It seems like it had been a while since I'd had a decent bowl of pho. Since this time a year ago I'd had; "pho not to offend with an inventory of 16 bean sprouts provided", "went to an old favorite that changed owners and had a mediocre bowl", "had pho with some definite hipster vibes", and most recently had a "most pho-gettable bowl" that really had me wondering "what the pho is going on"? Sigh. I just wanted a decent bowl. I decided to head on over to Pho Hoa and just get an old school bowl. As a plus, Pho Hoa opens at 7am and it was just around 9 in the morning, perfect! But for some reason, instead of "zigging" into the Pho Hoa parking lot; I "zagged" onto 47th street and went into the parking lot there. I think "FOY" Elle had taken over the steering wheel and had guided me into the parking lot in which Nhu Y resides. Sorry to say, I wasn't going for Bun Mam on this day, rather I was headed to back of the strip mall (which in typical fashion has horrible parking) and Pho Minh.
In spite of having all those older guys hanging out having coffee at the entrance to Nhu Y, I found some parking. It had rained earlier in the morning so that must have helped things. I remember when this place was Kim Chan Sandwich Shop which both the late Ed from Yuma and I enjoyed. It then became Lena's Sandwiches & Deli which eventually closed as well. And now it's an outlet of Pho Minh. Now to be totally honest, I wasn't overly keen on visiting. I'd been to the Spring Valley location of Pho Minh which had been just ok. I know they have a location in PB as well which I've passed many times but have never felt inclined to check out. Still, Elle said that it might be worth my time.
Walking in, I had forgotten how small this place was. I was pointed to a table and had a seat; given a menu, and I ordered. Perfectly to the point, no wasted time.
Here they give you hot tea instead of water.
Which was perfectly fine with me. To keep things simple, I just went with the regular sized Pho Dac Biet ($14). I was so pleasantly surprised when the herbs and sprouts arrived.
My goodness! I like the peppery-chlorophyllic-citrusy flavor of Ngo Gai and to see it on this plate made me so happy. And, even more rare was the inclusion of Ngo Om (Rice paddy herb) that always seemed to have almost a earthy-cumin-citrus tone, a little goes a long way! A generous portion of bean sprouts which I happen to enjoy in pho and of course Thai Basil.
Soon enough the steaming bowl of pho arrived. It was chock full of cilantro and scallion. Hot but not overly so. I had a taste of the broth; which had been decently defatted, looking perhaps too clear. It had hints of anise and beefiness, though it did go in the direction of being "San Diego sweet" in flavor. Still, it was not bad.
The proteins were not bad, the rare steak was actually still rare and tender when the bowl hit the table and there was a generous amount of tripe. The two little pieces of tendon was too tough and rubbery, though the rest of the meats were very nice.
Best of all, the noodles weren't overcooked, something that I've been running into recently.
Things went nicely with all the bean sprouts, ngo gai, a few leaves of basil and ngo om, and a squeeze of lime to balance out the salty-sweetness. Not bad at all. And all that cilantro really contributed to the broth.
I decided to return before doing a post. This time there was no parking available in the lot, but I found parking a couple of blocks away. On a positive note, there was street art and other things I had never noticed before.
And I decided to try the Bun Rieu ($14), thinking that perhaps we might have another option to Phuong Nga.
Again, I loved the herbs and veggies provided.
Look at all that crunchy nutty banana blossom, though there was no morning glory provided.
Well, in the end I figured tis won't replace Phuong Nga.
Loved how the broth had a nice, even fat content, but it was too salty and had me chugging water for the rest of the day.
The pork ribs were toothsome and swiny, quite good. The pork-crab "cakes" were too chewy; in fact, there was gristly, hard pieces in most of them. You can actually see it in the photo to my right.
The noodles were the appropriate, thin bun that should be used for Bun Rieu. Still, there's no way that Missus would go for this.
In the end, I thought the pho here was pretty good. It was executed well and I'd gladly have it again. The service is very "efficient" in that "City Heights kind of way". So, I'll probably return, though I think I do need to revisit Pho Hoa and perhaps the "fastest pho in the west".
Pho Minh
4712 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 9am – 9pm
Sunday 9am – 7pm
Thanks again for the recommendation Elle!
This was a nice bowl. The highlights were the wonderful soft poached egg, which added a wonderful creaminess to things. And the noodles, slippery, springy, with a nice chewiness. This was much better than expected. The broth didn't seem hot enough for me, though I did like how the soy sauce, and light sweetness balanced out the dashi in the "BK" (I remember when they called this, ahem bukakke) sauce.
The scallions are a must as they add a bit of "sharpness" to things, though the agedama really helps with textural contrast initially, it'll get soggy quick, though it does add another range of textures to things. As for the beef, which is like beef teriyaki, they call it "sweet beef" on the menu and they weren't kidding. It was chewy and overly sweet for my taste.
For now, we're in need of more escargot and boudin blanc. I like the folks here, they are friendly, and are always ready with some tips and recommendations on using the products they sell.
All sandwiches come with a pickle wedge. This was a straight forward, no-nonsense 3 meat (Salami-Mortadella-Cappicola) on a French Roll. There provolone, with Italian Dressing and mayo. I enjoyed that the sandwich wasn't over-dressed. It was a bit too much bread to "stuffs" ratio. I prefer the almost same version of the sandwich is better at 
Not sure about the how or why the name of the sandwich was earned. But this was a turkey and mortadella on sourdough. I enjoyed the heat brought on by the jalapenos, but it was over-dressed, with too much "chipotle" (only in spirit) aioli. Again, the amount of protein was decent in proportion, though folks wanting a super stuffed sandwich would not be satisfied….but really, would you get one for under ten bucks these days?
So, the rye bread was nicely toasted which held up to the generous amount of Thousand Island dressing. In keeping with the previous sandwiches; this was quite simple. Corned Beef, mild Sauerkraut, Swiss on Rye. It's a sandwich that one might think is on the smallish side, but it was enough for me. The proportion of savory, salty, earthy, worked fine. The toasty bread held up fine and this did the trick as a light lunch. 
