Pho Huong Sai Gon

Most of the time what makes us decides which restaurant to select is based on the number of customers, but the good thing about Vietnamese restaurants around Las Vegas is that you could eat at any of them and not being disappointed—(maybe not Pho Hoa since someone is still pissed that they charged two fifty for a bowl of scallion heads and fatty broth, which is free in other Pho places).

When we first spotted Pho Huong Sai Gon, we were a bit skeptical because the joint was vacant most of the time. We went in anyway to check it out. If worse comes to worse, we just bail out with a three-ninety-nine bowl of Pho. We actually were craving for some kind of hotpot and Huong’s menu includes Lau Do Bien, Lau Thap Cam, Lau Thai Lan, and Lau De.

When we ordered Lau Thap Cam the waitress asked the chef if they had enough vegetables to serve that portion. The answer was no and the waitress quickly recommended us their signature Lau De. After a few seconds of hesitation, we gave it a go. It turned out to be the best Lau De I ever had in the States. The broth was savory and the goat had no odor.

As we were enjoying ourselves, the chef came out and asked us how it was. He didn’t need to hear our answer. As he looked into the pot, almost everything was gone except for a few tiny particles (red Chinese Apples) floating on the broth. He smiled, walked back to the kitchen and refilled us with additional contents even though we told him we were filled.

The bill came out to be twenty-five bucks, and I was astounded. When was the last time I had something that good and that cheap? As we wrapped up our dinner, I couldn’t help but complimented on the food, and the waitress invited us back for their Pho Satay.

Pho Satay is something new to me since I only had Hu Tieu Satay, and no place else could make that dish better than my hometown My Tho. Before heading back to the airport, we dropped back to Pho Huong to secure our tummy. I ordered a bowl of Pho Satay and it was blazing hot. The taste is very interesting since tomato and cucumber were included, but it doesn’t have that I-can-eat-pho-all-day-everyday hook to it.

The problem is that Pho Huong is being crushed by the other two giants (Pho So 1 and Pho Little Saigon) down the block. The thing is that these two places are just the typical Pho places that serve well for most people. I am hoping that Pho Huong will be able to stay alive once folks get past the common Pho and go for more adventurous stuff Pho Huong has to offer.