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How Delicious is Pholicious In Fountain Valley, CA?
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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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How Does Phoholic Compare To Other Pho Restaurants in Orange County?
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The Background
Phoholic first opened up its first location in Westminister back in 1991 and has since expanded to three total locations, all in Southern California. It’s best known for it’s rich beef broth. I’ve never had Phoholic (which is pretty surprising) before and was looking forward to giving it a try since it’s a well-known pho restaurant in Orange County.
The Experience
The first thing you notice, before you even step into the Phoholic, is how incredibly small the parking lot is. I got here about 11:30am and was lucky to get a spot. I can see parking being a major problem at peak hours. Just something to be mindful of if planning a visit for the first time.
The restaurant itself is quite small and was filling up quickly when I got there. Luckily, I was able to grab a table without having to wait. Definitely would not have been the case 30 mins later.
The menu is laid out nicely. Especially for pho noobs. They have a lot of pho options and do a good job of separating out the different bowls and even have a handy key to translate the Vietnamese. I haven’t been to a pho restaurant that offers two different types of noodle options. It was a nice twist!
I ended up going with the Steak Pho – yeah I know, I’m boring – with the fresh noodles ($12.99). I can never pass up fresh noodles if given the opportunity!
Literally less than five minutes after I placed my order a big ol’ metal bowl of steaming pho came out. It’s seriously a VERY sizeable metal bowl.
The broth looked incredibly rich. And it didn’t disappoint! There’s a deep, beefy rich flavor to the broth. It’s also very savory. The lime helps to soften this. The tanginess, which always go well with pho, seems even more pronounced when added to this particular broth.
You really don’t need to add anything to the broth like the usual hoisin sauce and Sriracha. It’s good on it’s own with the lime. Due to my spicy preference, I still added some Sriracha to go along with the jalapenos slices.
I was a little torn on the fresh noodles. First off they’re delicious. They’re silky smooth, thin, and very light. They definitely taste fresh. My only gripe was that they were too soft. Not sure if they’re usually served like that or perhaps this batch got cooked a little too long.
The steak was very tender. Usually the steak in pho is nothing of note for me personally. But that isn’t the case here. It’s actually legit tender and genuinely good. The best part is the amount of steak in the bowl. There’s a LOT of meat included. You won’t get cheated on the quanity nor the quality here. With such a massive bowl they don’t skimp on the amount of food they give you too, especially for a very reasonable price.
The Verdict
Phoholic has been an iconic pho restaurant in Orange County for 30 plus years for a good reason. They know how to make pho that’s immensely enjoyable. The broth offers a unique rich flavor and the meat portions are not only generous but also quite good to boot. The overall portions for the price are great too. For only $12.99, the huge bowl of pho is well worth the price.
Whereas the noodles taste good and are definitely fresh, the firmness was a little too soft for my liking which dampened my overall experience, to an extent. But not so much where I wouldn’t go back, which I think speaks volumes to the overall quality of the broth and meat at Phoholic.
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Pho Flavor Delivers A Unique Flavor Filled Pho Presentation
Pho Flavor -The Background
There’s a lot of Pho resturants in Orange County and it takes a lot to stand out amongst the many fine options available. One way to stand out? A unique presentation. Pho Flavor certainly delivers on this end, which I’ll explain later on.
Pho Flavor slow cooks their bone broth for over 12 hours. The “secret” ingredients, have been refined and perfected over three generations and is offered in two different styles – Southern and Northern.
There’s currently there’s two locations – one in Garden Grove and the other is in Fountain Valley – with a third opening in Irvine. I visited the Garden Grove location.
The Experience
I went to Pho Flavor for lunch on a recent weekday, and they quickly seated me, with no wait, at around 11:30 am. The restaurant is fairly small and narrow, and I can see it filling up quickly during peak times, but at this time there was ample seating.
Something that stood out right away with the menu was the option of the “style”. There’s both a Southern and Northern choice. I honestly have no idea what the difference is but after looking at the below I opted for the Southern Style with brisket.
Pho Flavor also offers two different types of noodles to choose from: fresh flat noodles or thick flat noodles. I went with the thick flat noodles which were supposed to be chewier.
The pho, like most pho places came out within minutes. The difference? Without a doubt HOW the pho came out. There’s three different containers stacked on top of one another. I’ve never seen pho served this way before!
On top is the hoisin sauce and Sriracha 
The second level has all the usual veggies that accompany pho 
The third level is the steaming bowl of pho This presentation definitely makes the experience memorable. They also provide Thai basil in a bottle which you can take home with you!
Of course, presentation is important to a certain extent, but food is what makes a place memorable, one way or another.
Fortunately, Pho Flavor also delivers on this front. The Southern style broth was quite light but still managed to be rich and flavorful, just not in a heavy-handed way. The noodles were very fresh, springy, and the chewiness was great. These things were slick too! It was hard to grab them with the chopsticks!
The brisket is thicker than in other pho places but is quite tender, especially the longer it got to simmer in the broth. There’s a lot of meat in the bowl as well. The more I stirred up the bowl, the more meat seemed to float to the top. This is always a good thing by the way, lol.
Speaking of the bowl, it’s deceptively deep, with a lot of noodles and meat. At first glance it didn’t look like a ton of food but it seemed to be a never ending bowl as I dug in. Definitely a good thing!
The Verdict
Looking beyond just the dish the pho comes out in, the pho itself is quite good. I really liked that they have two different broth options and noodle types. It makes me want to go back and try the other combination.
It would be hard to try the flat and soft noodles since I really enjoyed the chewiness of the thick, flat noodles. They were my favorite part of the pho.
I wouldn’t consider this to be my own personal favorite pho place, but it’s certainly a quality spot and worthy of place in the pho rotation.
Pho Flavor
10130 Garden Grove Blvd,
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Phone: (714) 591-5265
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Pho 79 lives up to billing as one of the best in Southern California
The Background
Pho 79 is a well-known, beloved Vietnemese location that’s been serving it’s slurp worthy signature pho since 1982. Yes, 1982! It’s in a non-descript area, nestled behind a strip mall but where there’s good food, people will find it.
The popularity is evident within the restaurant which literally has a wall’s worth of accolades and articles written about the great tasting food. The restaurant proudly displays its recognition as a James Beard Foundation Winner under the restaurant signage, indicating that its received notable national acclaim.
Such long staying power is a testament to the of quality food. But what makes Pho 79 truly special is their pho broth.
The Experience
I thought I’d beat the lunch rush and get to Pho 79 well before noon. When I pulled up to the restuarant, around 11:15 am on a Wednesday, I noticed there was already a line and the parking lot was quite full.
There’s a sign in sheet attached to the front door which had a 4-5 parties in front of me. It went really quickly. It only took around 10 minutes to get seated, which was nice!
Pho 79 really has a massive menu, with a wide variety of Vietnamese dishes to sort through. The pho portion of the menu is teeming with different variations with all sorts of different meat. Most come in three different bowl sizes. My go to pho is always just the rare beef, so I went with the medium bowl ($13.25)
The food comes out exceptionally fast. I went to use the restroom to wash my hands and came back to my table with a steaming bowl of pho waiting for me. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes.
Slurping up a spoonful of the broth was a memorable experience. The broth is so rich, hearty, and flavorful, it really warms the soul. After savoring a few spoonfuls of broth, I started adding in the usual pho veggies: thai basil, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and squeezed in some lime. I added in some hoisin sauce and some Sriracha as well.
At first I wasn’t too impressed with the amount of meat in the bowl. It just looked like four slices of beef. As it cooked more in the broth, layers started peeling off the meat though. There was a lot more meat than I orginally thought! The beef is good quality and as it turns out, there’s quite a bit. The noodles were excellent and plentiful as well. For a medium bowl of pho it was a good amount of food for a good price.
The Verdict
This was the first time I’ve been to Pho 79. I can see why it’s so well-known and has been around for over 41 years. The bowl of pho was flat out delicious.
What separates it from other places is the broth. It’s definitely one of the best pho broth’s I’ve ever had. I’m not sure what they do differently to prep the broth, but you can taste the difference compared to other pho places. Outstanding flavor. I can’t wait to go back and have another bowl!
Also, on a side note, this is a cash only restaurant so be sure to have some cash on you if you visit. I think the best times to go will be off peak hours either early or late lunch / dinners.
The parking lot will likely be packed at peak times so best to avoid if possible.
Pho 79
9941 Hazard Ave. Garden Grove, CA 92843
