Pho Pasteur
Pho Pasteur came highly recommend by… I dunno who ~ but someone said they were great during the EXCEL program. Judging by its decor alone ~ it’s basically like a dump with crooked tables, and lots of chairs. So when you see the recommendation newspaper cut out on the door, you know it’s because people like the food, not the place!
Back in Orlando, Po and I have tried many Vietnamese restaurants. And we usually only order 2 things from the menu - summer rolls, and the jumbo large pho soup bowl thing. Summer rolls can be good or bad ~ and I have to say the summer rolls in Pho Pasteur sucked balls. I mean, they are “alright” ~ but could be a lot better. The best summer roll has to be from Anh Hong ~ the wrappings were always moist with fresh shrimp, pork, and other little things they put into it. But in Pho Pasteur, the rice wrapping was a bit dry, and … yeah, the stuffing were below average.
As for the pho itself ~ it’s exactly the same as Little Saigon in Orlando. Basically, from what I’ve tasted, there are two types of pho soup base… one is really ****ing beefy and kickass, the other is like… made from chicken stock with some beef additive in it. The chicken stock is always nasty, and probably cheaper to make - so a lot of second rated Pho Shops serve em up. Pho Pasteur is popular, cause they got the beefy stock ! I mean, how else can you account for their popularity? When you look down the street, there are like 10 other competing Vietnamese restaurant, and most of them have a few people loitering … while in Pho Pasteur, they got people lined up waiting for an empty seat!
Beefy stock is made of money and win. If you own a Vietnamese Pho Shop and you read this - realize your business is bad cause your customer know your soup stock is made of chicken. No one likes restaurants that serve up crappy imitations.