By Mary DAWSON

A few weeks ago I found myself wandering down Honolulu Avenue in search of something new. Most of us lead such busy lives and we tend to do what we are comfortable with and what we know. One of the by-products of writing this column is that it gets me out of my box. I get to do the exploring and then share it with you. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to try Pho 22. To me it seems like they just opened, but in fact they have been here four years! I don’t know about you, but I have never tried Vietnamese food and I didn’t know what to expect.

So I bravely walked in all by myself and sat down. I was fortunate that the owner, JC Kim was there that day. He was kind enough to sit with me and help me with what to order. The women at the table next to me were more than happy to put their two cents in, too. I had a great time and discovered a whole new, delicious and healthy cuisine.

Pho 22 is Fusion Vietnamese Cuisine. The number one thing to order here is the Beef Rice Noodle Soup. There are 16 different varieties from steak to chicken to seafood to vegetarian, and various combos. Their most popular one is number seven, rare steak. I ordered number 15, chicken. Soon after a big bowl of steaming hot soup was brought to the table. The broth was perfectly clear and full of delicious looking noodles along with all white meat chicken. It was accompanied by several little bowls of add ons like bean sprouts, fragrant Thai basil, lime wedges, fresh jalapenos and cilantro. I thought I was in heaven. I used chop sticks, a large spoon, and a fork as the noodles are long, like spaghetti. I must say this was $8.25 well spent. It was fun to eat, looked healthy, smelled great (I love fresh herbs!), and tasted as good as it smelled. Mr. Kim said the secret is in the beef broth. Their stock takes 10 hours to make and they use no oil. It is perfectly clear.

To accompany my soup I had a Thai iced tea. They also serve green tea, iced coffee and 100% fruit smoothies. If you are not in the mood for soup they have several vermicellis. This is a noodle dish with bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber, tofu, eggroll and peanuts. I must try this next time. There are also fried rice dishes, eggrolls and dumplings. Pho 22 (2230 Honolulu Ave.) has done so well that JC is opening his second restaurant, any day now, in Northridge. I hope after reading this you will give Pho 22 a try. They are open every day except Monday, most nights ‘til 9 p.m.

We invite you to read about other businesses in the Montrose Shopping Park. Just go to www.crescentavalleyweekly.com and scroll the Business section. We also link this column to our Facebook page, Montrose Shopping Park.

Well I’m off on another great Montrose adventure. I’ll meet you back here next week.

Mary Dawson owns
Revelation Tops with her sister Carole, and serves as
vice president of the Montrose Shopping Park.

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