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Pho Binh Minh (Vietnamese cuisine)  $

 7.75
JaT Rating

1129 Lawrence Expressway, Sunnyvale, 94089  (Directions)


408-734-5001


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Sunrise Noodle House is huge, clean, and has a diverse menu.


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 992
Reviewed: 6/8/2006
Rating: 7.5
My photo gallery 		Terry need to run an errand by the Sunnyvale UPS station so we picked Pho Binh Minh, also known as Sunrise Noodle House. Parking lot was a madhouse but located some spots in the outer reaches of nowhere land. Restaurant is easy to find and just as easy to score a table. We were quickly seated and within 3-5 minutes, a waiter was ready to take our orders.

I accidently order the #4 which was brisket, flank, and tendon. I'm not too much of a fan of tendons as you can see the removal of lovely fat and gristle (picture #7). Medium bowls was $4.95 and the large was $6.95? Along with my noodles, I ordered a vietnamese iced coffee which oddly enough is becoming a habit for me. I don't normally drink coffee but the allure of condensed milk it too powerful.

This place is pretty darn big and adorned with tvs on the lime green walls. I think the sign said maximum capacity of 119. Service was great as waiter took our order, girl brought out our drinks, and minutes later another person dropped off our noodles.

I was disappointed to see my coffee was served in a plastic container pre-mixed (picture #4). I like the iced glass with the tall spoon, the steel container with coffee grounds, and condensed milk at the bottom of dark coffee. The coffee was just ok, I drank half.

Judging from the size of the bowl, it looked like a large (picture #8 and 9). Not too much cilantro and wasn't steamy hot either. Bowl was filled with a lot of fatty meat. Kinda looked like boiled bacon and I placed a lot of it to the side (picture #7). The broth was lacking the full flavor of a slow cook where beef bones had been soaking for hours upon hours. Broth tasted watered down so I finally added Sriracha. There was plenty of noodles rolled tightly into a ball under the mounds of beef.

The highlight of lunch was watching Terry order a spicy vegetarian dish. From the picture 6, it looks like a plain soup, no spices, nada. Terry
poured a lot of Sriracha, then started to mix it up and low and behold, all the spices were hiding underneath the cabbage. His soup turned orange red, I wish my picture came out.

Lunch at Pho Binh Minh was ok. Maybe I caught them on a bad day? I'd rate 7 on the pho and bump the final score to 7.5 based on fast service, good prices, and a very clean eating environment.
 


Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 724
Reviewed: 6/8/2006
Rating: 8
My photo gallery 		Its been a few days since I have been here, so please forgive the delay. Been busy getting my Dwarven Hunter up to level 30 in World in Warcraft. haha.

Anyway, Pho Binh Minh was a drop-in review - meaning we didn't have recommendation from anyone or a wishlist request. We were in the area, so dropped in.

The place is deceptively large. It looked like your standard tiny pho place from the outside, but when you walk in, the place is seriously deep. A lot of tables, but thankfully not too many that you feel like you are elbow-to-elbow with the next people. They could have jammed a lot more tables in the place, so its to their credit that they spread them out just a little. Makes it a more enjoyable place to enjoy your Pho.

I also give them props for the vegetarian menu. How many Pho places do you see with vegetarian menus? Not menu, let me tell you. I decided to try it out by going with a Vegetarian Pho. The soup is still a chicken base, so its not vegetarian in the purest form, but thats OK for me.

You can get it spicy or non spicy. I asked for spicy. The dish was delivered relatively quickly. It looked completely plain and non-spicy. I was surprised, so out came the siracha and I spiced it up some more. Good deal.

Then I stirred it up a little. A horde of red hot flakes and seeds dispersed through my pho. omg. They hid the spicy stuff underneath the vegetables! So now my dish was super spicy. The vegetables, not the freshest I have seen, were a refreshing add. I have never had so many vegetables in Pho, and I actually really enjoyed them in there.

The noodles were by the numbers. The soup was light but on mine way too spicy. I could not finish the broth due to the high heat content.

Prices were about average. I got a thai tea. It was served in a plastic cup and was rich and flavorful. Thankfully not completely OD'd on ice, but there was still a good amount (which means its not ideal for me). Alas, it was worth the money.

I am rating this a respectable 8 due to the good vegetarian pho offering. I am glad to see a pho place sticking up for the vegetarians in such an exemplary way. I hope to see more follow in Pho Binh Minh's footsteps.
 
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aquagrl800 ate...

Pho with rare steak (Pho Tai)

“Kind of dirty, even by pho restaurant standards. Good if you want a quick lunch, though portions are rather small.”

5/29/2007 2:29:40 PM