During my first try at checking out Phonomenal the place was packed. I drove by and saw a line down the block and of course no parking to be found. I hadn't even considered a "plan b". Then I recalled a place that was mentioned to me a while back. I parked on the side of 8th Street and looked up the address. The only reason I remembered the place was that the guy recommending the shop said something that sounded like "Fa-Kha"…….now this was right after we got back from a visit "home". I think ex-pat Kama'aina's like Mar, Kyle, Bruddah James, or Alan might understand why my first response was "what you called me?" Of course I started cracking up when I realized that was the name of the restaurant. The guy had no idea why I was laughing to myself…..he gave me one odd look and went back to having his beer.
Anyway, looking up the place, I noticed the address 2424 Hoover Avenue……whoa, this was in a part of National City I hadn't been to in ages! I think the last time I was close by was when Mi Pana was open. I drove on over and found the shop in that strip mall, with a Starbucks, Denny's, Jersey Mike's and Handel's.
It's a tiny shop, this was a weekend, if I recall, with all businesses, weekdays are busier here. Plus it was 1030 on a Sunday, thus the place was empty.
I was pointed to a table, had a seat and given a menu.
I was here to see how the basic pho was; so I went with the P3 – Rare Steak, Brisket, Tendon, and Tripe; regular size ($15.75).
And then the utensils arrived……
And along with the single sprig of basil….well, you know.
The bowl didn't look to bad when it arrived.
The broth was super salty and "San Diego sweet". It was really defatted, thin, and lacking in richness. There was an abundance of scallion which was nice, but not enough cilantro to overcome the overly salty-sweet soup.
The most interesting was when I took a look at the proteins. Check out the "rare steak"……all the pieces were fully cooked, dry, and tough. There was one piece of hard tendon. The brisket/flank was sliced a bit thick, but had nice beefiness. The best item was the abundant tripe; nice and crunchy.
There was a generous amount of noodles which were decently prepared.
I guess this is what a sixteen dollar bowl of pho is these days?
I'm glad to have tried the pho here, but see no reason to return.
The service was all business and my bowl came out fairly quickly.
Pho Kha
2424 Hoover Ave.
National City, CA 91950
Current Hours:
Daily 9am – 9pm
I liked the amount of cilantro and scallion in the broth, it added a nice fragrance and flavor. The meat was tender, though it seemed to not be as beefy as I would have desired. Still, if you're a major carnivore, you might enjoy this. Personally, I like a variety of cuts, texture, and flavors.
This was quite the bowl! There was shimeji mushroom, quail eggs, fish balls (not my favorite thing), some ground pork, a couple of slices of char siu-ish pork, fairly tender shrimp (not deveined), and two, really tasty fried crab.
The skin hadn't been fried crisp and were rubbery. The "tomyum" was a a packaged powder that was overly salty. The wings were moist and tender, but the drumettes really dry and tough.
I like the folks working here, there is quite a variety of dishes on the menu so I will definitely return. They have some Com Tom dishes so I'll probably drag the Missus along. They have outdoor tables, so maybe JJ might join us. I know my friend "CY" said we'll grab lunch here in a couple of weeks. With Saigon Corner and 
First thing I noticed was how "clear" the broth was. Second thing was how the basil was starting to brown. Well, at least there was some ngo gai, a rarity these days it seems. I enjoy the more intense the peppery-cilantro-ish-slightly bitter flavor it provides. Even this leaf was starting to go south as well; I could use most of it. 
As for the broth…can you say MSG water? With a dose of that sweetness that has been pervading pho in San Diego over the last decade or so. The soup was quite thirst inducing; or perhaps I'm just more sensitive to the stuff as I get older?
There was a good amount of meat in this "small bowl". So perhaps that's the calling card?
The soup, while being a bit overly defatted had some beefiness, mild anise-oniony tones, while it still had that "San Diego" sweet flavor. It wasn't overly salty. This was better than I recall having on previous visits.
The proteins, while not as well prepared as "da cow" were fine, though there was no tendon to be found! The flank and brisket were cut a bit on thicker side, but the beefiness came through. The tripe was a bit more "hard" than crunchy.
The soup was lip meltingly hot, with mild anise-beefy tones, but it had that attribute of a lot of the pho in San Diego; the "mild sweetness". It was msg heaven cause I was chugging water like crazy when I got back home.
But, any doubts were soon dispelled when I started mixing things and eating. The shrimp was decently plump with no off flavors. There was more ground pork than on my previous visit. Of course the sliced pork is chewy and quite rustic, but it flavor. There was still only a single lonely fishball in the bowl.
The pork hock has gotten smaller over the years, but the meat on this one was more tender than on my previous visit and the soup, while still heavy on the msg, had a bit more flavor and a dose of white pepper.
But a quick bite of the "fatty" intestine assuaged my doubts. It was tender and full of "bungy" goodness. Don't stare at the intestines too long; you might start seeing things…. Nice mild funky-savory tones.
This was a pretty large portion. I was a bit puzzled by the bean sprouts as I don't recall those being provided before? Not sure about all that stringy crunchy stuff and also that it was ice cold which dropped the temperature of the beef stew.
The crust was thin and crisp and that interior so airy! It might have been my favorite part of the meal!
All-in-all, not bad. Granted, it's a bit thinner, but the flavor was decent. It's better than I thought it would be and I'd gladly have this again. Though I will be on a search for better versions.
While this might have been the smallest in terms of portion size thus far, it was the Missus's favorite to date. The broken rice was very fragrant and moist.
While veggies and herbs were very fresh, the crepe was on the soggy side. The fillings were even worse; first off, there was barely any shrimp in this. What was present was a ton of raw bean sprouts. What shrimp there was tasted on the muddy side. 
This delivered as usual. The tortillas were still warm when we got home; such very nice corn flavor, pliable, yet hearty.
It is so hearty and comforting. It really has that "aaah" appeal. Nothing like rich, beefy, soup dripping out of a maize-y tortilla down your arm and then your throat on a chilly day, right?
The Bun Rieu is now $13.99, but is totally worth the price. A generous amount of very fresh herbs and veggies. And look they still provide a good amount of shredded morning glory, though there's a bit less banana blossom these days. 
So savory, with nice porky-seafood tones. The tomatoes added a perfect amount of acidity. The pork ribs were quite swiney, though a bit more chewy than usual. And the Missus enjoys the tofu a lot. The broth just seemed so good, perhaps it's because we hadn't been back here 