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I Tasted Phat Pho's Vietnamese Food and I Find It Delicious


It's time for an evening dinner. Rather than go to my usual "sweet spots"--I tried out Phat Pho of the Abaca Group. I got to taste what might be called "revolutionary food" because Vietnam is under a Communist regime. Well, Abaca Group is founded by is owned by Jason Hyatt and his Chinese wife Anna whom he met in Hong Kong. I tried eating Vietnamese spring rolls and Vietnamese steamed egg. I tried the Vietnamese Pho which is their soup. 


I was craving some meat and I tried the ever-popular Pho special. It contains some shaved beef, braised beef, meatballs, and some tendon. It takes around 5-10 minutes to prepare to ensure that the soup is well-prepared. The noodles are a different variety from what I get from Chinese restaurants. Condiments are added so the customer can flavor the soup according to their preference. I guess one can say it's served without much seasoning. Adding condiments such as vinegar, chili paste, chili flakes, and pepper is needed. It's pretty much like how South Korean soups are served bland and the customers add in the flavors according to their own personal preference.

I ordered a small serving but I'd say it was quite heavy. It was a very filling meal. I added some siracha, lemon, and vinegar, and you may request pepper flakes and chili flakes. Those would help add the preference of the customer. As a soup person, I usually prefer to have my soup served without much seasoning and I would flavor it according to my preference. I enjoyed almost every bit of the beef pieces served with this delicious pho.


I ordered the Vietnamese rainbow shaved ice. Cal it Vietnamese halo-halo if you want. It had some leche flan which didn't taste much different from the leche flan prepared in the Philippines. The halo-halo contained some pandan flavor. Is that some peanut flakes on top? I think this is the Che Ba Mau or the Vietnamese three-color dessert. I heard the Japanese introduced shaved ice to the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. Vietnam probably got the idea later after the Second World War and maybe during the reign of Ho Chi Minh. Maybe, this was a dish that was introduced during the Doi Moi reforms. I can't be certain about that.

Just eating at Phat Pho might've opened new opportunities for me. I could say that I might want to try their barbecues next. Food can be rather expensive but justified by the price. I paid around PHP 700.00 (round off) but the price was worth it. I'm willing to recommend this because the price is right. 

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