In all the years that I've had this blog I've never once featured my go-to spot for pho here in Edmonton. Shocking, right? There's no better time than now with the #YEGNoodleSoups series! And since Edmonton is in the middle of a deep freeze, a hot bowl of pho is the perfect remedy for cold hands and feet!

Tau Bay Restaurant - 10660 98 Street NW - Edmonton AB

When I've got a hankering for a bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup Tau Bay is the spot that I head to first. My first visit was back in my junior high days when a girlfriend of mine introduced me to it, and memories of that meal still come back to me each time I visit. When you walk into the restaurant the first thing that hits you is the smell of the fragrant broth used in each bowl of their noodle soup. Tau Bay Restaurant serves only variations of pho noodle soup (and drinks) and nothing else - they've focused on their one specialty and execute it well every time.

Tau Bay Restaurant has a huge following in this city, and I remember the days when www.istaubayopen.com was a real website started by a local Tau Bay enthusiast. The site was made because Tau Bay is known to close randomly from time to time for family vacations back to Vietnam or just breaks for the whole restaurant staff. They don't run during the typical restaurant hours either, so you may anticipate a bowl of their noodle soup and become disappointed when you show up to a closed restaurant.

The pho here comes in twenty different variations, all different depending on combinations of meat in the bowl. Each bowl comes in a medium ($7.50) or large ($8.50) size garnished with cilantro, green onion and onion slices, served with a plate of bean sprouts, lime wedges, Thai basil and Thai red chilies. It's the standard fixins you get with your pho, and the pricing is on par with other Vietnamese restaurants in Chinatown.

What I find sets Tau Bay apart from the rest is the broth. The broth is fragrant, has a meaty depth to it and has just the right amount of fat that makes it smooth but not overly oily. There is a delicate sweetness to the broth that I really enjoy and the combination of herbs they use just suits my palate. The rice noodles are cooked to a nice al dente consistency and every bite is great down to the very last drop of soup. The staff are friendly, and like many other restaurants, you don't get much service. But for a restaurant where I just want to stop by to warm up quick with a bowl of noodle soup, Tau Bay Restaurant fits the bill.

King Noodle House is another Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown loved by Edmontonians, and their pho is a close second for me. Where is your go-to pho place? Let me know and I would love to try it out!


Edmonton is a cold, snowy city for the majority of the year. During the winter months I'm always looking for ways to warm up from the cold, and nothing is more comforting to me than a bowl of steaming noodle soup. I'm going to be highlighting some of my favourite noodle soups in the city, and I'd love for you to share yours with me so I can try them too. Follow along with #YEGNoodleSoups and let the fun begin!

Sometimes when I read restaurant names I have to do a double take. That's exactly what happened when I discovered a local restaurant advertising that they serve both pizza and Vietnamese food. Say what?

Pho Huong & Mama Pizza - 10531 107 Avenue - Edmonton AB

I was so curious to see whether this place was any good, and I was actually interested in trying their pho. Now I know what you're thinking - I must be crazy to think this restaurant would serve top notch pho! But hey, someone has to take one for the team, right?

I was able to convince one of my friends to go on this adventure with me so we showed up at the restaurant at about 6PM on a weeknight. Bad news, the place was empty. We were greeted and seated in the corner before our server ran off and hid in the kitchen. The restaurant itself looked small and, like a typical Vietnamese restaurant, had sriracha, hoisin sauce and other condiments available on the table. The menu was mostly devoted to Vietnamese noodles and soups, but a whole page was dedicated to a wide variety of pizzas, salads, burgers and fries. It's the strangest thing, but it apparently works for the loyal patrons of this restaurant!

My friend ordered the Grilled Pork & Spring Roll Vermicelli Bowl (#24, $8.75) and it was a fairly generous serving. The vermicelli noodles were cooked al dente and served overtop of the usual fresh greens like lettuce, cucumber and sprouts. The grilled pork was moist, tender and full of flavour, while the spring rolls were crisp and golden. Things were off to a good start!

Most of the pho offerings on the menu ranged between $7.50-$8.50 depending on the choice of meat and size of the bowl. For myself I was craving pho with beef balls and tripe - a combination that rarely exists on Vietnamese menus. However, the restaurant was more than willing to accommodate my request so I got exactly what I wanted. The bowl of noodle soup really didn't look like much, but the broth was fragrant with a nice depth of flavour and was served steaming. Although I would have liked a bit more tripe in my bowl, this bowl of pho would definitely hit the spot on cold day.

Pho Huong & Mama Pizza is a family-run business and our server (who I believe was the owner) was very friendly and inviting. The restaurant is located in an area of the city that is a little more run-down, but appearances can definitely be deceiving. The interior of the restaurant is updated and well kept, and almost seems to be out of place given it's location. If I were in the area and craving Vietnamese, I wouldn't hesitate to drop by for a quick meal. I'm a little curious about the pizza - who knows, it could be a chance worth taking on my next visit!

Summertime is all about the popsicles and BBQs, but what do you eat when its cold and rainy outside? I always feel that cold, windy days call for comfort food, and nothing is better than a steaming hot bowl of noodle soup!

Ha Phuong's Vietnamese Restaurant - 9656 107A Avenue - Edmonton AB

Ha Phuong's isn't new to the Edmonton dining scene, but it recently came to my attention after seeing a picture on my Instagram feed. I didn't think much of it, but my interest in visiting the restaurant was sparked again after reading this article about Chris Tom-Kee who is currently helping out at the restaurant. Later on I found out that the daughter of the owners recently took over the restaurant and is making some changes. One windy evening my boyfriend and I headed down to Chinatown to check the place out.

When we first walked in we kind of thought to ourselves, "are we in the right place?" I felt a little uneasy as the restaurant was empty at 6:00PM on a weeknight and we had it all to ourselves. The lack of decor and old furnishings gave it that hole-in-the-wall feel, but we sat down and thought it could only go up from there.

The restaurant doesn't supply you with menus, but there are two whiteboards hung on the walls with descriptions of dishes that are available. 7 items didn't seem like much to choose from, but we were excited to try out the offerings. To start off we ordered two Tomkee's Twists ($1.50), which are a spin on the traditional green onion cake. Twisted out into a long stick, the green onion cake twists were crispy, fluffy and fragrant. The sweet chili sauce served on the side added some flavour, but I honestly ate these by themselves and probably could have ordered a couple more.

Hu tieu is a hugely popular noodle soup in Southern Vietnam. The broth is typically made from pork bones, but some variations have seafood as well. Ha Phuong's offers regular hu tieu and also Hu Tieu Kho ($10), which is a version I've never had before. Basically, rice noodles are tossed in a special house made sauce, topped with meat, fried onions, and served with the pork and seafood based broth on the side. This dish was excellent! Al dente noodles were tossed in a fragrant hoisin based sauce and the broth had a really nice depth of flavour. BBQ pork, Vietnamese pork sausage and another cut of pork topped the noodles along with shrimp and a quail egg. I would highly recommend trying this dish out!

It just so happened that on the night we visited the restaurant was offering bun bo hue as an off menu special for $10. Bun bo hue is a popular spicy noodle soup from Central Vietnam and happens to be one of my favourite noodle soups. The spicy soup is so perfect for warming up on cold days! The version served at Ha Phuong's was delicious. The broth had a really nice depth of flavour with strong notes of lemongrass (which I love). The soup wasn't too spicy and there was a good portion of meat and noodles.

I feel like there aren't too many people that know about Ha Phuong's and the great noodle dishes they're cooking in the kitchen. I'll definitely be returning on another cold day for a hot bowl of soup! Stop by if you're in the area, I know you won't be disappointed.

For the longest time I've been trying to find a new favorite pho place. Ever since Basil Leaf closed down, there hasn't really been anything in Edmonton that has wow-ed me. For a couple months now, I've been trying to get the girls together to try out King Noodle House - a Vietnamese restaurant that's often talked about and recommended. Better yet, it's owned by super tweeter Linda Hoang's family.

King Noodle House Pho Hoang - 10615 97 Street - Edmonton AB

Located on one of the busiest (and main) streets of Chinatown, King Noodle House has been open for quite a number of years now. The restaurant isn't hard to find, and there's plenty of parking spaces available in a lot right next to it. Walking inside, you can tell its an older restaurant - dimly lit, but very clean. Each table is well stocked with chopsticks, napkins, and a variety of sauces for you to dress up your dish with. Even at 1PM on a Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was busy but we were seated quickly by Linda herself!

Most restaurants don't make the combination of noodle soup that I typically like - pho with beef balls and tripe. But upon opening the menu at King Noodle House, I was surprised to see they offered practically every combination of pho you could think of. So there I was, ordering the small #21, eagerly waiting for the steaming bowl of pho to arrive infront of me. A large size costs $8.75 (which looked massive), while a small is $7.75, so it's about the average price for pho here in Edmonton.


#29 - Pho with beef balls, tripe & raw beef
Cilantro and I really don't get along, so I had requested for it to be removed from my bowl. To my surprise, my pho arrived with no greens or onions in it, which was a little disappointing, but understandable that it is quite likely that the greens are premixed. Garnish aside, I took in a nice big spoonful of broth - and it instantly hit me - this broth HAD to be good for me. You know when you eat something and just know that it's made from scratch and is good for your body? Yeah, that. It reminded me of the Chinese vegetable soups that my parents make. I typically like my pho broth to have more depth and herbs to it (mm star anise!), but the broth at King Noodle House has a nice sweetness to it that sets it apart from other pho places in the city.

The noodles in my bowl remained al dente throughout the meal, which was really nice as I hate being served soggy noodles in a bowl. I happily slurped away, and the small size was just right to be satiated and keep me satisfied until dinner time. One nice thing is that I didn't feel thirsty after the meal, even after a couple hours, which tells me the broth didn't rely on much sodium or MSG to bring out its flavours. While I can't say that it takes the place as my favourite pho, I wouldn't hesitate to return for a quick meal again in the future. Pho real.

Over the family day long weekend, Vince and I headed down to Calgary to just take a break and enjoy being away from Edmonton. His number one mission was just to relax. Mine? Eat as much good food as I could in a span of 30 hours. Yeah, I'm kinda gross sometimes :)


Pho So 1 - 1609 Centre Street N - Calgary AB

Whenever I'm in Calgary, having a hot bowl of pho noodle soup is a must! After driving 2.5 hours down the highway, we found ourselves standing outside Pho So 1 on the recommendation of one of my coworkers.


When you enter the restaurant, it's your run of the mill Vietnamese restaurant. Minimal decor on the wall (definitely Asian inspired if any!), a fish tank, and tables stocked with condiments for your soup. For 12 PM on a Sunday, the restaurant was quite empty - uh oh.


The ordering process here is reminiscent of that at Pho Tau Bay in Edmonton, where you are given a little sheet to write down your order. I've never quite understood why something like this needs to be in place at a restaurant where the service is already bound to be at a bare minimum anyways. How hard is it to take down an order for pho? I absolutely understand this process when you will be ordering say, all you can eat sushi or hot pot, where there are multiple items that need to be gathered and put together. I just don't get it. How lazy can you be?!


Pho So 1 offers three different sizes for their noodle soups, and at very reasonable prices. I'd say the average for a small bowl of pho in Edmonton right now is about $7.50 - $8.00, so it's refreshing to see cheaper prices! I went with the small beef ball pho ($6.75), while Vince picked the large pho dac biet ($7.95).


small beef ball pho
After taking our order, the steaming bowls of soup were at our table in under 4 minutes. And what a relief! The bowls are rolled out on a cart to the table, avoiding my pet peeve: the waiter's thumb getting in the soup. I've seen it happen so many times and it makes me feel sick to my stomach when that happens!


large pho dac biet
With the steaming broth sitting infront of me, I quickly sipped the soup and it was delicious. The broth had a nice depth to it, and a natural sweetness that reminded me of my favourite soup at Thai Son in Vancouver. The beef balls had a very nice bite to them, and a peppery taste that I loved.


comparison of the large vs. small
Vince enjoyed his soup as well, but the beef was a little on the tough side for his liking. It wasn't quite the perfect bowl of pho for us, but pretty good especially when you factor in the price! After the meal, we didn't have any serious thirst issues, so the MSG content here seems to be pretty low. Check this place out if you're in the area.

I was quite full from my small bowl, but Vince was left wanting more food. So off we went, looking for something more...

To be continued :) Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

A little while back, I had a craving to check out a pho place near my house - which unfortunately closed down! I quickly chose another option and headed out to the West end of the city to discover what type of restaurant claimed to have fine Vietnamese cuisine.

Rice Paper Vietnamese Fine Cuisine - 10080 178 Street NW - Edmonton AB

On our way to the restaurant, it started to rain! In the middle of winter.. thanks to Global Warming. But when we arrived, we were relieved to find a relatively large parking lot, with most spots located close to the restaurant entrance. My friends and I ran from the car, slipping and sliding our way to the front door.

The interior of the restaurant is bright and clean, with most of the decor being brown or black. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a nice, modern environment to dine in.

After being seated, we were greeted with a menu featuring many items. From soup noodles, to rice, to salad, there was plenty of variety and lots to choose from. What stood out to me though, was the lack in the number of available pho options - there were five to be exact, and all of which were apparently featuring a dish from a different region of Vietnam.



To start off our night, we ordered a dish recommended to us by the server - the Rice Paper Special. The dish was basically a do it yourself (DIY) salad roll, featuring different grilled meats.



The ingredients were served up on a bamboo woven dish, and contained grilled chicken, pork, beef, and shrimp along with green onions, grilled onion, carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts, vermicelli and lettuce leaves. We were also provided with six sheets of rice paper, fish sauce, and a plate of water to dip the sheets in to soften them up.

Now, don't get me wrong. The salad rolls we made for ourselves were delicious. The only problem is that I would much rather have had the rolls pre-made for me. The table was small and cluttered with cups, cutlery and plates, and the whole process of making and eating the salad rolls was so messy that I was frustrated. I've made these rolls many times before in my kitchen, and have never had any problems, but to sit down and make them, and eat them right away is downright difficult considering the amount of space you have to do so. While we were still constructing and eating the rolls, our entrees arrived, making it a gong show to try to fit everything on the table without having it spill or fall off in the process. If the kitchen had timed things right, it may have been better.


Vermicelli bowl with grilled chicken

After having our large platter removed from the table, it was much more comfortable for us to continue on with the meal. Since the entrees arrived at our table quite early, most of our food had reasonably cooled down.



I ordered the Northern Vietnamese Soup - probably the item I would be most familiar with, but I found it odd for the restaurant to mix chicken & beef together. The soup base in this dish was excellent - reminded me of my favourite at Basil Leaf. The chicken was tender and delicious, and the beef balls had a nice elasticity in each bite, but the beef was a different story. I found my beef to be tough and hard to eat, so I left it untouched.

My other friends ordered the Central and Southern Vietnamese Soups, which they said were pretty good. The portions at this particular restaurant are quite generous, and enough to fill you up. Presentation of the food is great as well, and I quite liked the way the Rice Paper Special was brought out to the table. However, one thing to consider would be the factor of price. The noodle soups themselves are priced from $9.99 to $11.99, which is considerably more expensive than many of the Vietnamese restaurants in the city (I would say a typical bowl of pho is about $7.50 - $8.00 right now..). Perhaps it is attributed to the idea that they are a fine cuisine restaurant..

One great thing to know about them though, is that many of their offerings are gluten free. :)

Sorry for the lack of updates! I've been super busy prepping for my MCAT exam this past little while, and now it's finally over!! Yay, summer is pretty much just starting for me now, hah!

As my exam was Saturday morning, I decided to head down to Calgary to celebrate for the weekend. Gunning it down the QE2, we made it to calgary in 2h 10m (crazy!!), checked into the hotel & headed out for AYCE sushi at my fave, Sushi King!

Sushi King Restaurant - 320 16 Avenue NW - Calgary AB

Adam decided to order too much food in the end, and it was so painful to try to eat it all without getting charged for wasting food. Want a good tip? This is what Vince does - eat only the inside of things:



GROSS, but effective.

2011 Calgary Stampede

There's just something about the stampede I love. I know that the rides and the games are all the same, but it just seems so much better than Capital Ex up here in Edmonton. Maybe it's the spirit of the exhibition there. They have a real theme - everyone is decked out in their Western gear, and its just so lively! Dangit, Edmonton.



The prizes at the game booths are so cute this year too! Ranging from smurfs, to minions, to Domokun's with costumes, there's definitely a toy for everyone this year! I really wanted to win a minion, but totally forgot and got absorbed into gambling games.. LOVE playing over/under 7!!

Sunny Vietnamese Restaurant - 107 2 Avenue SE - Calgary AB

A couple months ago, my parents raved about this particular Vietnamese joint in Chinatown. Being the Asian parents they are, they brought the soup home for me to try and I was shocked.. of course I had to check this place out!



The interior of the restaurant is brightly lit by natural sunlight filtering through the window in the roof, but the inside of the restaurant is reminiscent of a typical pho place - plain walls and table tops graced with hoisin & chili sauce.



The restaurant offers two different sizes for pho, regular and large, each differing by approx $1.00.. looking at the tables around us, it seemed like the bowls were huge! I went with the regular beef balls pho for $7.50 while everyone else went with large pho dac biet for $9.00 (? I think! Don't remember hah).


regular pho bo vien

My regular size pho was definitely the size of a large that we get here in Edmonton - the broth was fragrant and flavourful, and definitely worth the money in my opinion. The servers are friendly, and the food came out quick.. but I think my favourite in Calgary is still Pho Hoai - the broth is a bit tastier in my opinion, but their servings are not as generous as the ones here at Sunny. Life is tough ;)


large pho dac biet

The Dessert House - 111 2 Avenue SE - Calgary AB



Located conveniently next door to the Vietnamese restaurant, I had to check this little place out. The sign from the outside was so cute and inviting, and my ritual is always to have some bubble tea after my pho. Call me a fatty, I don't care!

It wasn't too busy inside at the time, so all seven of us were able to get a seat together, after maneuvering a couple tables around.



The menu was overwhelming, with hundreds of possible drink and dessert combinations. I went in totally unprepared for what I experienced! They have a variety of hot and cold dishes to eat, ranging from curry fishballs and takoyaki, to dessert soup (tong sui) and shaved grass jelly desserts. Next time I would totally come on an empty stomach in an attempt to try everything out..

I had a chance to meet and talk with the owners. They're a very cute Chinese couple, and they are so nice! We were told that their Edmonton location was slated to open on Tuesday, and that they would be offering the full menu there as well. Upon ordering, we learned about "pop boba", which is basically a flavoured drink bubble.


pop boba

Totally different from tapioca/sago though - its the latest phenomenon from Taiwan, in which the outer coating is similar in texture to a fresh lychee fruit, while the inside is filled with juice. The one I was given to sample was the lychee flavour. The outside is able to hold it's round shape well, but upon popping in your mouth, it releases lychee juice! Yum! It's also available as passion fruit flavoured, and probably goes best with flavoured teas.



I ordered my all time favourite dessert, mango pomelo sago dessert! I'm so glad that this place offers it! Tasty choice back in Edmonton has always had this on the menu, but it was never available everytime I tried to order it. The one here is perfect. The mango puree isn't overly sweet, the tapioca has a bit of bite, and a whole half mango is sliced into the dessert. It was perfectly ripe and naturally sweet.. nothing can beat this!



Vince ordered the fresh mango milk smoothie in the small size. The small was bigger than I anticipated, and was definitely sweeter than the mango dessert I ordered. But it was delicious. Best fresh mango smoothie I've ever had.. for real.

Everything else ordered at our table:


Chrysanthemum tea with lychee pop boba


fresh peach smoothie


watermelon juice with thai basil seeds


fresh lychee milk smoothie


Shaved grass jelly with fresh fruit & strawberry juice

One thing I love about this place is their lack of powdered bubble tea. Everything is made from fresh - none of that high calorie powdered flavouring that is SO bad for you! I fully expect myself to be at their Edmonton location on Tuesday.. yes, I am predictable!