pho – Tiana Feng

I spent some time this week in Hamilton visiting grandma. Me and my sister Livia decided to head to find some Pho in the area and found The Guava. Inside it looked like it had been recently renovated.

We shared an order of shrimp summer rolls. Presentation wise they were very beautiful but the giant lettuce was a bit impractical. When you finished the roll you’d be left with a chunk of lettuce.

We both had different vermicelli. I ordered the shredded pork and Livia chose chicken. The portion sizes were generous and the fish sauce was flavourful. The pork itself was flavourful and the vegetables well pickled.

The prices were a bit more expensive than similar restaurants in Toronto, but the quality of the food was great.

I’ve been to other Pho Hung locations including the one in Chinatown and the other in the Annex, although I’m not sure if the latter exists any more due to redevelopment projects in the area.

The one in the Junction may not be of the same owners as I have yet to see the location listed on their website. It was much nicer renovated than the other places I’ve been to and they had fancier shaped plates. The prices are very similar to other Pho locations with most meals being between $6-9.

My favourite so far has been their Hue-style noodle soup. It has a bit of a kick to it (as indicated by the red broth), some thicker noodles. It’s also packed full of meat. I ignored the fact there was a pig foot in my soup though. That thing is too hard to eat. Otherwise, its so nice to have as the weather gets colder.

We’ve also tried the vermicelli dishes. The portions here are a bit smaller than normal, but the meat is always flavourful and there is plenty of little shredded peanuts. They don’t skimp on the bowls of fish sauce either (or any of the sauces for that matter).

Sugar cane shrimp, sausage and chicken vermicelli

Me and Nash are used to places with way bigger portions, so sometimes we wander around for desert after. I have yet to try just regular Pho here, but I am sure I will soon. The food is cheap and good here, but don’t expect the normal sized portions!