[South El Monte] [Vietnamese] Pho Minh

Pho Minh
9646 E. Garvey Ave, #108
South El Monte, CA 91733
(626) 448-8807

I read about Pho Minh on ExileKiss' blog.  The unique thing about Pho Minh's beef pho is that they do not use any MSG in their soup base.  My parents like pho.  But they said it always make them thirsty afterward.  So I took my parents to Pho Minh to try the no-MSG pho.



It was actually our second attempt to go to this restaurant.  Their business hour is from 9am~6pm.  So don't go too late.  This time we went at 5pm.




The restaurant wall has a painted wall.  I am assuming it is a famous place in Vietnam?


特別牛肉粉 Pho Dac Biet ($5.55)

Unlike the other Vietnamese restaurants' large menu, Pho Minh only serve beef noodle soups.  Mom and I got the Pho Dac Biet.  It has sices of steak, brisket, flank, tendon and tripes.  Mom had a sip of the soup and commented that the soup did not taste as sweet as the other restaurants'.  It was light, yet had a rich flavor to it.  Dad always tried the soup and immedately said that he could taste that the soup had been simmered for a long time.  Later we chatted with the owner lady.  She confirmed that they never use MSG in their soup.  The soup was simmered with beef bones every night for 12 hours.  Mom was never able to finish the soup in any other restaurants.  But this time she finished every drop of the soup.  I had a really late lunch and couldn't finish my noodle.  After taking out the leftover from the fridge the next time, the soup was in a jello form.  Mom said it meant that the soup was indeed cooked with bones for a long long time.  We added some more water to it to heat it up.  Surprisingly that didn't water down the soup a bit.  It was still rich and very very good.  This is probably the best bowl of pho I've ever had.  My parents also agreed.


順化牛展檬 Bun Bo Hue ($4.99)

Dad wanted to try something different and ordered the Bun Bo Hue.  It's a Hue style spicy beef noodle soup.  I didn't try it, but dad finished everything and said it was really good.  The noodle was the thick round kind of rice noodle.  It had sliced beef, pork hock, pork blood and ground meat ball.  The soup was a bit spicy.  Dad added more of their http://www.eileenlikestoeat.commade chili sauce to his soup and also commented that the chili was great.  Mom said she wanted to try this noodle soup next time but she doesn't eat spicy food.  The owner lade said that they can make it for her with the pho soup base next time. 


Iced Coffee

We were speaking in Chinese.  The owner lady walked over and started speaking Mandarin to us.  I think she is Vietnamese Chinese.  She asked if it was our first time in the restaurant and told us about how their soup is made.  I told her I found this restaurant on the internet.  She was really happy to hear about the good reviews.  Then she treated us come Vietnamese coffee.  How nice!  She gave me iced coffee.


Hot Coffee

And gave dad hot coffee.  Mom doesn't drink coffee and declined the offer.  The lady told us she just recently bought the restaurant from the original owner.  But the pho recipe remains the same.  She also told us that she's thinking about extending their business hour a little longer.  Maybe till 7 or 8pm. 

We LOVE this pho restaurant.  Food was delicious.  Best pho soup base ever.  Service was friendly.  My parents are also happy that they won't have trouble communicating in Chinese there.  We will definately be back for some more delicious pho.  Thank you, again, ExileKiss!

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