Nhung N.
Yelp
I am so grateful that Pho Hoa opened up in Malden. I have been supporting them since they opened since it is hard to find a good Vietnamese restaurant outside of Dorchester. I have dined in, recommended them to my family and friends, and ordered multiple takeouts.
For appetizer, I am happy that they offer the spring roll tasting which is a sample of three rolls they offer. I think it is great for sharing with others. All of their rolls were delicious. The one downfall is that it came with the same dipping sauce, which is a fish sauce. At other restaurants, these rolls each are served with their own unique dipping sauces. From a profit standpoint, I can totally understand why this may not be practical.
I have tried many of their entrees. My favorites would be anything that has the word phrase "dac biet" after it. This mean special in Vietnamese. To me, it means a dish with everything in it. I recommend the com dac biet, bun dac biet, banh hoi dac biet, and lastly pho dac biet. The best explanation would be to ask you to see my pictures. You literally get everything in your plate/bowl!
I would order rice and noodle plates over their pho. My first two pho dine in experience was good but I have to say, their pho broth is slightly on the salty side. I have tried the filet mignon pho which comes with thinly sliced filet mignon dish with lime. I wasn't a fan of the meat and the broth was slightly salty for my liking. My first experience of their pho Dac Biet, which has a little bit of everything was much better. However, my last two experience where we ordered takeout pho tai, sach, bo vien and their pho ga on two separate occasions, both times I couldn't finish the pho broth as it was overly salty. For now, I would maybe try their pho as a last resort since there are plenty other things that I enjoy off their menu. For example, their bun bo hue was very good. I would order it again. Their pho ap chao ga was a first time experience for me and it was good too with the crispy noodles. I look forward to trying more of their other noodle offerings and hope their menu continues to expand. For now, their are plenty of good staples whenever I don't feel like cooking dinner.
Their boba teas are also good. In my opinion, their Thai tea boba is probably their best. I haven't tried their smoothies yet but look forward to trying some in my future visits.
Overall, all of my dine in and takeout experiences have been good. Wait staff was friendly and efficient and the food came out at a good pace. The place was almost always packed by the time I leave each time I dined in during the first month of opening. I am so pleased that they opened in Malden and I look forward to continuing to support their business. See my pictures!