In December, the Hintonburg Supper Club held its monthly dinner event at Pho Van Van (93 Holland Avenue), a neighbourhood Pho noodle house. Interestingly, of the three long tables we occupied in the restaurant's second floor dining room, only three people ordered bowls of pho (beef or chicken), Jenn and I ordering our "usual"'s. She, a medium-sized bowl of pho bo, topped with beef, beef tendon and beef balls ($7.50). Me, a medium-sized bowl of pho bo, topped with beef, beef tendon, tripe, and beef balls ($7.50).

While Pho Van Van is no longer in our top 5 list of Pho noodle houses in Ottawa, it still serves up a decent bowl of pho bo (beef) and, as we hear, pho ga (chicken). That is, along with much more, as other supper club member demonstrated that evening.

Appetizer-wise, Pho Van Van's menu includes pho noodle house staples like Vietnamese salad rolls (Goi Cuon Tom Thit), salad rolls with shrimp or chicken (Goi Cuon Tom Hoac Ga); deep fried squid, shrimp, and chicken wings; and deep fried spring rolls. More exotic is grilled quail ($7.50/pair).

The quail comes quartered on a bed of iceberg lettuce and two sauces (lemon/pepper and a sweet chili). Curious, we first ordered the appetizer in 2007.

Grilled Quail Quarters
Demonstrating consistency, here is grilled quail we ordered this past summer (2009),

Grilled Quail Quarters
The quail tasted marinated, seasoned throughout. The meat was never dry, but it took some finesse to work with the quails' tiny bones. The sauces were great accompaniments.

Noodle-wise, Pho Van Van's menu includes another pho noodle house staple and alternative to pho, Vietnamese vermicelli noodles (Bun). Served dry and topped with a variety of toppings, bun comes with a portion of fish sauce to mix in, moisten, and season the vermicelli noodles. At Pho Van Van we have tried the grilled chicken with spring roll vermicelli ($7.50)

Grilled Chicken Bun with Spring Roll Served

Grilled Chicken Bun with Spring Roll Mixed and Ready to Eat
Please note that if not enough fish sauce is provided, you can ask for more without additional charge. I know of two people who eat bun dry.

Unlike some Pho noodle houses, Pho Van Van also serves up rice platters and chow mein (a more Chinese-style dish). Wanting a change from pho, Jenn ordered the chicken "crispy noodle" with vegetables ($9.95) one evening.

Crispy Noodle with Chicken and Vegetables
The noodles were indeed crispy, but she found the sauce too garlicky and salty. The vegetables were tender, not mushy.

Lately, friends of ours and I have been working through Pho Van Van's complement of milk shakes for dessert. Here is the soursop milk shake ($3.95).

Soursop Milk Shake
It was creamy, but had the texture and flavour of pureed pear. I have been told that the mango and avocado milk shakes are much more enjoyable.

Pho Van Van is a family-run restaurant and we have always had good service there. The waiters are friendly, attentive, and always pleasant to talk to. Regarding bills, as with most Vietnamese pho noodle houses, the waiters will rarely bring the bill to the table as it is custom not to disturb patrons. When you have finished your meal, pay at the cash and till. Your bill will more than likely be awaiting you and so will a bowl of lovely Thai coffee candies as a parting treat.

Here is Pho Van Van's card.

Business Card
Lately, the restaurant put up a more elaborate website that includes more than a link to a .pdf file of its menu.

Aside: To anyone who wonders if Pho Van Van's pho broth is genuinely made from meat and bone, Jenn and I took home some pho we couldn't finish and left it in the fridge overnight.

Gelatinous pho broth
It solidified characteristically of meat and/or bone-based stock/broth, which carries significant gelatin (dissolved from collagen). As per a discussion at a recent pho tweet-up at Pho Bo Ga La (784 Somerset Street West), pho broth solidifying is not itself indicative of significant fat content. Fat will rise to the top of a stock/broth and solidify as a separate layer. This layer is typically completely opaque, white, and brittle.

And, for those interested in pho at Pho Bo Ga La, here are my tweeted first impressions:

Pho at Pho Bo Ga La (#ottawa) is somewhat small in portion, served lukewarm, rather salty, and could do with fresher bean sprouts.

Oh and Pho Bo Ga La (#ottawa)'s pho noodles were overcooked...

You would be better off ordering pho at Pho Van Van.

Particulars:
Pho Van Van
93 Holland Avenue
(613)722-1663

Ottawa boasts almost as many pho noodle houses in the city as shawarma houses. A walk down most any busy city street has at least an example of each. With so many choices, there is competition amongst noodle houses so residents are fortunate to be able to develop a taste for good pho.

As of January 1, 2010, here is our Top 5 list of Ottawa pho noodle houses:

1. Thu Do (no nonsense great pho) - 765 Somerset Street W.
2. Pho Bo Ga King (relative newcomer in Chinatown with lots of selection) - 778 Somerset Street W.
3. Pho Bo Ga (original) - 12 Lebreton Street N.
4. Pholicious - 300 Booth Street
5. Ox Head (best pho outside Chinatown) - 1-790 Kanata Avenue

Here are characteristics Jenn and I feel are hallmarks for good pho:

When sitting down...
After ordering, the plate of accompaniments brought to the table is fresh and bountiful. Typical accompaniments include limes, bird's eye chiles, mung bean sprouts, and Thai basil. At times, there is mint. The limes should be quartered and full of juice. It brightens the broth. The chiles are typically red. They should be unblemished and have firm skins, not at all wrinkled. They provide fresh heat. Bean sprouts should be translucent or opaquely white, neither brown nor shriveled. They provide texture, a fresh crunch. Herbs should not be bruised (no brown spots) and be fragrant. They add earthy and herbal notes.

Jenn and I have noticed that the freshest plates of accompaniments are freshly washed. The herbs and chiles drain in a nest created by the sprouts, producing a very shallow pool of water underneath.

Serving-wise, there should be one wedge of lime, 2 handfuls of bean sprouts and 1-2 chiles per bowl of pho. Regarding Thai Basil, there should be an entire sprig with numerous leaves attached. Incidentally, Thai Basil turns black when cooked, so it should be added to a bowl of pho last.

When being served...
Bowls of pho (beef, chicken, or seafood) should be quickly served, large vats of pho broth already made and kept barely simmering in the kitchen. Noodles need only be flash boiled to assemble a bowl with pre-sliced beef (at various levels of doneness), tripe, beef brisket, beef balls, beef tendons, sliced chicken, shrimp, squid, or quails' eggs.

Bowls of pho should be piping hot. Tradition has it that the piping hot pho broth is ladled onto rare beef to freshly cook it.

Regarding the beef, chicken, or seafood, there should be enough of each, depending on what kind of pho you order, that it will not run out as the diner eats. The goal is to allow the him or her to layer textures and flavours on a spoon. As such, the principal ingredient should be plentiful.

Regarding the pho broth, it should taste of long simmering with meat and bone. Good pho broth should smack of gelatin and thicken when cooled. If completely chilled, it will solidify. It can come flavoured with onion, garlic, whole cloves, whole black pepper corns, and sticks of cinnamon. From time to time, depending on the cook, ginger may be added as well. It should also be lightly flavoured with fish sauce to provide salt and umami. Most importantly, it should be de-fatted. There is nothing worse than slurping noodles, whilst watching pools of grease coalesce in the bowl.

Bottles of sriracha, hoisin sauce, and chile oil/paste are normally available on every table. The sriracha and chili oil/paste add heat. The hoisin, dark sweetness and some salt. Observe your sriracha. Older sriracha will thicken, blocking the bottle's nozzle. It is after all a puree of chiles, flavoured with vinegar. Regarding chile oil/paste, the darker the oil or paste, the longer it has been left steeping. While neither really spoils, older oil/paste will be spicier.

When taking your first slurp...
Yes, pho noodles should be slurped. While taboo in European cultures, in many Asian ones quietly eating ones noodles is a sign of silent protest. The person is resigning himself or herself to eating a bad bowl and shows no gusto in his or her partaking of it.

Noodle-wise, Jenn and I prefer narrower pho rice noodles to thicker ones. Good pho, should be made with fresh noodles, as opposed to dried or instant. The latter has a denser texture, tastes more starchy, and is not very translucent. Regarding fresh noodles, we prefer ours slightly softer than al dente. However, noodles should never break or fall apart from being handled with either chopsticks or a fork. These are signs of overdone noodles.

Here are two examples of lesser pho in Ottawa.

Saigon Pho
Besides serving its pho in square bowls, Saigon Pho has the distinction of listing shrimp spring rolls as "Bikini Shrimp" ($8.99) in the appetizer section of its menu. Also in the appetizer section are "Fried Frog's Legs w/Garlic, Onion, and Butter" ($12.50).

What went wrong?

First, there is the interesting street-facing signage.

Signage
Does the caricature mean the pho is endorsed by pointy hatted Asian peasants with poor teeth, strange facial hair, and enormous hands?

Then, there were the bowls of pho that were more bowl than pho...

Rather Small Portion
At $7.99, this is what is served when you order a medium-size.

At least, the accompaniments offered reflect the pho served.

Few Accompaniments

But, the bean sprouts have definitely seen better days...

Sprouts showing signs of spoilage

Finally, there are the pools of fat that colour when adding sriracha.

Oily Broth

The pho broth tasted of instant soup mix. It had no body and was very thin.

Pho Vietnam
The first thing we noticed when we sat at a table are the challenges this restaurant must overcome regarding available electrical outlets.

Electrical Challenges

What went wrong?

On its menu Pho Vietnam offers an impressive number of appetizers. We ordered "Crispy Shrimp" spring rolls ($4.50) and what the menu listed as pork and shrimp dumplings (fried wontons, also $4.50).

Pork and Shrimp Fried Wontons and Shrimp Spring Rolls
Soggen with grease, they tasted as if they were store bought from frozen. Freshly made wontons and spring rolls crisp and colour differently when fried and have different textures. One sign is the bubbling on the wontons. Another, the spongy shrimp inside the spring roll.

The pho selections were very limited. Here is what I ended up ordering, a medium-sized beef and beef ball pho ($7.95). My "regular" at better pho houses includes beef tendon and tripe. Neither option was available.

Sliced Beef and Beef Ball Pho

The restaurant was very stingy on accompaniments.

Stingy Accompaniments
The accompaniment plate above, was meant for 4 diners. Our table of four, each ordered pho.

In each bowl served, the noodles were overcooked, readily falling apart.

Finally, like the pho broth at Saigon Pho, Pho Vietnam's was thin, tasted of instant soup mix, and had no body. In fact, as the soup cooled, it separated, precipitating out a cloudy residue.

Here is Pho Vietnam's business card.

Business Card

Please note that Ottawa serves good pho. These restaurants are definitely exceptions to the rule as most know patrons can easily go somewhere else for a better bowl.

Particulars:
Saigon Pho
232 Bank Street
(613)232-0888

Pho Vietnam
1187 St. Laurent Blvd.
(613)744-5618

Thanksgiving in Canada came and past October 11, 2009. With a dear friend then getting married the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, several compromises had to be made. Firstly, there was no time to prep a turkey dinner. Normally, we intend Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner to be "cook from first principles" meals. Everything is made from scratch and, as much as is possible, we purchase local ingredients. Every year, with at least 5 guests invited (family and friends), our turkey dinners typically require a day's prep and cooking. Before you ask why a turkey dinner takes an entire day's prep, we cook up a very large batch of turkey stock for a soup course and a veloute gravy; we bake up pastries for dessert; and, given that our guests don't all like turkey, we confit at least 2 entrees of duck. This all happens before the turkey, sans legs, enters the oven for roasting. The legs are braised separately.

With my better half's entire family (brother, 2 sisters, and both parents), a family friend, and a neighbour invited over for Sunday night dinner, we opted to serve up a Mongolian-style hot pot, using chicken pho broth (yes, I know the difference between stock and broth). Why? We could prepare the broth in a slow cooker while we attended our friend's wedding ceremony and reception.

For the pho stock, we took 2 lbs chicken bones and placed them in a stock pot, submerging them in cold water (approximately 2 quarts). Then, we placed it on a burner, set to medium, and brought it up to a simmer. Lowering the head to medium low, we simmered the bones for an hour. Afterward, we fished out the bones, washing off any scum in the cooking liquid and set them aside. The cooking liquid was discarded and the pot washed.

The French tradition for stock involves roasting bones to develop colour and flavour before simmering for the "long term." Then, everything is strained through a chinoise and/or clarified using egg whites. The Asian tradition involves par-cooking to remove scum. It is then strained, but is partially clarified beforehand.

To simmer for the long term, we placed the par cooked bones back into the stock pot and added the flavourants: one large onion, a dozen cloves, 3 whole pieces of star anise, a small head of garlic, an inch of ginger, a tbsp of black pepper corns, and a dash of kosher salt. The flavourants were chosen according to the chicken pho (pho ga) recipe by @wanderchopsticks, author of the amazing Wandering Chopsticks blog (home of the 100 Vietnamese Foods to Try list).

Characteristic Pho Broth Flavourants
According to the recipe we were supposed to roast the spices to release "aromas." We didn't have time.

Once assembled, we again brought the stock back up to a simmer. Then, we placed the entire batch into a slow cooker set to low and let it cook, very slow simmer, until we came home. The scent that awaited us was amazing. The stock had darkened. The bones were about to crumble. The onion had almost liquefied.

Unfortunately, the resultant stock had also reduced, so the next day at 6:00 am, I repeated the process with another 2 lbs of chicken bones. This time, it cooked on the stove top.

Eventually, we mixed the two resultant stocks, de-fatting them first, and used them to poach fish, pork, beef, and vegetables. Here is what the resultant hot pot soup (can't really call it a broth anymore) looked like with Pho noodles.

Bowl of Chicken Pho

Soup
The soup was very rich and deeply flavorful. To serve, I finished the soup with a tbsp of fish sauce, some added umami.

Fear not, besides the Chinese greens we poached, I innovated a more traditional Thanksgiving vegetable side: "Spoonsified" Brussel Sprouts.

Bacon and Onion Brussel Sprouts

Early this morning, I came to the conclusion that pho, a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup that is eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, has gone pop-culture mainstream in North America. According to definr.com, mainstream is defined as follows:

the prevailing current of thought; "his thinking was in the American mainstream"

Source: definr.com

How else can you explain pho noodle houses taking the following names?

Pho'licious:

Pholicious
Found in Ottawa, Pho'licious actually serves a very decent bowl of pho. Here are foodiePrints' determinations.

What the Pho?:
Last night, What the Pho was Mentioned to me by a tweep who goes by the handle @machopper

MacHopper (Jul 30, 09:37 PM)
@Spoonsie @foodiePrints here we have franchise pho restaurants call "What The Pho?"

What the Pho
Source: Hersh Ajgaonkar's Point Bridge Blog

According to its website, What the Pho has three locations: 1317 228th Street SE (Bothell, WA) , 10680 NE 8th Street (Bellevue, WA), and 17250 Southcenter Parkway, Suite 132 (Tukwila, WA). Ajgaonkar's blog entry is dated March 25, 2006, so What the Pho's philosophy of offering a "clean eating environment, modern décor, fast, friendly service, savory food and a focus on the customer" must be working for them.

As further evidence, I present the "Got Pho" t-shirt.

Got Pho
Source: North Shore Shirts

Jenn and I saw a number of these and similar shirts being sold at the Richmond Night Market in Vancouver, years ago. Others read "Got Rice", "Got Pad Thai", and "Got Samosas."

Aside: I should note also that I had an odd bowl of Pho at the Asia River restaurant at 300 River Road yesterday. The lunch special, at a restaurant that advertises it serves "The Finest Asia Food", seemed to employ a sweet broth, not a savory one. Further, the beef, was not thinly shaved sheets. Instead, it was thickly cut, slightly tenderized, strips, more than likely doubling as beef for a Cantonese-style stir fry. Interestingly, its street-side sign advertised that the restaurant serves Chinese (Szechuan and Cantonese), Thai, and Vietnamese food.

Menu from Asia River and Particulars after the jump...

More after the jump...

I spent part of Canada Day tending to the unwieldy back log of images foodiePrints has amassed over the past two years or so. My digital camera's image numbering reset itself once again (3rd time) and I had to establish yet another "unsorted" folder of images in the archives. In their defense, I don't think Casio ever figured a food blogger would be lugging one of their cameras around with him everyday. The camera's on board software is only capable of incrementing 4 digits of numbers in its file names. And yes, this means that a little over 30 000 pictures have been taken throughout the years.

That evening, Jenn and I watched Ottawa's annual fireworks show from a vantage point outside of the downtown core, on the Scott Street bridge, across from the Bay transit stop, thereby avoiding the crowds and making our Canada Day festivities quieter than usual.

Jenn and I did however walk by Parliament Hill two evenings later, to find the surrounding areas picked clean of litter and the main stage being dismantled.

Parliament Hill 2 days after Canada Day
Along the way, we decided to see how much of our own neighbourhood we could walk during the upcoming weekend.

Wellington West
That Saturday, we took a stroll with a family friend into Wellington West to go to an outdoor art exposition and fundraiser, called "Art in the Alley." It was organized by local artist Alison Fowler of Ali Cat Art and proceeds went to the Ottawa Humane Society.

Art in the Alley

The event was held in the alley way beside the Chick Pea children's store (1395 Wellington Street W), which shares the building with the Ali Cat Studio.

Gorgeous Paintings
Featured artists also included Tammy Shane and Andrew King, whose art we recognized from the the galleries in the Hintonburg area.

Speaking of which, if you frequent Holland Avenue, there is a large piece by Allison Fowler in front of the Foolish Chicken eatery (79 Holland Avenue). Interestingly, Saturday's chalk sandwich sign advertised something beyond rotisserie at the Foolish Chicken.

Jerk Chicken with Dirty Rice
Given our previous experiences with the restaurant, we took a pass.

On our way to the outdoor art exposition, I insisted we take a detour to see Allium's monthly menu. We found the restaurant (87 Holland Avenue) closed and a paper sign stuck to the door.

Closed for Renovations
Accordingly, Allium will be closed for the month of July, re-opening in August. Reason: renovations. I guess Jenn and I will have to wait until next month to sit for a Monday tapas night.

Across the street from Ali Cat Studio, we noticed that the former location of Hair Rods Salon and Spa (1356 Wellington Street W) has been replaced by a soon-to-open Asian tea-house, TeaShop 168.

TeaShop 168
This Toronto-originating chain of tea-houses specializes in bubble tea. I last visited one of their establishments in downtown Toronto on Yonge Street (768), near the Bloor intersection. No doubt, it will give the local tea chain Bubblicity some much needed competition.

We also noticed that Harvest Loaf (1323 Wellington Street W.) was advertising something very seasonal on its menu: strawberry shortcake.

Limited Time: Strawberry Shortcake
With the disappointment from seeing Allium temporary closed, we picked up a cake. For $8.95, the tall and luscious confection generously serves 6 people.

Tall and Luscious

Cross Section

Slice
Covered in a light pastry cream and garnished with quartered strawberries, the shortcake consisted of layer of more cream, sliced strawberries and airy slices of vanilla cake. Realizing that we couldn't possibly make a dent in the cake ourselves, we invited our neighbour to give us a hand.

I should note that, on our way home, cake in hand, Jenn discovered a new beverage enterprise that employs some very innovative marketing.

50 cent lemonade

Available almost daily
Honestly, have you seen anything so daring? And, the advertisements are water proof! Besides, the lemonade is aggressively priced. As our neighbour pointed out, a glass of lemonade downtown during Canada Day easily cost $5. Unfortunately, business must have been brisk because we could not find the young entrepreneurs that day.

Hintonburg and Chinatown
Sunday, we walked to Chinatown to satisfy my craving for pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), taking some of the lesser trafficked roads to avoid the construction on Wellington Street.

On our way to Chinatown, we passed by Credible Edibles (78 Hinton Avenue N.). Finding it closed, we took a picture of something that may interest local cyclists.

Cyclists' Discount
According to the sign, to "reduce greenhouse gases and support good health", Credible Edibles is offering a 10% discount on their "edibles" if you ride your bike to eat-in or take-out. Good stuff!

We also came across the most darling birdhouses along Armstrong Road in Hintonburg.

Water Melon House

Tea House
Cute, adorable, and food-related!

Pho, Fruit Vinegar, Fruit Ice, Mayonnaise, and Scallion Pancakes follow after the jump...

More after the jump...