South Bay: Pho Ha Noi
There's no lack of pho restaurants in San Jose. Question is, which one is good? I have a couple go-to pho restaurants and recently, T added another one to my list. (Well, not that recently. I'm still way behind on my posts.)
Abby suggested doing a pho broth bracket next. I can't wait to see how Pho Ha Noi stacks up in a blind tasting!
Pho Ha Noi has a giant sign on a building facing the street, but don't be fooled. The actual restaurant is tucked all the way in the back of the plaza. T didn't realize that she'd mistakenly gone to the wrong place until a friend took her to the right one.
You really can't miss it once you head in the right direction. There's bound to be a group of people waiting for entry:
Pho Ha Noi might be my current frontrunner for favorite pho spot. Not necessarily because of the pho itself, but for that yolk soup. Luckily, it's not too far from my house and there's plenty of parking, so I can easily go whenever the craving hits.
It is so popular that Pho Ha Noi has two separate dining rooms that are not connected. There's also plenty of covered outdoor seating.
The reason why T knew I would love Pho Ha Noi is this:
If there's anything you can learn about me through this blog it's that I love egg yolks. Love, love, love them. And I'm a basic girl. Egg yolks in soup? That's all I need. So the trung tran ($1.95) is essentially designed just for me. The yolks were perfectly cooked, which for me means barely cooked. If you're not into almost raw yolks, maybe this isn't for you? But for me, it was love at first sight.
I could've just ordered six of them, but T also wanted me to try Pho Ha Noi's pho. I got the pho tai nam gau (regular $13.75), which included rare flank steak, brisket, and fat brisket. The key is to ask for the rare steak on the side and also to ask for the thicker noodles:
Rare steak is as only as good as the quality of the steak and Pho Ha Noi's tasted really fresh. The broth was also very rich and the noodle texture delightful.
For dessert, we were brought complimentary sticky rice with coconut cream:
Pho Ha Noi might be my current frontrunner for favorite pho spot. Not necessarily because of the pho itself, but for that yolk soup. Luckily, it's not too far from my house and there's plenty of parking, so I can easily go whenever the craving hits.
Abby suggested doing a pho broth bracket next. I can't wait to see how Pho Ha Noi stacks up in a blind tasting!
Pho Ha Noi
969 Story Rd #6048
San Jose, CA 95122
(408) 239-0888
https://phohanoisanjose.com/
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