Pho Song Huong (Paris) - ♕♕♕♕♕

  Pho noodles outside of Vietnam,  it makes me ponder.   Where do we find the next best alternative versions outside of Vietnam?   Some people say Canada,  some say Melbourne of Australia,  some say Paris, as France used to rule Vietnam and many locals over there have migrated to France.    For me theories are only theories as I know what I will enjoy and despite it being only my opinion and besides, anything outside of Vietnam probably isn’t perfectly authentic.   Take for example Pho Song Huong here,  which is like the next door competitor Pho 14 advertising that they sell a Northern Vietnamese Pho Bac.   But the end result from both places were more of a Southern styled Pho Nam somehow,  with a strongish soup and plenty of green herbs for accompaniment..!   May be Northern Vietnam sounds a bit more exotic and sells better?

 

 

It’s crowded.
The staff here knows Pho 14 is their biggest competitor in this district.

 

 

 

Saigon Beer -

 

Sauces -
With 2 types of fish sauce,  a chili which is more Chinese than Vietnamese,
and the sweet and hot Srirachas.

 

 

 

Mexican Lime,  Culantro (Ngo Gai), Chili, Bean Sprouts -
The Culantro is the soul to a bowl of pho in my opinion.   Here they provide this by default,  just like in most pho places in Vietnam.   There is however no Thai Basil provided,  the other equally important herb together with the spring onions.   In this aspect,  Pho 14 next door has a more complete package.

 

Pho Dac Biet -
The beef brisket, sliced rare beef and beef balls were very good.   But there are no signs of the tripes or beef tendons,  which again loses out to the next door Pho 14 shop.   What it does make up for is the very very good soup.  Lots of beefiness depth and just perfectly herbed without detectable traces of MSG,  and together with the herbs and lime was very enjoyable.   ~  8/10

 

 

Pho noodles -
These are more of the chewy and white than smoother & transparent rice noodles, 
both of which can work well.   This was appreciated,  and also differs a little from it’s next door Pho 14 competitor.  Each to their own!

 

The Pho Dac Biet -
Had a really great soup indeed, in fact it was slightly better than Pho 14 and both of which beats anything available in Hong Kong by a large margin.  Even Melbourne’s best pho shops will have trouble beating these two.    I did think the pho dac biet bowl was missing the necessary tripes and tendons,  and it was also missing some herbs.   But the soup, beef and noodles were so convincing in itself,  it cancels out the flaws.

 

 

 

 

Price:   Euro $10 ~ 15
Ease of Access:   4/5  (Close to Tolbiac Station)
Food:   ♕♕♕♕♕

Opening Hours:
Mon to Sat -  9:00am to 11:00pm

Address:  129 av de Choisy, 75013 Paris
Ph: 01 45 85 01 76