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How Delicious is Pholicious In Fountain Valley, CA?
Table of Contents
The Pholicious Background
Pholicious in Fountain Valley has been around for quite some time. I’ve been coming here for at least 15-20 years but hadn’t eaten here in a few years. Somewhere along the line the restaurant changed ownership but the restaurant itself looked exactly as I had remembered. I was curious to see if the pho tasted the same from what I had remembered when used to frequent it often or new ownership introduced new pho broth.
The front of Pholicious The Experience
I stopped by for lunch on a random weekday recently. It was fairly busy since it was lunch but this is a larger strip mall with ample parking so that’s not an issue here, which is always nice. I was able to find a table and seat with no issues. Service was extremely fast and the menu seemed like it was pretty much the same as I remembered. No big surprises or noticeable changes, which was nice.
The menu at Pholicious After taking a quick one over of the menu I opted for the #9 ($14 USD) – the Pho with rare steak, which is always my go to pho order. Like all pho restuarants the food came out within minutes, piping hot.
The Food
The bowl of pho came out with all the usual side trimmings – bean sprouts, jalapeno, lime, cilantro – you expect to get with a nice bowl of pho. The pho was topped with green onion and white onion. The bowl itself wasn’t overly large or too deep either, so I wasn’t sure if would be enough food at first glance.
Before digging in, the first thing I always do is get a nice spoonful of the broth. This particular broth was pretty mild. It wasn’t overly savory and had a hint of earthy sweetness from the star anise. That deep, rich flavor was missing here but the broth was still decent.
For the size of the bowl there was a good amount of steak in it. It was thinly sliced and tender. I think when it comes to the steak in pho it’s generally always pretty similar and hard to REALLY stand out. So long as it doesn’t stand out for the wrong reasons, it’s always pretty solid. This was no different here. The steak was what I would expect and was good.
The noodles were nice and fresh, with a good texture and a good bounce to them, they tasted great. I did feel like there could be more noodles though. Maybe due to the size of the bowl they just can’t fit much more in there but it certainly left me wanting a little more.
The Verdict
Having been a few years since I’d eaten at Pholicious there was still a sense of familiarity and comfort with both the restaurant and bowl of pho.
There were some things that seemed different as well. The pho broth seemed a little lighter than what I remembered and the serving size seemed smaller.
Maybe it’s due to having expanded my pho taste buds and gone to several other pho places over the years, I can’t say.
But this didn’t quite hit home like I remembered. It’s still a solid option which I enjoyed, but in terms of pho places in the area it probably got pushed down my own personal pho list a bit.
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Kin Long Beach: Reimagining Thai Classics with a Modern Twist
The Background
Kin Long Beach is a popular Thai restauarant located in Long Beach, CA. It has a more modern take on classic Thai dishes on a fairly expansive menu with a number of interesting options.
The Experience
I got here right when the restaurant opened up at 5 pm. There was already a number of people milling around waiting for the restaurant to open. Somewhat surprising given the early dinner time. But a positive sign for a good restaurant!
As I stated, the menu here is a good size, broken up nicely for easy consumption. The service was on point. The servers came by a few times to check in and make sure I had everything I needed. They did a great job of running through the menu as well.
It took some time to figure out exactly what I wanted but settled on the Bang Bang Shrimp for a starter and the Spicy Pad Thai as my main dish.
They coat breaded rock shrimp with a special house sauce to make the Bang Bang Shrimp.
The outer breading has a bit of crunch to it and isn’t heavily breaded. The shrimp is cooked perfectly. The sauce is creamy and savory with a little sweetness. There’s a surprising yet welcoming spicy kick to the sauce as well which was enjoyable.
Next up was the Spicy Pad Thai. It comprises flat rice noodles, chicken, egg, bean sprouts, green onions, onions, bell peppers, ground peanuts, and spicy tamarind sauce. The Spicy Pad Thai is different from the Pad Thai due to the tamarind sauce being spicy. All the other fixings are the same.
I always enjoy Pad Thai due to the unique flavor. Particularly, the perfect mixture of sweet, tangy, and savory. Also, the nutty flavor from the ground peanuts mixes in so flawlessy with all the other flavors, so good! Altogether they combine to create a classic Thai dish. Add in some spice and this was a very tasty Pad Thai! The spice level wasn’t overbearing. Especially for a dish like this, it seemed fitting. It was just right.
Something that was certainly enjoyable was the abundance of different textures. From the bouncy rice noodles, crunch from the bean sprouts, bellpeppers, and green onion, every bite brought fantastic flavor and texture. All the ingredients tasted fresh and I thought the quality was terrific.
The Verdict
Kin Long Beach brings quality Thai food to the Long Beach area. Sporting a large menu with plenty of options, there’s a lot to like from this cozy Thai restaurant. The Bang Bang Shrimp was solid and the low key spicy sauce really enhanced the dish overall. The added spice to the normal Pad Thai really upped the enjoyment to an already delicious dish. Without a doubt the restaurant is worth checking out if you’re craving Thai food and in the Long Beach area!
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Fresh Gimbap and Large Bowl of Spicy Noodles For Less Than $10 In Seoul!
After exploring the Bukhansan National Park area in the morning, I was heading back to Yeonsinnae Station when I noticed a smaller food market tucked off the street down a nondescript alley. I went down the alley to check it out and it opened up to a sort of food court area with a handful of stalls with seating. One of the stalls was bustling with activity so I decided to take a seat there.
This particular stall served noodles and gimbap with four different types of noodles on the menu. I love when small places have such a small, concise menu, as they tend to excel in crafting quality dishes. This was definitely my kind of place.
I went with the gimbap and spicy noodles. The prices were amazing here. The gimbap was 3000 won ($2.28 USD) and the spicy noodles cost 6500 won ($4.93 USD). Yeonsinnae is a little outside of the city center and the prices reflected this!
The portion size was quite generous as well. Such a great deal!
Gimbap! 
Noodles pre-stirring everything 
Noodles post stir Let’s start with the freshly made gimbap. Gimbap always pops due to the bright colors of it’s ingredients and this was no different. Freshly made, this gimbap was bursting with carrot, spinach, yellow pickled radish, ham,and burdock root. The fresh veggies provided a nice crunch and texture, as always.
As for the spicy noodles, I’m not entirely sure what kind of noodles these were or what the broth base was. The noodles were very thin and straight, with excellent texture. Strips of fish cake, nori, green onion, sesame seeds, and a solid spoonful of chili paste topped the noodles. I gave it a thorough stir to mix in the chili paste before taking my first sip.
The broth was subtly flavored making it hard to tell what the base was. The flavor wasn’t overpowering at all. The chili paste provided a mild spice, not overly spicy. I enjoyed the ample use of sesame seed in it. You could really taste the sesame in the broth which was enjoyable. Overall, the broth leaned more toward comforting than intensely flavorful.
I felt it could use a little more “oomph” so I dropped some kimchi into it. The kimchi added a nice, slightly sour flavor to it and really enriched the broth overall. I had to add a little more to the broth to get it more towards my liking but overall it was a satisying, hearty bowl of noodles,
This was a very enjoyable lunch, especially considering the cost. I was fortunate to just stumble upon it. For less than $10 USD, I enjoyed a substantial, freshly prepared meal that really embodied true comfort food. Quite a find!
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DELICIOUS DONUTS at Cafe Knotted, Busan, South Korea
Knotted is a popular donut chain in South Korea with many different types of uniques flavors in a cute cafe setting. This particular branch in Haeundae is quite new.
I definitely had a tough time choosing which ones to try since they all sounded so interesting. I went with the classic vanilla and the lemon sugar donuts. I wanted to get more but was still pretty full from a big lunch so had to settle for “just” two.
The donuts are so light and fluffy with sugar sprinkled over the outside. I could have eaten a couple more of them since they were so light to be honest. Looking back I’m disappointed I didn’t!
The donuts are chalk full of flavored vanilla and lemon cream. I was surprised after taking my first bite. Sweet, rich, and very flavorful, the vanilla and lemon cream filling were very satisfying.
Something else that makes the donuts so delicious is that they aren’t overly sweet, which it being a donut filled with flavored cream you would think it would be VERY sweet but it’s not at all.
I would definitely recommend stopping by and giving Knotted a try if you come across it during your travels through South Korea for some unique flavored donuts!
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Spicy Wheat Noodles -Yukjeon Bibim Milmyeon in Busan
While visiting Busan I made my way down to one of its most famous beaches, Haeundae. It’s a nice little walk from the subway to the beach with a main strip leading down to the beach that has shops and restaurants on both sides of the street.
On the walk to the beach I noticed a place serving cold wheat noodles which is a very popular dish in South Korea and something I definitely wanted to give a try.
They had regular wheat noodles and spicy wheat noodles so of course I had to opt for the spicy.
The presentation of the noodles is fantastic and it looks essentially like the photo on the menu.
The wheat noodles were topped with half an egg, vegetables, radish, fish, with a nice sprinkling of sesame seeds on top. The bowl of noodles is served nice and frosty. You can literally see some ice in the bowl!
The sauce is a flavorful combination of sweet, sour, and spicy, with none of the flavors being overly dominant. It all combines for a very tasty experience.
This type of noodle is definitely chewy and your jaw can certainly get a workout eating through this, lol. You get a nice mixture of the chewy noodle, with a crunch from the vegetables and another soft texture with the fish pieces.
This splendid bowl of frigid noodles definitely hit the spot on a warm day. The combination of flavors and textures made this a memorable first taste of Korean spicy wheat noodles and I look forward to grabbing another bowl of these delicious noodles!
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Eating Your Way Through Gwangjang Market Is A MUST For Any Visit to Seoul, South Korea!
There are many market places throughout Seoul and South Korea in general, to check out. Gwangjang Market is one of the most famous and popular amongst them all with some truly mouth watering food experiences to be found under one roof.
The market place is massive with various shops and food stall options throughout. There are so many delicious smells and interesting food in this market it’s difficult to decide where to start!
One thing that’s noticeable while walking around is that the food stalls clumped together seem to focus on specific types of food and sell similar dishes.
Many shops and food stalls 
One of the many food stalls One of the most popular dishes found in the market is the savory mung bean pancake (Bindaetteok)
Mung bean pancake Made from ground mung bean and fried in light oil, the pancake is filled with mung bean and chives. The outer pancake has a nice crunch and the middle is soft, similar to mashed potatoes but still has some crunch from the mung beans. The soy sauce / vinegar dipping sauce and salty little peppers go really well with the pancake and are certainly a must to fully enjoy this particular pancake.
Another main dish found in Gwangjang Market is nice bowl of fresh noodles (Kalguksu). There are many vendors selling freshly made noodles so pull up a stool and enjoy!
Fresh Noodles! I can’t really say if one place is any better than another. They all look to be pretty similar but I’m sure there’s subtle differences that true noodle aficionados would notice.
At all of these sit downs stations the noodles are literally being handmade, freshly cut, right in front of you.
The bowl I got are some of the best noodles I’ve had. The noodles were truly al dente. Nice and chewy, yet firm. Freshly made noodles truly make a massive difference.
The broth had a rich, flavorful taste to it. There’s some veggies in the soup and it’s topped by nori. I really enjoyed dropping some kimchi into it to add a different texture and flavor to the soup too.
To top off my experience at Gwangjang Market I noticed a donut stand that had a long line of people and figured it must be the place to go!
Popular donut stand Gwangjang Market 
The 3 donuts sold The line wrapped outside of the market, spilling out onto the street but only took about 20 mins. It was well worth the wait. The donuts are freshly made right in front of you and are absolutely delicious.
Freshly deep fried then immeditely rolled in sugar, the donut twist (Kkwabaegi) is exceptionally light, has a fried crunch on the outside and the inside is pillowery soft and chewy. I could have easily eaten 10 of these but refrained and only got two!
The only downside of this market is that there’s so much food waiting to be tried and enjoyed but only so much space in one’s stomach, lol. Choose wisely and enjoy all the fantastic food options Gwangjang Market has to offer!
Related Links
Hairtail Stew At The Namdaemun Market In Seoul Is A MUST Try
Fresh Gimbap and Large Bowl of Spicy Noodles For Less Than $10 In Seoul!
Grilled Fish Restaurant In The Hannam – Dong Area | Seoul, South Korea
