Reviewing PHO Kitchen: Authentic Vietnamese dishes in San Diego.
During college, I was part of a dragon boat club. Every Saturday and Sunday morning, we would paddle in the icy water of Mission Bay, splashing water into the boat and onto ourselves in the process. After practice, we would run to our cars to grab our towels and jackets to fight against the San Diego chill. Now exhausted from training and shivering from the cold, someone in the car always, without fail, suggested, “Pho Kitchen for lunch?” Then, off we would go with thoughts of warm broth and pho noodles in our heads.
The Pho Kitchen on Napa Street in San Diego is a 10-minute drive away from Mission Bay. However, Pho Kitchen recently opened two new locations: one in Mira Mesa and one in Oceanside. Since I live closer to Mira Mesa, I’ve started going to this location since the high quality of taste is maintained. I recently went on a Wednesday evening for dinner and was seated immediately.
There are three classic dishes that we always get from Pho Kitchen: pho, broken rice, and egg rolls. These are my favorite egg rolls in the entire world. They are served fresh out of the fryer, and you can feel the crunch in every bite. To balance out the crispiness, they’re served with fresh lettuce wraps and fish sauce. My expert tip is to wrap the egg roll in the lettuce wrap and dip it in the fish sauce to balance the richness of the egg roll with the freshness of the lettuce and the salty, sweetness of the fish sauce.
My favorite pho is the Pho Filet House Special, which is served with filet mignon. During the lockdown, I ordered this dish to-go, and the noodles, soup broth, and raw filet mignon were packaged separately. In my kitchen, I would boil the broth, pour it over the noodles and filet mignon, and enjoy my bowl of pho. My most recent visit was my first time in three years eating pho in person, and eating it fresh was a completely superior experience. The filet mignon burst with flavor and melted in my mouth, the pho noodles were soft, and the broth steamed. The pho is served with a plate of mint, basil, herbs, and bean sprouts for you to add to your preference. In my experience, the pho noodles quickly soak up the broth and will expand, so I recommend you eat this dish first and to be mindful of the timing.
The third classic dish from Pho Kitchen is their custom plates where you can order one, two, or three items with your choice of rice, broken rice, or vermicelli. I ordered BBQ pork chop and BBQ pork with broken rice. The BBQ pork chop is served on the bone whereas the BBQ pork is served in individual slices. The pork chop is my favorite because it is cooked expertly to create a tender and flavorful pairing to the broken rice. Broken rice is smaller, rougher, and drier than regular rice. This makes it absorb flavor better, and it is a Vietnamese staple since fish sauce is typically poured over the rice to add moisture and flavor. The broken rice at Pho Kitchen is an exemplary version of this dish, where the rice picks up the sweet and tangy flavor of the fish sauce and pairs well with the meaty pork chop.
Lastly, I tried the vegetarian vermicelli, which is a bowl of vermicelli noodles and lettuce topped with tofu, vegetarian egg rolls, beansprouts, carrots, crushed peanuts, green onions, and a savory sauce served on the side. I’m glad I went out of my comfort zone to order this because the vermicelli bowl is now one of my staples at Pho Kitchen. The soft vermicelli noodles pair perfectly with the generous amounts of crunchy lettuce and beansprouts topped with the savory soy sauce. Mixing in crushed peanuts, carrots, and green onions adds even more texture and flavor to the dish. The tofu was lightly fried and silky soft in the middle, and the vegetarian egg rolls were filled with curry-spiced vegetables with a crunchy exterior.
The filet mignon pho is one of the best and most decadent pho in San Diego. With a variety of pho, broken rice, and vermicelli dishes, Pho Kitchen is ideal for anyone who is craving Vietnamese cuisine or wants to try something new.