If you name your restaurant Pho Ngon (“yummy noodles”), you are clearly adducing a standard that your customers should expect when choosing this restaurant instead of the others that line this strip of Hornsby. This restaurant falls short of the expectation by disappointing and failing on the quality of food served, service by its waiters and leaving you with a embittered aftertaste.

Sizzling Chicken ($14.50): A sizzling mess.

I respectfully disagree with Julie Huffer’s review (the only review online) who praises and readily recommends this eatery to the readers of Hornsby Advocate. Please research about your ingrediants before you lay them out Julie: “The rare beef noodle soup was a meal in itself, with a divine broth, pieces of meat and egg noodles”. I’m certain that pho contains rice noodles – not egg noodles, which are distinctively yellow in colour. Also, the broth should not describe as “divine”; it was watery, bland and tasteless.

Beef Pho: it looks good – but tastes bland.

Had to request 5 times for a straw.

Julie, I’m also calling you out on: “I predict Pho Ngon is going to be the talk of the town for some time. With its fabulous food, refreshing interior and reasonable prices, we’ll all be coming back for more”. Sorry, I think it will be negatively talked around the town and you probably won’t be coming back for more. Drinks are served without straws. You have to ask for a waiter at least 5 times before they serve you. Tea isn’t refilled after request. Beef Pho is served without the usual accompanying platter of bean sprouts, hanh and lemon (we had to ask for it?? what the…); and the staff are untrained – they actually stand at your table as soon as you are sat down, waiting for you to order…I mean come on seriously?!

I actually looked this restaurant up on eatability and there was one review, which should be the only review. Who are you “chrisquared” – you are truly an inspiration to me. A few of my favourite parts of this user’s review were: “It was shocking from the moment we were seated” and “We ended up waiting over 40 minutes for food, so we just left. I will never go back, and I don’t recommend that anyone else should try this place, their layout of the restaurant is far too complex for the waiters to work in and their takeaway stand just makes it worse!”. I could not agree any more.

I’m guessing this the manager Helen Hoang? If so, why did you stand behind the cash register the whole night? Please do something else besides handling the money- like checking up on your patrons and ensuring a better running of this eatery.

Please save yourself money, time and ensuing disastrous dining experience by avoiding this place.

Pho Ngon Vietnamese Restaurant

8-10 Florence St
Hornsby NSW 2077

Phone (02) 9477 6300

Lunch
Mon to Sun 10am – 4pm
Dinner
Mon to Sun 4pm – 10pm

D

Going to Chatswood on a Saturday for lunch is already not a very clever idea due to the ludicrous amount of people all trying to squeeze into the commercial area. After spending twice as much time on the road as necessary we were very lucky to quickly find some parking in Chatswood Chase. Tossing between some food places we finally settled on Vietnamese which meant going to de_Pho in Lemon Grove. As soon as we entered the building the heard the hustle and bustle of a packed restaurant and a line of waiting customers as expected.

de_Pho has been a popular place to dine for a while now and for good reason too. The food is tasty, healthy and cheap. I must admit that it is not as tasty or cheap as the Vietnamese food you can get out west like at Flemington or Cabramatta but for a place like this to exist in the North Shore is a gift to us.

Rainbow Drink. Whoever invented this drink is a genius! The mixture of colours, textures and flavours turn this drink into an absolute delight that cools you down in summer but still irresistible in winter-time. It is a combination of mung bean, red bean, green jelly, coconut milk and ice.

Pho is the traditional rice-noodle soup dish of Veitnam. The broth is the vital part of this dish and the quality of the broth determines whether this is a good or bad pho. I think the one at de_Pho has good flavour to it and the beef and garnishes (coriander, basil and bean sprouts) are very fresh which add to the flavour.

Spring roll Vermicelli
The pho maybe be tasty but wait till to you try their vermicelli with spring rolls. There is a range of different topping for the vermicelli dishes and they are all good selections but I personally go for the spring rolls or the 3-flavoured vermicelli (pork chop, shredded pork and egg). For the vermicelli, a small bowl of fish sauce is also given and this is usually poured all over the noodle and then mixed.

When de_Pho first started becoming popular, their vermicelli started off with generous servings of veges and garnishes but sadly as time went on they have sneaked in more noodle and less veges/garnishes but it is still very tasty! A extra nice touch is the fried garlic which adds a nice crunch to the dish.

Crispy skin Chicken
I am not sure if this is a traditional Vietnamese dish as I did not see any at the restaurants when I went to Vietnam for a few days but this is another highlight of the meal. The crispy exterior and the tender interior is just a magical combination.

This place is a must try for all North-Shoreans who have not ventured into the west in search of Vietnamese food.

de_Pho
Shop 21 Lemon Grove Shopping Centre
427-441 Victoria Ave, Chatswood

Mon – Fri 1030am – 600pm
Thurs 1030am – 800pm
Sat 1030am – 400pm

Ph: 9904 8870

FFichiban