Our Easter brunch this year was an unconventional yet outstanding one!
We were visiting Philadelphia with some friends familiar with city and they suggested we go and explore the thriving Vietnamese scene here, which we were all too happy to do. At their suggestion, we ended up at Pho Ha, one of Philly’s finest noodle joints…
Just a few blocks past Philly’s famed Italian Market, Pho Ha is located in a strip mall filled with nothing but Vietnamese shops and eateries. The last shop in the strip, Pho Ha was also the busiest, packed on Sunday afternoon!
Given their name, Pho Ha is known mainly for their beef noodles, obviously, so that’s what we started with…
I went with the bowl on the right, special number 13 on the menu…
Rice noodles in a bold beef broth, topped with beef brisket, flank, fatty flank, tendon and tripe…
As you can see, the meats were all meticulously cut so you got pieces of each protein in every bite! Accompanied by a plate of fresh toppings you add as you like…
We also got cha gio spring rolls, which I thought were fried a tad too long, but was told that dark is how they do them here for extra crispiness…
As it was Easter, I felt a nice piece of meat was needed on the table, and since there was no lamb on Pho Ha’s menu, I went with com suon nuong xa, a beautifully grilled pork chop over rice…
Just what the Easter Bunny ordered!
This Philadelphia pho feast served to showcase the ever-expanding diversity of the food scene here and further strengthened my belief that Philly is one of the best food cities in America!
