Thursday, February 25, 1999
Pho Ha features authentic Vietnamese cuisine at prices students
can afford
RESTAURANT:
By Trinh Bui
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It is safe to say that good Vietnamese cuisine rarely finds its
way into Westwood Village. For those in need of a good fix of pho,
it only takes a quick drive to Reseda to satisfy those
cravings.
Pho Ha offers starving students the opportunity to dine on some
very authentic Vietnamese dishes. Nestled in a strip mall, the
humble looking restaurant is hard to find without a keen eye.
The decor is very similar to most Vietnamese restaurants in the
Southland – very sparse and plain with posters and family pictures
hang on the walls. Aside from the miniature waterfall greeting
patrons at the door, Pho Ha looks more like a cafeteria than a
restaurant with its brown tables and red chairs.
But what Pho Ha lacks aesthetically, it makes up in tastiness.
Starting dinner with two orders of shredded pork (bi coun) and
shrimp rolls (goi cuon), $3.25 each, made a perfect appetizer.
The rice paper wrap was soft and fresh, and did not interfere
with the basil and other herbs stuffed into the rolls. It made for
a minty-tasting roll excellent for dipping into the peanut sauce
and spicy vinegar.
The rolls made for a meal in themselves, each generously filled
with rice noodles, herbs and shrimp, or shredded pork. Pho Ha’s
entree menu gives diners options ranging from soups and rice to
noodles and seafood dishes.
The fried pork chops over rice (com bi cha), $4.50, deliciously
blends two large pork chops with a hint of curry. Cooked perfectly,
the meat is tender and bursting with flavor.
A garnish of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes gives the dish fresh
crispness. And while the rice was a bit dry, a cup of vegetable
broth easily remedies that problem.
If pork and rice is too plain for the adventurous, a heaping
portion of pan fried noodles with vegetables, squid and chicken
(Pho Ap Chao) should sate most appetites. The dish could feed a
small family, overflowing with bok choy, broccoli, dark chicken
meat and cuts of calamari smothered in a light yellow gravy
sauce.
The pan fried noodles’ crackly and fluffy consistency adds to
the crunchiness of the broccoli and juiciness of the chicken and
bok choy. And at $5.50 for an overwhelming plate, the dish will
easily serve as a meal for the next day.
But not everything was delightful. The pho dish (Tai Nam Gau),
$3.95, lacked flavor and was mediocre at best. The onion and beef
stock broth might as well have been slightly spiced water, which is
distressing since the broth truly makes the dish. Not even a
healthy dollop of black bean sauce and red pepper sauce could
rescue the dish.
Pho Ha’s selection of Vietnamese cuisine, however, gives patrons
a well crafted menu and dishes usually rich in taste. It is a great
alternative for students on a budget, since prices range from $3 to
$6. A culinary treat, Pho Ha will validate one’s faith in Asian
food lost after one too many visits to Panda Express.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]