delectation

PPQ (Pho Phu Quoc) Vietnamese Cuisine

On a weeknight around 10pm on the block of Irving between 19th & 20th, there are a few establishments open -- Peko, the Japanese food/ Karaoke bar, Go-go Cafe (open 'til 2am), and most notably, PPQ, its bright lights standing in stark contrast to the larger -- and dark -- Pho Hoa-Hiep II (aka Kevin's Noodle Soup) across the street.

PPQ is fairly full, and bustling, even at the late hour. A few Fridays ago Nora & I ambled down from my flat before getting to an art show in the TL. I was still on my pho kick and had yet another craving.

In my limited experience, there seem to be usually two sizes of pho -- small and large -- this time, I ordered a small bowl of the combination soup - rare steak, well done flank, tendon, tripe, and beef ball. Once the bowl arrives and you ooh and ah at the brightness of the rare meat against the less vibrant tones of the rest of the meat and soup, you push the lot down into the steaming broth, where it finishes cooking. The broth here was slightly darker and had stronger aromas and flavour hints of anise than the pho at Vietnam II. The noodles were well cooked and easy to slurp up, unlike the ones at Vietnam II, which we had to practically wrestle to take take apart.

The pho came, as usual, with the accompaniments of bean sprouts, chile and basil. This time, per Reid's suggestion, I asked that the bean sprouts be cooked slightly.

Nora was not very hungry and ordered a bit of a random combination of Spring rolls and Vietnamese iced coffee -- a rich, dark espresso shot from an individual coffee drip set over a small glass of sweet and thick condensed milk. After the coffee finishes dripping into the milk you pour the mixture into a glass of ice. I rounded out the soup with a plate of broccoli, which they must blanch quickly in some very flavourful broth as it had a delicious hint of something other than what plain steamed vegetable would taste like.

PPQ is fast, cheap, and good; I was there once before with some friends, and next time hope to try one of their curry-based soups, of which I've heard good things.

411
1816 Irving St (btw 19th & 20th)
San Francisco, CA 94122-1818
Phone: (415) 661-8869
Open: 7 days, lunch and dinner, 'til latish
Posted by claudine at November 13, 2004 05:40 PM