Maybe I’ve been conditioned to have low expectations for good service while dining at a pho place. Having mostly visited holes-in-the-wall where getting your order in a timely manner and having someone bring the bill to the table to save you a trip to the cashier is five-star service, I was pleasantly surprised when I was greeted warmly when entering, asked whether I’d like our bean sprouts boiled or raw, and the chopsticks and spoons weren’t already on the table but brought over in a mug of boiling water.  Pho Quinn claims top spot, in terms of service, for a pho restaurant in my chart.

Their positive attributes don’t stop at the hospitality, it extends to the food as well. The pho broth is flavourful and not greasy; the type that you can have a lot of and keeping drinking after the noodles are gone. I’d recommend they cook their noodles a little less since they will continue expanding in the soup, but I’m also a lover of pasta al dante so may not be the typical palette. There was a decent portion of protein in their raw beef, brisket, and tendon pho ($10 for a small) with massive chunks of tendon that were chewy and tender.

Being my first experience with the bún riêu vermicelli soup ($11.50), I’m torn on whether it’s something I’d order again. Maybe if I’m in the mood for a richer bowl of noodles, given its broth is saltier with the shrimp paste flavours shining through. The tofu puffs are a great edition as it helps soak in the soup and their chewiness goes nicely with the tender Vietnamese meatballs - finely minced pork paste that is squeezed into clumps, which break apart easily with each bite.

Aside from that, there’s one shrimp (for the entire bowl of noodles) and pieces of tomato that must have been added raw as it cools down the soup. Aside from the not-hot-enough temperature, I would have liked the soup to be spicy as well; luckily, there’s chili sauce at the table. Lastly, the bún riêu arrives with lai fun noodles, which are silkier than the pho’s rice noodles and goes nicely with the stronger both.

We skipped the spring rolls and tried the deep-fried shrimp bean curd ($7.50) instead. Sandwiched between the flaky bean curd sheets is shrimp paste that adds a chewy meatiness against the light crispy layers.  

With COVID still underway, Pho Quinn’s dining room is ideally set up with tables in individual booths and added plexi-glass at the top to create even greater separation. It made for a comfortable dining experience. The great service continued throughout the meal: they cleared away unneeded plates as we finished dishes, they were attentive with our bill, and even came around to ask how we were enjoying the food. This visit to Pho Quinn may have spoiled me - from now on I’m going to have much greater expectations from others going forward. 

Trust me, your pho will taste a whole lot better if you take the time to re-heat the broth in a pot and add the noodles to the boiling broth to loosen everything before eating.

I learned this the hard way when getting Angus Pho House delivered to my place. Finding everything felt hot, I merely took the broth and added it to the Angus rare beef rice noodle soup ($9.95 for small) and tucked in. The noodles stuck together in a clump and the broth went from hot to lukewarm in no time. This is not how pho should be enjoyed.

A nuke in the microwave improved things a bit, yet it still wasn’t the same. Since we received such a large portion of noodles (with the small being so big, how can anyone get through a large?), I had enough for another meal the next day. After reheating the soup in a pot and adding the noodles (microwaved first) for a quick swirl, everything was so much more enjoyable.

Strangely, Angus Pho puts the rare beef into the hot broth instead of laying it onto the noodles when delivering. What arrives are very well-done pieces of lean meat. In the future, an order of plain pho noodles with a grilled protein seems like a better choice. If you really want shaved beef, I suggest opting for a brisket instead, which has a bit of fat to keep it moist.

The soup to noodle ratio is also off, there seems to be more noodles than when you dine in but only 70% of the broth so you can’t really drink big spoonful’s of the hearty savoury bone broth. Indeed, by the next day, there was only about a cup of soup left, I had to dilute it and add salt to stretch enough for another meal. Not a drop was wasted.

Surprisingly, the Vietnamese style spring rolls ($6.95) didn’t suffer through the delivery process. They were crispy and delicious, just a tad cooler than the scalding hot rolls you’d find at the restaurant. Angus’ moist fluffy filling of yellow beans and pork is so delicious. Unless you’re vegetarian or going gluten-free, these are a must add-on.

While Angus Pho provides a sizeable bag of bean sprouts and Thai basil, my body was craving vegetables so an order of Chinese greens with oyster sauce ($6.95) was necessary. The menu describes these as being stir-fried but it’s actually plain boiled gai lan. Luckily, we also ordered stir-fried Chinese greens with garlic sauce ($11.95) and since these were fairly salty and saucy, we could add the plain gai lan into the dish to calm everything down.