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Pho Hoa Ky (Vietnamese cuisine) $

447 Broadway, Millbrae, 94030 (Directions)

650.697.4210

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Vietnames noodle house on the restaurant busy street Broadway in Millbrae
Reviewer: Jason Total Reviews: 1020 Reviewed: 5/27/2007 Rating: 7 My photo gallery	My cousins and brother was in town for memorial weekend. We had spent the day in San Francisco visiting Darla's for Burgers, Clement for haircuts, and Haight Street for shoes. By the time we were heading back down to the peninsula, it was nearly dinner time. I let my cousin Charlotte do the cuisine type and I'd suggest the restaurant. She wanted Vietnamese and I picked Hoa Ky in Millbrae. We had a wish list request for this restaurant and was told it was one of the better Pho houses in the area. Parking on Broadway can be a pain in the ass. There are more than a dozen restaurants in the area which makes dinner time and parking a volatile mix. We made the laps and finally found a spot around the corner. I think we entered around 7:50'ish and I believe they close at 9 on Sunday? The restaurant is very clean with each table having a glass top with menus underneath. Standard condiments are available with utensils sitting idle. It's the norm to take the chopsticks and did a quick wipe down with napkins. There were 5 of us tonight and we each ordered something differently. I started my dinner off with a ca phe sua da (ice coffee, image 4) and small bowl of brisket (images 10 and 11). My coffee wasn't strong and they were generous with the condensed milk...hmmm. Prices are average with each dish in the $5-8 and appetizers were $3-5. As you can see in the pictures, we ordered a variety of food to get a feel for the restaurant. Charlotte ordered what I considered a hard core bowl of pho, it was the rare beef with tendons AND a side of tendons (image 9). I don't understand how she likes that stuff? The imperial rolls on image 5 were just ok. They were fresh out of the fryer and crispy but the ingredients inside were nothing special. The insides were completely well done. Maybe more stuffing and less time in the fryer? My bowl of pho was decent. Something was missing, like an oil slick at the top for flavor. It's hard to pinpoint what was missing but my guess is, the slow-cooked-all-day broth ran out, they cooked a new batch towards the evening, all the flavor from the beef bones didn't leak into the broth producing an average broth. The ball of noodles were too soft for my liking. Although the meat was extremely fatty, the meat tasted good. Portion size might have been 3-4 slices of brisket and baseball size of noodles. For hungrier appetites, get the large bowl. The one thing that I did enjoy is the lack of salt. You'll know if the food is too salty with the incredible thirst that persists after the meal and hangover feel. I'm pretty proud Hoa Ky went easy on the salt. I don't remember was the overall cost is as my brother picked up the bill. I would guess $8-10 a person for meal, shared appetizer, and drinks. Service was fast for others and not sure why they messed up on mine. My bowl was delivered 15 minutes after everyone else. The bowl of Pho rates about average (I gave bonus points for less salt) but don't come here expecting the stuff you get in San Jose. As for the familly rankings and judging from what they ate and facial expressions. Charlotte and her bowl of pho/tendons - 6 Brother and his pork chop, eggs, bbq pork - 6 Jim with his bbq pork and rice - 6.5 Hunter with his imperial rolls, bbq - 8, any kid that eats til they sleep, they must be enjoying it.


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