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First Pho Noodle Soup Experience How could I have gone so long without sampling Pho Noodle Soup? My daughter Heidi insisted and she did quite a bit of research to find the best authentic spot in Houston. Location, Location! As most know, Houston has endless options for any kind of Asian food. On the corner of Wilcrest and Beechnut there are 4 shopping centers offering much more than food. But when it comes to pho, I will roughly estimate there were 20 Pho Restaurant options at this one corner! For Starts Heidi made sure the restaurant choice offered spring rolls as well as pho. No better combination than wrapping cool lettuce and cilantro around hot and crispy spring rolls. The fish sauce is a good addition, if you don't sniff. 3 bonus points for spring rolls! Mountain of Greens! Heidi looks like she just saw a bug in her noodles. Really I think that was just a "hurry up and take the picture" pose. She was excited about her (non-pho)dish, which was more noodles and less broth. 3 bonus points for being able to personalize your dish with mint, jalapenos, lime, basil, bean sprouts and numerous sauces. Heidi gave the hoisin a thumbs up! What is Pho? (and how do you say it?) Pho is a Vietnamese rice noodle soup that goes back to Hanoi in the 1920's. I found the whole experience amusing. Soup and chopsticks! I could have used a bib! But that is a good way to remember how to pronounce pho. There's a lot of fun or even a lot of funny that goes into eating Pho...pronounced more like Phu. Now if you make the mistake of saying Pho as in "fee fi fo fum", then thump yourself on the head and say, "Duh...it's Phu..." Scary Food? Sort of at first. But this steamy dish became a lot more appetizing after I "personalized" it with herbs and veggies. Then I stirred the noodles up from the bottom and things got exciting. The "well done meat" was very tender and the broth was tasty on its own. I'll give Que Huong 5 points for food! Atmosphere Que Huong was busier than this when we first entered. There were families crowding around shared dishes and pots of food. There were a few lone eaters, slurping down huge bowls of noodles as if they were racing back to work. We seemed to be the only first timers in this mostly Asian crowd. Our server didn't speak enough English to be too helpful, but she was very pleasant. The decor was casual-festive. A few white lights on the potted palm, a couple golden Buddhas and a lively tank of goldfish. The raised area in the back had a colorful wall mural and TV. I asked our server if that area was for special entertainment. She nodded, but I'm not sure she knew what I asked. 2 bonus points for a comfortable, lively atmosphere. People Encounter? So I failed a little in the People Encounter area. I have no pictures posing with owners or customers. Too busy enjoying my time with Heidi and Don (our photographer) and our GIGANTIC bowls of noodles. Let's just add 10 bonus points for enjoying a new kind of food experience with very special people!
Total of 23 Points for Que Huong!
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The Dining Blog
This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food. Below, you can read how this started. On July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year! (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to join me, on some unusual dining adventures. I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise. Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining. I have continued blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned along the way! Locations and types of dining adventures, are listed further down. Archives
November 2023
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