Pho 99 Vietnamese Noodle House : Schoolhouse location

Pho 99 and Pho Hoa (I guess Pho Boi now…) are two of the largest Vietnamese franchises in Vancouver. Of course these restaurants may not serve the best Vietnamese food and cannot compare to some of the small family owned establishments, but they get the job done… sort of, for those who have a craving. Or in general, for the non picky.

The newest Pho 99 restaurant is in Coquitlam on Schoolhouse, very close to the SilverCity theatre. The back of the restaurant also has a door which leads to a bowling ally! Since this is the newest Pho 99, the restaurant is very clean and looks nice. I believe this is the largest restaurant in the franchise as well. There are plenty of seats along with booth seating arrangements and the restaurant overall was very comfortable to dine in.

Le Petit Saigon

Being indecisive about where to have a late lunch, my friend and I settled for something quick, Vietnamese. Le Petit Saigon is located along Hastings street in Vancouver, and is one of the cleaner Vietnamese restaurants. There are no sticky tables and the chopsticks are individually covered in sleeves (although I still wipe them down with tea lol…). Furthermore, the restaurant is not cramped or too small, and the seating arrangements are spacious.

Pho Don

Pho Don is one of the newer Vietnamese restaurants to open along Hastings Street in Vancouver. The restaurant is very large and the interior looks modern. In addition, there are plenty of spacious seating arrangements and the restaurant is squeaky clean.

Pho Capital

Pho Capital is one of the newest Vietnamese restaurants to pop up in Burquitlam and has been around for almost a year. Having visited before during the grand opening, the food was nothing special and I never wanted to revisit. However, my friend claims it is not bad for the area and since we were looking for a light late night dinner, I caved.

The restaurant is fairly clean and has booth seating along the wall, and the tables in the centre. When we walked in, the owners were friendly and throughout dinner, the husband tried making small talk. He told my friend to replace his phone because the screen was cracked and asked who his service provider was. In addition, he mentioned Rogers is practically next door and said my friend should get a new phone as soon as possible LOL. As for myself, he asked if I found the rice platter pretty because he noticed I was taking photos of it. If only he knew I thought the opposite…

Bao Chau Vietnamese

I used to frequently visit Bao Chau in high school and the restaurant is known for their spring rolls. As for myself, I have a fond memory of their pink pork hash and the rice platters which are pretty good, mostly because I love shredded pork.

Bao Chau looks like a generic Asian restaurant and there are plenty of seats available. As for the garnishes which are provided with an order of noodles, I appreciate the red chilli rather than jalapeño, and lime over lemon.

Thai Son Restaurant 泰山越南牛肉粉 : 1st Avenue location

Some girls PMS and as for me, go crazy when there is not enough fruit. How crazy? Every time I go to T&T Supermarket, I need to walk out with at least a dozen of mangos as well as dragon fruit to supply my next five days (meh, not so picky about having a certain amount of other fruits). Sounds easy? It is most of the time, however, two out of five, there is not that much dragon fruit available and my day is ruined. Honestly.

So after finishing up with T&T, I begged my friend to have dinner at Thai Son and she was hesitant because knowing me, can never get full when having Vietnamese food. Especially for dinner. But because of the whole trying to eat less thing, it was a perfect choice.

Thai Son is one of my go to restaurants ever since high school and has been around for decades! The owners even opened up a few other locations in Marpole, Richmond as well as on Broadway, and a couple of other places! Although I do want to say in advance, this is the only location I will ever go to. Why? Because I do not want to be disappointed at the other locations and out of hundreds of visits here, only ten has disappointed. The bun bo hue is above average and the rice platters are pretty good, especially the shredded pork! Seriously, I like it here. I even have like six Vietnamese restaurants that I have been procrastinating on blogging because they were randoms and not even that good. By the way, the food tastes ten times better here when the owner is working.

Pho Phu Thinh

Wanting a snack before dinner since The Keg does not open until 5:00pm (one of those junk food for breakfast and lunch kind of days), my friend and I thought to grab some noodles. It was so hard not ordering wings or a rice dish since we did not want to spoil our appetites. By the way, bun bo hue is my favourite and a must order at any Vietnamese restaurant. Pho Phu Trinh is located in Coquitlam and has comfortable seating arrangements. Also, the restaurant is fairly clean.

Japolo Sushi

My only memory of Japolo Sushi is coming here for lunch in high school. Growing up, I loved sushi and with the limited Japanese restaurants in the area, I told a couple of my friends we had to come here. Both of my friends were pho lovers and left the restaurant quite annoyed at me, claiming I took them to one of the worst restaurants. But, I did not let that get to me since I left happy with a simple california roll and probably tempura in my belly.

Fast forward to years later, I avoid Japolo Sushi because there are so many better options but, BF has always wanted to try the restaurant (he likes to go to restaurants that I avoid, something to do with proving me wrong). Plus, I have never tried the Vietnamese food here before and did not mind trying. The restaurant is located in the same plaza along with North Garden as well as Okoman Sushi, and the interior looks pretty simple. Booth seats against the wall and tables in the centre.

GRILLED PORK BANH MI, PHO TAI, ASSORTED SASHIMI, UNI NIGIRI AND BUN BO HUE.