LunchPho Thai Hoa
[rating:2] :
There’s nothing quite like a piping hot bowl of soup, especially beef noodle soup. We usually stick to our local joints because we know they’ll be consistently good. But occasionally, it’s nice to try a different spot. Tre and I often pass by Pho Thai Hoa on Kingway. This place always seems to be busy, which is usually a good sign… usually.
The restaurant is typical for a beef noodle soup place. The tables are cramped, the people are loud and the ambience — doesn’t exist. After being seated, while we were looking through the menus, we noticed there was an offensive odor. Similiar to the stinky, dirty, moist rag smell that we sometimes encounter, but this time it wasn’t the table. It was the menus. Don’t they wipe down the menus? I was completely turned off by now, but I was trying to be a good sport about it and hope for the best.
Tre and I both decided to order two bowls of soup. Tre orders the beef noodle soup while I order beef balls with noodle soup, plus two Vietnamese coffees. While we were waiting for our soups we noticed one of the waitresses dragging a tray full of dishes across the floor in a not so lady like fashion, and then trying to kick the tray of dishes across the floor. Tre and I both found this amusing, yet disturbing.
Once our bowls of noodle soup arrived, we dug in. To our surprise, the soups were actually okay. Not bad, Â but not great either. Only one coffee made it to our table, and when we asked when the other one was coming, the waitress simply replied with a nod, but still — no coffee.
Overall our noodle soup was okay, the prices were reasonable, but our experience wasn’t great. The service was lacking and the cleanliness wasn’t up to par. The only thing that was mildly entertaining was watching Vietnamese hip hop guys do their thing on the Asian variety show playing on the big flat screen TV. That was interesting.
The Details
1625 Kingsway, Vancouver
604.873.2348
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