Driving along Austin Ave in the Austin Heights area of Coquitlam the other day, I spotted a new pho joint. Even though it was a warm and sunny day and I had enjoyed a pretty positive day at the day job, I decided to stop in and try Pho Holiday.
**I apologize for the poorly focused photos. I must have spilled a drop of pho on the lens of my camera phone.
I will be right up front and easy about this – Pho Holiday makes excellent pho.
Their broth has the deep and complex flavours that speak to the massive pots of bones and veggies they have boiling away in the kitchen. This is the real deal, no cheap powdered stock mix here.
I ordered the Holiday’s House Special Pho which comes with rare beef, brisket, fatty brisket, tendon, tripe and a beef ball. All the meats were lovely although the thinly sliced brisket was a little clumped up in the soup, with a little chopstick manipulation the bundle opened up to allow the cooking to take place in the steaming hot broth.
The noodles were also nicely done. A perfect sized portion of noodles was found under the meat and veggies.
Another thing I really liked about the pho was that the side plate of bean sprouts, jalapeños, and basil was wonderfully fresh. There were no slimy sprouts like you get in some pho joints. These sprouts were impeccable and I loaded the broth up with the bean sprouts.
After I had finished and paid for my pho ($7.30 for a small bowl that is large enough to feed me and one of my kids) I told the woman working the front of the restaurant that I am a food blogger and asked her to talk to me a little bit about the restaurant.
She told me that it is her sister who owns the restaurant and is the brilliance in the kitchen. She loves food and loves cooking for people, however she is also very shy and is not comfortable working the front of the restaurant. So she convinced her sister to join her adventure.
Next time I visit Pho Holiday I look forward to trying their Vietnamese Submarine sandwich with grilled chicken or pork. There is a great little local bakery nearby so I will be curious to see if they get the French bread right.
Overall, this is wonderful little place. The tables and the sauces placed on each table are spotlessly clean as is what I saw in the kitchen (I asked to go into the kitchen to snap a pic of the stock pot boiling away). I like that about a restaurant – clean is good!
I will return to Pho Holiday and will sample more of their menu and I feel very confident in adding their name to our Trusted Pho Joint list.
