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Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Outer SunsetMon-Sat. 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:30 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
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This is not a place you go for atmosphere. They have tables, chairs, and recepticles at each tables for grabbing your own set of chopsticks (red, black, or combo!). The location is out of the way (for me) and the parking is something to work for.
But onto the good stuff.
Curry pho. So good. Kind of addictive. Like powdery-substances-from-southeast-asia addictive. Can't find it anywhere else. Can't get it of my mind.
Okay, that's the only thing I've had there (except maybe a thai iced tea).
My coworker and I came here on a Monday during prime lunch hour. We were lucky and found parking quickly, and we were lucky again because we got seated right away. Five minutes after us, there were no more seats!
The pho is delicious here! :) And the price is good!
PPQ, you made me do it.
PPQ could have easily got 5 stars from their #7. five spice chicken w/ pho noodle soup. mix a little bit of hot sauce&hoisin sauce& WABAMMM. A 40 minute love affair.
But let me tell you why I subtracted two stars. TODAY DECEMBER 2ND 2009. This was a bad day for you to mess up PPQ, and you did, you did it big time. My boyfriend and I were in a little disagreement, where I was trying to own up&step up&ignore his ass. During this whole process, I was waiting for the damn menu, where was it ? Well.. it wasn't on my table! I finally decided what I wanted to order, just the imperial rolls for me today, please&thank you. That took another long wait. I was practically flagging down the waiters/waitresses too. I understand busy, but explain to me why the people next to us, who arrived later ordered and got their food before we even got our menus..
But that was just today. It was irritating&the only thing I had power doing was making them sound bad on Yelp. But you know what ? I actually like the food here.. ALOT. Thats the supposed 4 stars. If I were to rate based on the service, you'd be a -26. The imperial rolls just weren't hitting the spot today, due to the bickering with the boyfriend. But if it were any day but today, I'd highly recommend a Medium #7 &Imperial rolls. OH and the Lemon Soda O:)
love love love this place.
I always get imperial rolls and pho, it's so good that I don't really want to order anything else. The imperial rolls are super crunchy and hot when you get them so wait a few minutes for it to cool off or else you'll burn your tongue. =/ trust me, I've done it. The broth is always flavorful and the meat is good quality. I like to order extra meat on the side. =) .. the only downside is that there's always a line but it's well worth it!
as stated earlier, PPQ is PHO PHUKING REAL YO.
The quality of meat here beats the quality at any other pho spot. The broth is always well seasoned and the imperial rolls are so crunchy that it makes me not wanna do crunches...
yeah that didnt work as planned, but i do plan on gettin pho a lot this winter.
pho lyfe
pho phuckin real! i lik da dac biet! Numba 1 XL its mah pho-favorite! I lik it soo muh! didi mao! Read more »
The Vermicelli here is the best ive had up here in norcal so far, but the disclaimer coming from me in this statement is that I've only had a vermicelli dish from one other place: Pho Hyunh Hiep 3 over in the Westlake shopping area.
This place seems to be a real crowd pleaser since a lot of people come over here, but one really good dish is the five spice chicken dish.
The vermicelli I had gotten was the one with an egg roll and five spiced chicken, which freakin delicious. This place also has the best egg rolls that Ive had up here. I have nothing, but good stuff to say about this place. I think this place doesnt have sandwiches though, which would be probably the only weakness that I noticed so far.
Eat here, its yummy!
I broke out after I ate here. Sure it might not have been what I ate here, but chances are, it was.
Besides, you can get the same thing (actually, it's better) right down the block at Loi's for much cheaper. The only good thing about this place is that it's opened late.
Pho at PPQ??? FAIL!
If I was to duplicate their beef broth at home, it would consist of water, salt, Msg, and some Pho Hoa flavoring packages.
=(
I go to this place all the time with my husband and anyone who we have in town. It may not be showy, but the food is really good!
GREAT VALUE! Decent service (but that's ok, becuse they're always swamped and they do their best).
Midnight or late night snack @ 1040PM? ok...sure, they don't close til 11PM.
We had #1 large pho which came with rare steak, tripe, tendons...for $8 which felt sort of pricey for me. $7.95 ok but $8 seemed like DANGGG. Also ordered spring rolls, the sauce made it good, it wouldn't have been good on its own. I got a soy bean drink which I thought they made, but no it's canned & for $1.75. WHAT!!!!!!!! I could have bought this at Sunset Super for less than $1, owell. Expectations were too high.
They were cleaning up while our & 2 other groups were still there. We left when we they started to clean floors & it smelled bleach yuckkk. I'm not sure what time we left though...but we weren't the last to leave so it was all good.
Came to get some late night pho since Loi's wasn't open at 10 but PPQ was. I got the generic special pho that is at every pho place with tendon, brisket, rare steak, tripe and meatballs (medium bowl $7). It was rather underwhelming.
The bad: The noodles broke into short pieces as I fished them out with my chopsticks. Broth was, as others have said, a little bland. Can't really taste the spices they used. Skimpy on the garnish--no slices of onion, just a tiny smatter of green onion and cilantro. Only 1 meatball. That's fine, but at least cut it in half so it looks like I have 2! I have to bite it in half to eat it anyway! And there was only 1 lone piece of tendon!
The good: They topped the bowl with one slice of rare steak, and it stayed rare till I swished it around in the broth to cook it.
Wish Loi's were open later. $4 vs $7 for a superior bowl of pho is a no brainer.
This will be my first and only ever "Who cares who made the food" post.
anyone who says:
"A Chinese Chef who prepares Vietnamese dishes does not make it authentic"
or
"A Korean Sushi chef will/can not make authentic Japanese food."
You are so crazy. Your country of origin has nothing to do with the authenticity of the culinary culture you choose to represent.
Thank you to anyone who chooses to even try Vietnamese food. and for those, brethren/sisteren(x) who decide to cook up our culture.
MORE POWER.
... Only 1 of 3 Vietnamese Restaurants in SF i will stand in line for.
for 12.99$ a plate you can devour the Five Spice Chicken.
Be adventurous and order something from the chef's special menu.
Charbroiled pork on a skewer? try it!
Don't forget your Vietnamese Coffee (ask for a togo cup) it will help you with your food coma.
Finally run back to your car, because your meter is running out.
Um yes. This place is good. Really good. Especially at 10:15pm after Cal Academy on a Thursday. There is a mixture of Asians and non-Asians, so I fit in perfectly.
The food was good, hot, reasonable, and tasty. I recommend #5 pho, and 5-spiced chicken.
Sometimes I wonder about writing a review of a restaurant that has 486 (now 487) reviews, but then, it is in my hood, so I feel the need.
PPQ is a totally utilitarian Vietnamese noodle joint. There is little to none ambiance, but it really is unnecessary. Why do you need ambiance, when you just want to go in there, get yourself a big bowl of meaty noodle soup, slurp them up and leave? And the soup is tasty. Just what you need on a cold night - or really any night. Gotta love PPQ.
Yes for me it is as good as it gets!! In Vietnamese food that is.
My husband has been the one going here for years, he had to have his fix at least once a week until we moved out of the city. We now try at least once a month.
I knew I liked the food here, but not until I ate at a different place in Daly City did I realize how much I loved PPQ!!
They both had the same dish I like, one with charbroiled pork, egg rolls and vermicelli noodles ( I admit I did not know how to spell it, I copied from another reviewer ,thanks! ).. it is a very tasty dish, the other place it was disgusting, I would not even feed my dog the dish of the other Restaurant! SO eating elsewhere made me realize how much I love this place!
( not that my dog eats human food, I swear his food costs more than what we spend in food)
Another dish I eat here is a chicken broth soup with veggies and tofu in it, I am not much for noodles.. I know.. I know I am in a noodle house basically and not eating noodles, BUT that dish is so tasty and when you ask for no noodles they give you more veggies and tofu. It is a wonderful dish on a cold day.
My husband would say I am a picky eater. I am not picky, I just do not like oil slobbered all over my food.
Also when they are willing to substitute for you is great by me.
As long as you do not mind waiting to sit down, sometimes it can be 10 minutes or more depending on the time of day you are there.
This place to me is a little treasure in San Francisco!
As a Vietnamese girl who grew up in Little Saigon in So. Cal. and just moved to SF, this place is as good as it gets for pho and bun. After having their pho multiple times, I decided to try the bun thit nuong chai gio last night and was very impressed. The charbroiled pork was flavorful and tender, and the eggrolls were traditionally made with spring roll wrapping, not the "egg roll" wrapping that is currently being used in other restaurants.
Overall, great food. Just be prepared to wait for a table as this place has been crowded every time I've come.
Two words: Satay Pho.
If you don't know what that is, Satay Pho is the greatest meal you can find in a bowl. Sometimes I think that I can eat it all day, everyday and just bathe in a spicy, soupy wonderland. My apologies for the visual.
Sunday at 1 pm, and the place was lousy with bidness. A lot of Asian people, but I don't know if they were Vietnamese, since this place is in the middle of a heavily Chinese area. I'm one of those "all look same" (http://alllooksame.com/) kind of people.
I had the Pho, and it was very good. I got the large bowl, which was like a bathtub filled with soupy noodles. I was sharing it with someone who is not into spicy food, so I could not spice it up the way I like it. It was a beautiful day and we found parking very easy, which is hard to do in this neighborhood on a weekend (see the aforementioned "Chinese neighborhood" comment). The service was decent, though the wait staff seemed none too happy - I guess working on a Sunday does that to you. Three people, three different plates, and a diet coke, it was $31, plus tip out the door.
Bun Bo Hue (round vermicelli noodles with meat in spicy soup)! YUMMMMMMMYYYYYY!!! Bun Rieu here is really good too. Haven't found any other restaurants with these two varieties or none that makes it as good as PPQ. mmm!
love it.
spring rolls & BBQ shrimp bun. or vege pho.
no ambiance & bathrooms aren't the cleanest, but it's good food.
This restaurant has been in the neighborhood for a long time, but the quality seems to have gone down as well. The Pho (the Vietnamese beef noodle soup) taste very thin nowadays, making one think 2/3 of the soup is just water. When I ate at the restaurant last week, the basil that accompanied the Pho looked so wilted that I couldn't bear to mix it in my soup (I didn't want to get a stomach ache).
I think I'm going to try the restaurant across the street next time.
I hesitate to review this place because it has been by favorite Pho shop for a decade but I think the word is out. They take no reservations in this outstanding local Vietnamese Restaurant so expect a 10-15 minute wait on weekend evenings. Every item on this menu 9I've tried almost all of them) is outstanding, the service is always fast and efficient, and the prices are the best bargain for the superiority of their authentic tasting Pho. They are best known for their Five Spice Chicken Pho, although he curry soups are good and the bun dishes are a favorite. Must try the shrimp rolls or cold vegi rolls.
I tried the Pho Restaurant across the street, the soup had a manky old meat taste. So go for the Pho shop with the red awning. The decor is simple but the place is always clean.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I've been here before and wasn't too thrilled, but I went again only because Pho Huynh Hiep 2 (aka Kevin's Noodle House) across the street was closed. My friend and I were so hungry, and like two five year old boys, we were getting crabby, it was late, we needed food, we needed pho, and we needed it immediately.
The pho here is acceptable, but far from great. I'm a pho-nnoisseur and I know good pho when I eat it. Don't be fooled, this is not really a Vietnamese restaurant. It's what I like to call China-mese and I'll tell you two of the most obvious give away clues to identify such a place:
1. The employees don't speak Vietnamese - duh
2. The menu lists items first in Chinese, then in English, and then Vietnamese in parentheses
What you need to know: The broth is bland (they clearly don't love making it), garnishes were scant, the meat is pretty good, and the noodles were fine. The price per bowl is high...even for San Francisco.
SO had the spicy beef noodle soup (aka bun bo hue). Broth was good, but they ran out of the rice stick noodle, so the guy suggested egg noodles. That's like preparing spaghetti with pad thai noodles. Hehe -- okay, not that bad, but definitely a bit off.
Don't order the crab noodle soup (aka bun rieu). It's bland and flat. No chunks of crab floating or fried tofu. Boo! Maybe we should have ordered pho, but I was craving a different vietnamese soup.
Service was good and prompt. We went back the other night to try the pho, sign said open until 11p, but lady inside was waving her finger "no no no" at us through the window. Time was 10:30p. Maybe they ran out of pho, so they closed early *sigh*
I love this place! I come here almost once a week! The chicken nice noodle soup, Crab meat noodle soup and Fried Tofu Cabbage Salad are my top three favorite here!
I can say that PHO is my favorite culture food in the world. I can go and eat pho every single day and not be sick of it... like my mom said "you might as well go marry a vietnamese guy" hahaha anyways
This place is pretty awesome even though it is a bit small. My favorite all time is the "five spice chicken pho". It comes witha simple bowl of noodles and a side order of 5 spice fried chicken! who can say no to fried chicken ^_^. anyways i think this place makes the best so far. if your a chicken lover.
i have tried to substitute there 5 spice chicken in another pho place in millbrae because i do live a distance from the city. And it didnt turn out the way i wanted it to be. =(
simple bowl of noodle with their five spice chicken i had to pay a extra ($1.50) just to have it my way! overall it was $7.50 , whereas i could of drive to the sunset district and get my chicken pho for cheaper then that!
oh wells..i guess i saved my gas money =P
anyhows
PROS: a good variety of rice plates, noodles, good broth, price is decent.
CONS: parking isnt too bad but watch out for the meter maid, they truly are maiding around...
I like the taste of the food here.
It was good!
I only came here once and my friends told me that it's good.
So i decided to give it a try.
The food is decent.
The glass was dirty.
and the wait is long.
So...you decide.
The pho here is really good, and it's my become my stopoff when the desire to pho hits! There's almost always a wait though, and they don't really have much space for it...which can be a downer when it's raining outside and all you want is a nice steaming bowl of soup. The staff is usually friendly and attentive and the food is pretty quick. If you're in the neighborhood, I would recommend trying it out!
I came here last with the wifey because I wanted some soup. The restaurant looks like any other vietnamese place. We didn't have to wait for a table. I ordered the Large chichen noodle soup and the wifey order the Five spice chicken over rice. My soup came out first and the first thing i saw was 6, yes 6 thinly sliced chicken meat. and plenty of noodles. There were so much noodles that it soaked up all the soup before I even got the chance to start digging in. I ate about half of it because the noodles were starting to become really soggy. As for the five spice chicken over rice; looks good but it was fatty and greasy. She didn't end up finishing it.
This is my favorite pho restaurant in the whole city, their service and food is excellent. The only bad part about this place is the seating, there isnt a lot of seats available like their competition across the street. Their pho noodles, spring rolls, and their egg rolls are DELICIOUS. I always come here whenever I'm around the neighborhood. I'd rather come here than the other place across the street. Never going to that other place again. This pho place is the yummiest one. (:
OMG. I have been coming here for years, I mean years. I always order the same thing. Satay beef noodle soup. It use to automatically come with yellow noodles, but in recent visit, they have been asking me what kind of noodles I would like and I would say yellow.
Now yesterday, the waitress did not ask what kind of noodles I would like so I assume I was getting the yellow. When it came, it was the white pho kind which I detest. I nicely ask to switch it out, which she was nice enough to do. What followed was a screaming scolding session from the back, yelling at the poor girl in mandarin. It sounded like both cooking ladies in the back just ripped her a new one and it amplified throughout the empty restaurant. I felt so uncomfortable being there.
The poor girl came out, in tears, apologized for the wrong noodles and told me to inform the staff in the beginning of wanting yellow noodles. I asked if she was ok. She flooded with tears. The ladies in the back continue to bitch and scream.
I swallowed my food cringing the whole time. I left the girl a giant tip, apologized and left. I swear to never go back. It felt like some third world, uncivilized, inhumane place to be.
Solid Vietnamese noodle shop. BF tried the PPQ noodle soup-- the beef tendon was definitely the highlight. Tender and flavorful. Nicely flavored broth as well. I had the grilled pork and imperial roll vermicelli-- the pork was delicious and the imperial rolls were also quite good. Not as dense/flavorful as those at Tu Lan but also not as greasy, so the point might go to PPQ here.
I'm RARELY in this area but if you are and you're craving some noodles at a reasonable price with a no-frills atmosphere, PPQ is your spot!
Being that PPQ (pho not crab) is so popular, I was surprised the pho was so unspectacular. I could tell the broth was a beef broth, but the taste was so mild and I couldn't taste any distinctive pho spices like star anise or cloves. There wasn't much meat and what was there was chewy.
The com dia (rice dish) was good and I was impressed to see so many other dishes like bun bo hue (Hue spicy beef noodle soup) and bun rieu (tomato crab noodle soup), but not sure they're going to be any good if the pho's no good.
all i have to say is chicken curry pho. never had this combo before PPQ and never will i get it out of my mind. so damn good. so for that, 5 stars... oh, and they have viet beer and viet coffee.
and get the small bowl. it's huge. i haven't been able to finish it yet...and i can EAT.
Good Pho for the price. The place is a major hole in the wall and not the cleanest place, but it's always busy.
Offers the usual Vietnamese - pho, bun, rice plates. Pho is reasonably priced at around 6 for small. Everything is good but nothing spectacular or stands out here, just the usual pho, rice plates, spring rolls, like all the other places.
Service is lousy here..... So, sometimes it's hard to leave a tip for being mistreated.
Passable Pho Quiz (=P.P.Q.)
1. Does the place have pho on the menu?
2. Is interior decoration lacking?
3. Is there a stash of spoons, chopsticks, and napkins at the table for you to get on an as-needed basis?
4. Do you order by number because you can't pronounce the item (and the wait staff has to look at the menu to recall the number when you order by the item's name)?
5. Is the restaurant run by Chinese people?**Validity in trial stages of research.**
If you answered "yes" to all of the above questions, you may be in a passable pho place. What does that mean? It means that for those who don't know any better (such as myself), the food is decent but you have no idea whether it's authentic VIetnamese food. The fact that PPQ is run by Chinese people and has a largely non-Vietnamese customer base may indicate the food has a Chinese twist. But again I wouldn't know since I also like Slanted Door, which probably also isn't the most authentic Vietnamese you can get in the city.
All the items I've tried - pho, vermicelli, rice plates - are decent or passable that I'd come back to eat because it's cheap and decent. I wouldn't tout to others that it's the best Vietnamese food I've had though. Oh and you come here to eat and just that. The service is tailored for that function only. You probably won't get refills on your water unless you ask. They service staff isn't rude or anything but you'll only see them initiate contact with you when you're seated to give menus, when you order, when your food comes, and to give you change. Total bill is usually about $10 tops for one entree including tip and tax. Parking is somewhat of a hassle since it's right by a busy intersection. Bring quarters for the meters (and if you're lacking cash since this is a cash only place).
Pho Tai! This is a great place to have lunch or dinner. I come here once a week with my family for lunch. Friends for dinner. It's great! The portions are good size. Services are great, always looking around, just to see if you needs are met for a meal.
This place needs to expand! It's always packed during lunch and dinner.
LOVE this place. My most recent trip to this place and I got the Coconut Curry Chicken Pho. Really hit the spot and I love coconut based soups. The chicken was tender and not chewy or dry! I also am a fan of the Five-Spice Chicken Vermicelli. The crispy skin is heavenly. Extra fish sauce please!
This is a solid pho place. Too bad they have big competition right next door, Ben and I thought to try this place since Kevin's was almost closing. Rather than be rushed out, we ventured across the street to get our pho grub on.
The soup has a funny licorcy taste. I cant put my finger down on it but it taste kind of sweet. I didnt like it that much as a broth but the pho overall was very delish.
We also ordered a curry-coconut chicen dish. HELLA GOOD. It was white meat and they gave us plenty of chicken. Yummm
I was actually quite unimpressed when I got in the place. I heard so many great things yet when I came in all I saw was mediocre. The service was okay, but the food is what really disappointed me. My plate was eh, my friend's pho was boring... the food was just not that great for me.
Maybe I went on an off day, but I was hoping for more.
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond
Category: Seafood
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