Vietnamese in Kailua - Surprisingly Good

I tread carefully when talking about Vietnamese food because I am a novice with this cuisine. But it's one of my favorites and I frequent a couple of places in Kailua.

The most famous Vietnamese dish among Americans would have to be pho. Here in Hawaii, To Chau on River Street near Nimitz Highway has long been considered to have the best. There is a line outside all of the time. If you come during the early afternoon, you should get nervous, because as soon as the soup stock runs out, the restaurant closes. That's one way of knowing there is good food in a restaurant - when they really don't care about keeping the stated hours - or about you - and only staying open until the menu item is gone.

In Kailua, there are three places I've been to: Bale in the Don Quijote Shopping Center (purportedly soon to be turned into a Target); Saigon Noodle House in the Enchanted Lake Shopping Center; and What the "Pho," (the name does give me pause!) in Enchanted Lake in the same strip mall as The Shack.

I was given a recommendation that the Vietnamese beef stew at What the "Pho" was supposed to be the best. Well...the server said he didn't have it, so they either didn't have it, or I didn't know what the correct name of it was. I decided to order a bowl of pho with well done brisket and slices of eye of round. The broth has a more pronounced flavor than the other two places in Kailua, but not necessarily better. It was an enjoyable bowl, but I guess I was a tad disappointed because I couldn't get the beef stew.

I go to Bale most often, partly because it is closer to the church than the other two, but also because they are by far the friendliest people, among the friendliest I have ever experienced in any restaurant anywhere. They are just SO nice. The pho is fine, but when I go there, I usually get one of the vermicelli plates, usually with lemongrass chicken, or with shrimp, BBQ pork, and spring rolls. When I am in a vegetarian mood (which usually happens when I feel that my cholesterol level has risen with a massive intake of red meat), I'll have the lemongrass tofu plate, which leaves me very satisfied and filled, unlike many other vegetarian meals I have had.

Saigon Noodle House's standard pho is again fine, and I've had some of their plates, which are good, especially the garlic chicken or shrimp, but when I go there now, I only get one thing: the beef stew pho. To paraphrase the old Wrigley's Doublemint gum commercial: it's like two...two...two kinds of comfort food in one! You get a bowl of noodles with the standard pho accompaniments - a wedge of citrus fruit, bean sprouts and basil (Saigon Noodle House, like To Chau, also gives you saw leaf, which is not unlike cilantro) - and you get Vietnamese beef stew in the same bowl! Tender chunks of beef with some carrots, tendon, and what seems like cabbage along with the noodle soup is just one of the best things ever and a bargain at $7.95!!

The verdict? I'll go to Saigon Noodle House anytime for the beef stew pho, then when I feel my arteries clogging up, I'll go to Bale for the lemongrass tofu plate. Then if Kanani (one of my most faithful readers) can ask her husband to figure out what's happening at What the "Pho," I'll try it again, but not until then.

Grace and aloha,

Tom

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