Wallet-Friendly Vietnamese Pho With a Taiwanese Twist at Pho Fun, East Third Ring Road
Good news Baijiazhuangers, Pho Fun has opened its doors right next door to one of our go-to Shaanxi noodle and chuan’r places Pingwa Sanbao. This new cheap and cheerful restaurant might not attract Hollywood stars like its more established neighbor, but aims to please the busy workers nearby as well as parents and hungry kids from No. 80 Middle School opposite.
The décor is, shall we say, minimalist: the six tables with wooden chairs are reminiscent of something akin to the school across the road, while the gray concrete walls are decorated with various cutesy paintings. Luckily the floor-to-ceiling glass doors at least let in plenty of light.
Run by a Taiwanese couple from Kaohsiung, Pho Fun’s take on the classic dish is much more affordable, with seven basic pho on the menu at RMB 26-38, compared to a hefty RMB 50 at fancier Beijing Vietnamese restaurants, such as Dongtian Kitchen Bar, Pho Society, or Pho3. They also offer side dishes like spring rolls, lemongrass chicken, and deep-fried shrimp. The green papaya salad (RMB 22) was suitably refreshing with a (slightly too small) mound of shredded green papaya, and a sprinkling of peanuts, all seasoned with intensely tangy vinegar and spicy chili sauce.
The pho dac biet (beef pho, RMB 38) is essentially the restaurant's regular beef pho (RMB 28) with the addition of beef meatballs. Pho Fun's low prices mean something has to give, and in this case, there’s no raw beef to dip in the boiling hot broth. Instead, the beef slices were already boiled and served together with the rice noodles. The noodles are also paired with peppermint (instead of Thai basil), a slice of lime, and bird's-eye chilies on the side. Overall, we found the combination a bit dull, but the yielding texture of the rice noodles, and the light and balanced flavor of the broth redeemed the bowl.
The menu doesn't stop at pho however, and the owners' Taiwanese roots are also accounted for, sporting Taiwan-style braised pork rice (lurou fan, RMB 28), curry chicken rice, yam with sweet potato balls, and fried chicken, as well as Assam black tea, coconut milk drink, and sweet wax gourd tea.
Pho Fun may not comply with our rule for finding a good pho eatery in Vietnam, where we look for a name in the format "Pho+numbers," such as Pho66. But it does demonstrate that it's hard to go wrong with a simple bowl of hearty pho for lunch. And while it doesn't have the most authentic pho we've ever eaten, the low prices mean there's little to scoff at and fewer easier ways to fill your hungry belly on Vietnamese food in a pinch.
Pho Fun
Daily 11am-9pm. Xiangjunzhuang Lu, Baijiazhuang, Chaoyang District (185 1376 9297)
喜越：朝阳区白家庄中纺街向军庄路
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Photos: Tracy Wang
