PHO - Taipei

Hey there! I’ve got two questions for y’all:

  1. What is the proper pronunciation for the vietnamese noodle soup “pho”? Is it FOE (rhymes with DOE or TOE) or FUH/FHA (like DUH, or FUggetaboutit)

  2. Where can one get some good, authentic pho around Taipei? In Cali there would be Little Saigon, but I’m guessing there isn’t one here (?).

its more like ‘feu’ as in French for fire.

authentic?

depends what you consider authentic, Garden Grove pho isn’t like Hanoi’s pho, and nor is Taipei’s, but you can get a decent bowl here made by Vietnamese women at several locations. and with the rate that blue collar TWese mahfakkas are marrying Vietnamese birds the opportunities to buy pho will only grow.

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Well, I had a friend who’s mom was half irish half vietnamese. I had the good fortune to try her homemade pho. I was told his grandmother, who was 100% vietnamese, used to run a little food stall back at their home, and she was whom his mother learnt her culinary skills from. I’ve been to two different pho places around los angeles, one downtown and one in silverlake, and they are both run by vietnamese immigrants. The tastes weren’t too far off and I’ve gone back to both places for their delicious vietnamese noodle soup.

So even though I can’t really describe to you exactly what I tasted, if there’s a place (or two) you find worth mentioning, then I would love to give that place a shot and try it out.

Best (most authentic) Vietnamese restaurant I know of in the Greater Taipei area is in Xizhi:

Vietnam Gourmet (越南美食): 414 Zhongxiao E. Rd., Xizhi.

In downtown Taipei, there’s a very good restaurant called Pho; No. 12, Lane 155, Dunhua N. Rd.

(As for how “pho” is pronounced, be aware that there’s a restaurant in the US called “What The Pho”.)

Thanks Chris, since the first post I’ve gotten some pho at a place called Savoy (it was good), and am planning to try Vietnam Gourmet next.
I think pho is my new sushi :slight_smile:

Best name is “Pho King” in Oakland, Ca. Funny thing is they’re known for their bun bo hue, not their pho.

I went to a “What the Pho” restaurant in Atlanta.

As for a pho shop in Taipei, there is one in the basement floor food court in the Eslite Bookstore near the Taipei City Hall Station MRT. You may have to specifically request thin rice noodles or they will serve you thick flat rice noodles, which changes the taste a little.

This is the best place I’ve been to. It’s not in Taipei City, but it’s just over the bridge in Yong He.

http://g.co/maps/yf963

I guess they’re fairly new since they’re not on Google maps street view, but it’s right there. They’re closed every other Wednesday.

I live up in Dazhi, which is up on the brown line north of the airport. There’s a new pho 36 which is pretty good. There’s also two other vietnamese restaurants in the area. When you get out of the MRT, head towards the university (signs for it). Actually, there’s like this whole block of good restaurants (including one little off alley restaurant casa della pasta wwhich isn’t pho but is probably the best and cheapest Italian food I’ve had in Taiwan, and a few western restaurants that are pretty good).

If your looking for authentic, small stands run by actual Vietnamese people would be your best bet. There is one in an alley off of the TongHua night market. If you walk into the market From the JiLong Road side you will come to an alley on your right that has two stinky tofu stands. Turn right, walk about 30 meters and the stand and small shop is on your left. The woman is Vietnamese and has great Pho, Vietnamese sammies etc.

Interesting. I buy Vietnamese fairly often in the same night market but at a different stall. There is another Vietnamese lady at the West end of the night market (between Tonghua and Anhe) who sells Pho, Boon, spring rolls and heroes. She is really good as well.

Bumping an old thread…

Where can I find authentic Vietnamese Pho in Taipei?

Every time I have ordered pho here it has been a complete disappointment. The broth is the most important part and doesn’t taste right, too salty. The noodles are usually thick rice noodles not the thin kind. And the beef is supposed to be raw and other ingredients separated so you can cook it in the soup yourself. But if you order Uber eats they put everything in the soup so by the time you get it the beef is dry and veggies overcooked.

I would think with so many Vietnamese workers here authentic food would be more readily available. In the US where there are large populations of Vietnamese, the food tastes like it does in Vietnam.

I like this one, not sure they speak English but menu has photos (They seem also Chinese not their first language), shop is local area but run by Vietnamese staff, not really fancy places like in HsinNi . We drove here so maybe not near a rail line, though not far from Costco.
【新北x汐止】河內河粉 汐止福德店 店家評價資訊整理 | 奈特林札記 (natelin.com)

One last thing, and I know its not possible now but sit down is better than take away.

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Wouldn’t this mostly be a good thing for delivery? I’d have thought you want that beef in the soup when it’s still super-hot, not when it’s been cooling for 10 or 20 or 60 minutes on the road.

I get why you don’t like it, but its @PeiHua-Connie has suggested, serving in the traditional way doesn’t seem all that appropriate for delivery.

3Q! 我的越南語沒有那麼流利,至少要講國語。:rofl:

I do it in the states all the time and all ingredients come on the side…always. If the soup is not hot enough you can microwave it but not much I can do about soggy veggies and overcooked meat. I’d eat there if I could though!

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When you order, ask to keep the items separate if that is what you want. I sometimes ask them here in Kao City and they are able to do that (call direct not message via Panada seems get message across). Also I do not know if you live near this place, so that may be a problem. If you can wait till things get back to normal try at the place, and maybe you recommend some cafes you like there (any kind food or drink really think is good and good value)

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I enjoy lunches here. 霜 越南河粉信義店
02 2706 6161

I usually get the salad noodles with a fried pork chop, but their pho is also nice.
In the states, we get a big plate of weeds to go into the pho.
I asked a Vietnamese restaurant owner why the salad veges are so skimpy in Taiwan and she said Taiwanese don’t like raw veges so they’d go into the trash can if they served them.

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2 posts were split to a new topic: Pho - Central Taiwan