I Pho-got - December 21st

I am not the only one who loves pho in my family. My uncle, who came over from Hong Kong with my aunt, loves it too. How do I know? Let's just say that we went out for pho almost every other day. After eating his bowl, he'd have a very satisfying smile on his face. That reminded me of how I feel after eating pho; that smile where you can light up the night sky.

One night, my grandpa suggested we should go for some pho the next day - again. With a grin, I agreed. The next day I got together with my grandma and uncle and left for chinatown. In the middle of our trip there, my uncle brought up the question, "where are we eating?" I froze. I couldn't recall my grandma mentioning where we were going to meet. Did I just forget? I told my uncle that he will probably be at Pho Bo Ga LA. That's probably his favourite place for pho - that is, other than mine. Even if they weren't there, it wouldn't be that difficult to find them.
After we parked, we went into Pho Bo Ga LA and there they were, in the back of the restaurant. The only large table, in the restaurant, that seats a party of more than 5 people comfortably. We had a party of 8, so I was very glad that the restaurant wasn't in their lunch rush.

Everyone got pho except for my two grandmas and my grandpa. My grandpa and grandma started before we got there, so I couldn't take a picture of a full bowl of their bun bo hue. I could've taken a picture of two empty bowls, but I decided not to. My other grandma ordered the hu tieu. She isn't a big fan of pho.



My uncle got a large bowl of pho. He was amazed at the size of it. You can't really tell how big his bowl is, because I took a close up shot of the bowl. Somehow, he managed to finish his bowl.

My medium bowl, however, was perfectly sized for me that day. Before this outing, I had pho maybe once in the past month. You heard me right. My friend teased me that I was going on a pho diet. No more dieting for me. This bowl proved to be worth the long wait. From sipping the first spoonful of soup to eating the last bits of meat, I was smiling as bright as the sun.

I ordered the pho chin gau; slightly fatty beef and brisket pieces. The meat was so tender. My mouth is watering just thinking about how good the meat (you see below) was. Dipped in some hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce is the way to go.

Most of us had the iced coffee with condensed milk to drink. Usually when you order this, they give you a glass with ice and condensed milk with your coffee in the small filter. The coffee slowly drips into your glass of ice and condensed milk while you finish eating your food. Once the coffee stops dripping, you take out the filter and stir the coffee, ice and condensed milk. For some reason, they mixed it for us. It was just a bit odd. The drink was a bit too strong for me and my grandpa, so we added some tea to water it down.
One thing you have to remember about drinking Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk is not to drink the last bits. You'll get all the nasty undissolved chunks of condensed milk.

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Address:

Pho Bo Ga LA

763 Somerset Street West

Ottawa, ON

(613) 233-2222