rolls), that you wrap with Lettuce Leaves and add various herbs to suit your taste. The Egg Rolls were nice and crispy, but were only decent compared to the amazing Egg Rolls at Vien Dong (Garden Grove), for example.

On another visit, I tried their Com Tam (Broken Rice with Pork Chop, Pork Skin and Egg) plate and as Erik M said, it was wonderful! This was probably the best Pork Chop, Vietnamese-style, that I've had so far. Very flavorful, moist, and not overcooked at all.

Pho Minh is a very simple, mom-and-pop-type eatery, with no ambiance or decor (but at least it's brand-new, clean, and they run a flat-screen LCD TV with Soccer Matches :), and simple service. Our total came out to be ~$8.00 per person (that includes tax and tip already :), and if you don't order their Egg Rolls, it'd be only ~$7.00 per person total.

As it currently stands, Pho Minh is one of the best Pho restaurants in L.A. for authentic, slow-cooked style, Beef Noodle Soup, Vietnamese style. It's wonderful, homemade, Pure Beef Noodle Soup, comforting and heart-warming.

*** Rating: 8.8 (out of 10.0) ***

Pho Minh
9646 E. Garvey Ave., #108
South El Monte, CA 91733
[phone]

* Cash Only *

Hours: Open Daily, 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

http://www.chow.com/places/33341

[ipsedixit]

Great review.

Best part of Pho Minh? Pho for breakfast!

[exilekiss]

Thanks ipsedixit. :)

Yah, when I brought one of my Pho Hounds with me the first time, they noticed the hours and was drooling. They said the same thing you did: "I can't wait to get their Pho for breakfast!" (^_^)

[wilafur]

thanks ek. i just bookmarked the spot!

[TonyC]

we were @ Pho Minh for the 4th? time Friday as well.

what's actually really interesting is the Pho Bac, self-proclaimed Northern style pho, the "simplest" of all kinds, but at the highest price. haven't had it yet, but it's highly enticing since Pho Filet down the street also does Pho Bac. I haven't had it yet because Minh's Bun Bo Hue is just not as good as Hue Hoa's version due East of Minh.

their rau ma (pennyworth drink) is also one of the grassiest of all (even vs. the all the versions at various V-Cafe's I've sampled) in the SGV.

finally, as per previous discussion, Pho Hien has split into 2 years ago:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/513633

some people like Hien Mai, some ppl still prefer Hien. you can always try the ex-husband's vs. ex-wife's back to back.

[exilekiss]

Thanks for the info TonyC! :)

Give Pho Minh's Pho Bac a try; it's turned out to be my go-to now, but I still enjoy their #2 (standard special combo) as well. I'll have to try their Rau Ma drink as well next time we go. Thanks. :)

[Das Ubergeek]

Pho Hien Mai was closed (permanently) by the Food Police in May. You can find out why on lapublichealth.org/rating, because that sort of thing is not usually a permitted discussion here.

That said -- pho Minh looks pretty good. I'm happy to see an expanding Vietnamese restaurant scene in the SGV... perhaps one day the SGV will be "Little Saigon North". Pho for breakfast is definitely one of the perks of living in either place. :)

[exilekiss]

Adding link. (Looks like the Chow Place Link finally updated.)

-----
Pho Minh
9646 Garvey Ave, South El Monte, CA 91733

[ns1]

Ok, based on this review (damn you exilekiss!) I made the trek out here this weekend.

It was a pretty lonely restaurant with about 3 tables being occupied during my entire 2 hour experience there (long story, not their fault). but at least they had nice flatscreens so I could watch the olympics.

Anyway, as of late I've been going on a more purist approach to pho - no hoisin/siracha in my broth, just a touch of lime; as such I've been looking for the best broth in SoCal.

We had the dac biet with filet; which is basically a combination of their #2 (with is without filet) and their #1 (which is filet, but nothing else). When the bowl came out, my first impression was that the bowl was freaking HUGE. The dac biet here is the size of most xe lua's. Seriously gargantuan. Tons of meat, tons of pho; none of that large bowl lots of broth thing that other pho places do.

Anyway, onto the critical factors:

- Egg rolls - very crunchy. I liked the fact that it was very low grease compared to other places. I though the filling was different though, not my favorite. Overall OK.
- veggie plate (mint, sawleaf, etc). Pretty fresh, not as fresh as pho thanh lich though, but they were quite nice with the limes
- pho - beautiful clear broth. I thought the broth was pretty good, but not as "beefy" as pho thanh long.

Overall, I thought it was an incredible value. Based on my experiences, I would give PTL the edge in this battle - I just felt their broth was beefier with a better mouth feel, although I would give Pho Minh the edge in quality of meat. . There's a TON of pho shops on that street though, so I guess I have some work to do.

[choctastic]

What is PTL and where is it? Pho Thanh Long? That's the only one I can think of with those initials.

[ns1]

Whoops, pho thanh lich :)

brookhurst/hazard

prev:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/466806

[choctastic]

Ah, that makes more sense. Thx

[exilekiss]

Hi ns1,

Thanks for the great review! :) I'm glad you made it out there. Thanks for the comparison as well. I agree that Pho Thanh Lich has a beefier broth, and a good eye on the quality of meat at Pho Minh (my Pho Hounds have reported back and love the quality of the meat at Pho Minh as well).

Definitely a lot of Pho shops along Garvey :), but out of most of the ones I've tried I'd have to agree with Erik M. that Pho Minh is my favorite out of that group.

[Thi N.]

I'll write more later, but - best pho in SoCal. Really. Thank you. It is pure. Like I would put it in an IV bag and let it drip.

Come to think of it, that's a pretty good idea. Might cure my cold.

[exilekiss]

Hi Thi,

Nice writeup (in the other thread). Glad you liked it! :) I've been spoiled by the Non-MSG, Purity of this Beef Noodle Soup, and can't go back. :) It reminded me of that one beautiful dining experience at that Vietnamese family's home I wrote about above. I'm glad there's at least one place in L.A. that replicates that.