I’ve had my fair share of meals at Pho since it open up in Exeter, and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them! It’s a buzzing place, which when it first opened often has queues out of the door, although it’s still busy now the initial hype has quietened a little. It’s the perfect way of trying delicious Vietnamese food without having to hop on a plane! There’s so many vegan options to choose from and I’m not surprised I haven’t gotten through the whole menu yet. On this visit, we decided to try some different options that I would never usually pick, as well as the health specials.
To start with we picked the enokii hand roll (from the health specials menu), Goi Ngo Sen (tangy lotus stems) and Rau Muống Xào (stir fried morning glory). The enokii hand roll was crunchy and flavoursome, perfect with peanut butter dipping sauce. As expected I loved the morning glory, it was garlicky and pack with flavour that I have only ever experience when actually in South East Asia – I could have eaten plates of this! The big surprise for me was the tangy lotus stems, I didn’t know what to expect from them, the dish was colourful, crunchy and tangy as described. I would easily pick this again, it was refreshing and different!
For the mains we shared the Pho Nam Rom and Cauliflower rice bowl with tofu and veg. The Pho Nam Rom is flat rice noodles, enokii, shitake and button mushrooms accompanied with a tasty vegetable broth. I love having the Pho dishes here as you can adjust the flavours to your liking, each are served with a plate of fresh herbs, chilli and lime. Personally I like adding the thai basil, coriander, bean sprouts and a squeeze of lime. This one was super tasty and having the different mushrooms added extra textures and flavours to the dish, it goes to the top of my Pho dishes! The cauliflower rice bowl is also one of the health specials, being low in carbs and calories but guaranteed not to be low in flavour! The tofu was flavoursome and had a slight chewy texture which I prefer to the tofu that just dissolves and breaks up when touched, the sauce that the tofu and veggies were in was very tasty and moreish. Overall a great success with both of these main courses!
To finish up we shared the mango sorbet which is 55% fruit, and has a rich mango taste. Perfect light and refreshing way to finish the meal. I also tried the jasmine flower tea, I loved the dynamic of the flower opening it up in the hot water! In summary, you just can’t go wrong at Pho really – there’s options for everyone and the food is delicious!
Disclaimer: this meal was complimentary. Thank you Pho!
plantbasedhmj 