What the Phò?

A friend visiting from Las Vegas treated us to dinner last night at a little Vietnamese place on E. Anaheim St. call Phò Hanh. My experience with Vietnamese food isn't very extensive -- I think I tried something that a classmate's mother made for our second grade class many, many . . . many years ago. Last night's foray into foreign foods found me with a large bowl of phò set on the table before me.

Phò (sounds like fuh) is a traditional, hearty soup dish, usually of chicken or beef broth with rice noodles and other goodies. What I ordered came with the long white rice noodles, lemon grass, chopped green onions and bits of flank and of skirt steak simmering in a beef broth. Our server also set a plate heaped with fresh bean sprouts, lemon wedges, slices of jalapeños and basil stalks between myself and our friend from Las Vegas, and I followed his lead, pulling a few basil leaves from the stalks, tearing them to pieces and sprinkling them in the phò. I also squeezed in some lemon juice, tossed in two handfuls of the bean sprouts and a few thick squirts of bean paste and allowed the mixture to simmer for a bit longer.

I debated adding some srirachi sauce to add more flavor, and looking back, I think that would have been a good idea. Even with the lemon juice, lemon grass and onions, my phò was a little on the bland side. It wasn't bad, but on our next visit, I may opt for one of the rice dishes.

At least we can check off another restaurant from our list of "Must Tries in Long Beach".