Planet Pho

Idk what happened.
If you had asked me 4 months ago where my favorite place to eat phở was, I would without hesitation say «Planet Phở». It’s changed. My mom and I go a few times a month bc we’re so limited with phở options on the Waimanalo/​Kailua side. Our last visit the phở broth was brought out super oily. I was tempted to skim the oil layers off myself but I was so hungry. Then we noticed the broth had kind of a weird mustard colored tinge to it. My mom tasted the broth first and said it tasted like curry (I’m not sure if they serve curry on the menu). I throw a lot of veggies into my bowl so it didn’t bother me too much but my mom ended up just taking a few bites. Can’t really do much except take it as it is any try to find another place. The iced coffee is still bomb though, probably just go back for that.

The service wasn’t to often, but they also weren’t trying to rush you, which was good. I had the beef stew with rice noodle and curry with rice noodle which was interesting and very good. I would recommend this place.

While I don’t consider myself a phở expert, I have eaten at pretty much all the phở places in Chinatown and many outside of Chinatown. My general feeling is that the ones IN Chinatown are much better than the ones outside. Well, that all changed today at Planet Phở in Kailua. While I still think there are a couple in Chinatown that are unbeatable, Planet Phở was a pleasant surprise. Almost everything about it was great. The broth was tasty, noodles cooked just right, not too firm, not too soft, and there was an ample amount of toppings. The spring rolls were crispy and light, and all the usual condiments were plentiful. My only «negative» was that the iced coffee came pre-​made in a plastic cup instead of the drip container. It was kind of sweet, and I had to water it down a little which cured the sweetness, but also diluted the coffee taste. But, it was a minor thing. At least I know now that someone outside of Chinatown can actually make a good phở!

I went to Planet Phở once about a month ago. My boyfriend and I ordered a mango slush boba, spring rolls, and rare steak phở.
The place itself is adorable, but service was a little slow. In all honesty I don’t remember the phở or the spring rolls, so it must not have been bad nor highly impressive. The mango slush I thought was horrible. It had a strange texture and worse after taste.

In HI on business and was jonesing for some phở because I was feeling a little under the weather. They did not disappoint!!! Had the oxtail and it was amazing. The veggie spring rolls were out of this world.

I’ve been to many phở restaurants in the San Francisco bay area and southern California savoring many dishes. This place ranks top two for their broth especially their beef stew dish. If u know ur phở and know what ur judging u will know why I rank it so high.
Yum yum a great dish and friendly owner. Great food!

Amazing phở!!! Great service!!! Got the chicken satay, summer rolls, and phở tai. Everything was so delicious and I can’t wait to go back!!!

This is my go to Phở spot. There is never a wait when I go in, the service is always speedy, the food is to my liking and I have zero complaints about this particular restaurant.
I have tried to phở ga on numerous occasions and it’s always super tasty. I also like the ca ra ga, which is this delicious curry chicken dish that I also love.
This place isn’t fancy, but it gets the job done. The only downside is the parking lot, but it’s not that big of deal.

Good phở and I really liked the huge variety of items on the menu. You can get curries and other Thai food here too. I had the Bun Bo Hue which is a tomato crab soup with egg noddles. It was very good and I liked the spongey crab cakes and other seafood inside. My husband thought the phở was good. Very friendly service.

if you’re looking for vietnamese food, and you think you know your vietnamese food, this is the spot in hawaii. i know there are a couple of places in chinatown that’s pretty good but the parking situation is hectic! so don’t even bother. i’m from orange county (known for little saigon, great place for vietnamese food) and this place is just as good! the owner were from cali so there’s that. don’t waste your time anywhere else in kailua! come here. i just moved back to cali but they’re so good i have to come on Unilocal to give them 5 stars.

This is a nice small family ran restaurant. I come here at least once or twice a month. Phở is as authentic as you can get minus the lard (If you’ve ever been to vietnam, that’s what they use in certain regions mixed into the broth) I’ve tried their rice plates and curry’s and it’s a bit runnier then I like (I prefer Japanese thick curry) but still delicious.
The restaurant can get pretty cold as they blast the A/​C. Sometimes they do get behind since it’s only a 2~5 family team. Last time I went, it was only the husband in the kitchen and the waiter. For what I saw.
The only drawback is the parking. It’s a bit cramped.

The food is good and all but whoever the male is that answers the phone, needs to be replaced. First off, it took quite a while for my phone call to be answered. Second, while I was placing my order, he seemed as if he was in a rush and didn’t really want to hear the special instructions that I was requesting with my order. Lastly, when he thought I was done ordering, he hung up on me! I didn’t get to ask how much the total would be and he didn’t even ask my name for the order. Him not asking for a name was a big deal for me because I wasn’t picking up the order, a friend of mine was, so I was going to put the order under his name since he doesn’t know what I’m ordering. I had to call back and tell that person to put the order under my friend’s name.
What’s sad is that, I love the food but it’s the simple things as in answering the phone that can make the whole experience horrible.

First timer here & it was pretty satisfying and delicious! My Dad ordered the Phở combination & really liked the portion size & broth taste. It was pretty HUGE. I ordered the Cold Vermicelli w/​BBQ Pork & Shrimp. I’m Filipino & I love my Tocino, SO it helped a ton when the pork really tasted like it!:) Location wise, it was kinda hard to spot, but definitely worth it. Would definitely come again when coming on this side.

Seriously, probably the best phở I’ve ever had. Admittedly, I haven’t been to Vietnam, but the owner/​chef brings her family recipes straight from her homeland. The broth is tasty, and rich with flavor and marrow. For the past year I’ve been eating almost exclusively the Phở, but a couple of weeks ago ventured outside my comfort zone (LOL), and tried 3 new (to us) dishes, and we loved them all. In fact, we been back 2x since having no phở that one night, we have opted for non-​phở dishes entirely. The recent hot and humid weather has probably kept us away from the phở! :) Summer rolls with little slices of apple are top notch! The Shaken Filet dish is my new favorite. Super tasty sweetish sauce, cubed filet, and lots of red & yellow peppers, and white onions! The local family that owns this place is super friendly.
Definitely one of my top 3 Kailua places to eat! A MUST TRY IN KAILUA!

The restaurant was very clean, which is rare for places like this. This pleasantly surprised us. The food was OK, the service was great. It is located right next to Yogurt Mama FroYo store, which was very convenient for the desert for our kids. I will be back here.

As a townie, I’m spoiled with numerous places to choose from when it comes to boba. I don’t have the same luxury when I’m in kailua. I used my trusty Unilocal app to help me find somewhere for milk tea with boba (珍珠奶茶）the taiwanese style that I love. No luck, but I did see the 5-​star rated planet phở.
A sign on the door shows pictures of the boba drinks they offer: thai tea, honeydew, taro, green tea. I ordered a thai tea boba drink, expecting it to be blended, but it was served over ice and with a little dollop of whipped cream.
The boba was terrible, probably the most terrible I’ve ever had. It was hard and small… just inedible. The tea was ok, but thai tea is pretty hard to mess up.
Although the service was speedy, it wasn’t very friendly. I came during lunch, but there was ony one other person in the reataurant. Hopefully, they have more customers for dinner. I didn’t try any of the food, but the extensive (and very colorful) menu is alluring. Prices looked to be average for vietnamese food, so maybe I’ll be back to try some food options. I definitely won’t be back for boba though :/

My previous review was for Phở Thanh Lich. With the change in management, I’m changing my review to three stars. The food and service are just not the same.
Went here for dinner on Saturday night and the waiter we had seemed very stressed out and short when taking our order. There was, however, a younger girl who was very nice and on point to make sure our water was always filled. Still, the food we had was okay. It no longer has that authentic taste I raved about in my previous review.
I then went back yesterday just for the summer rolls (take out), the pork in the roll was discolored and the peanut sauce had a abnormal sour taste (comparing this to having had it on Saturday when it tasted fine). Now have mixed feelings about coming back.

This review is for the new Planet Phở. I guess they just changed the name of the previous restaurant, Phở Thanh Lich. My husband and I always go to Phở Thanh Lich on Sundays for dinner. We haven’t been able to go for a few months, so when we drove up and saw the «Planet Phở» sign, we got nervous.
We found out that our beloved Phở Thanh Lich was gone and a new Vietnamese restaurant was in it’s place. However, it had a similar feeling: the husband heading the front of house with excellent customer service with a local twist, and his wife taking care of the kitchen. I have to say, I loved what we got! I don’t know if the previous owner is in any way involved with the new place, but the ingredients were just as fresh and delicious as before.
The only thing that I think would improve upon the new place is that we came in at 8:30, thinking it was PTL (who closed at 9:30). We ended up feeling bad that we came in right when they were closing up. The owner and his daughter were very accommodating, though and were happy to serve us.
Over all, we will be coming again and wish we could have told the previous owner goodbye and thank him for his great food as well!
Here is my previous review for Phở Thanh Lich:
Fiancé & I decided to check this place out on a whim one day, which happened to be during their first week of business, and we are so glad we did! There was a banner on the fence which advertised FREE SOFT DRINK for their grand opening, that, to me, is good old fashioned business and I commend that! Since then, we have been there at least 5 more times and have never been disappointed.
The atmosphere is nice, very clean and cozy. Not over the top, but you’ll find that for what the place lacks in interior décor, they more than make up for in food quality and most of all, GENUINE customer service.
The owner works in the front of house. Every time we have been there, we’ve seen him. He is one of the few people I have met in this world who I truly believe loves his job & his customers. This is evident in the warm smiles, amazingly fresh & delicious food & reasonable prices. I can’t say I feel this way when I walk into other restaurants, and that’s why my fiancé and I will keep coming back to this place. We hope they stick around for a long time! :)

While driving mauka-​bound on Oneawa Street in Kailua, I couldn’t help but to noticed the small printed word Phở tucked behind a small strip-​mall area. This was enough reason to stop, drive in and check the place out. They’ve free parking in the lot fronting the restaurant. It was «easy-​peasy» to get in and out of this commercial building. Turns out this small strip has a new, modern looking Vietnamese restaurant with an awesome name — Planet Phở. I like the sound of this name and with a name like that, I gotta try their food. Since it was already an hour past noon, lunch was definitely was on my mind and Vietnamese phở/​food seemed appropriate.
As soon as you walked into the restaurant, the place looked new, clean and orderly. They have about 8 tables on the left side and a beverage refrigerator is located on the right side. Décor was tastefully done; there were some nice touches of Vietnamese art decorations hung on the wall. Seating is enough to accommodate 30 people. A young waiter quickly brought over a glass of water and took my order. He was very courteous and attentive. Looking the different items listed on the menu, I could surmised this is authentic Vietnamese food and most likely it will be tasty.
I ordered the crab meat noodle soup bun rieu. Once the soup arrived, they also brought out a nice place of the well-​known accompanying fresh herbs of: curly Vietnamese water spinach salad, mint, Vietnamese banana flower salad, beansprouts and a lime wedge. The soup was really tasty! Lots of nice medium-​sized fried tofu squares loaded in the bowl. The tomato based soup was savory while the Vietnamese lunch meat slices were soft and flavorful. However, there were no pork hock pieces in the bowl so you don’t have to get your hands dirty. Of course, I requested the shrimp paste so I can add about half of a teaspoon to my soup. This is how many Vietnamese eat bun rieu soup.
The soup was filling so there was not enough room in my stomach for desserts but I really wanted to order the banana-​coconut tapioca. Next time, maybe I can save room in order to try their dessert drinks too. Kailua is my seaside getaway spot so I know I will certainly return to try the shaken beef or the chicken with mango dishes. Drooling already… I’m stoked that authentic Vietnamese food is becoming more common in Kailua. This townie is going Kailua!

My boyfriend and I love going to Planet Phở for dinner! We first started coming here when it was known as Phở Thanh Lich. Everything on the menu that we’ve tried has been tasty! I especially enjoy their summer rolls and phở, and my boyfriend loves eating the cold vermicelli with spicy lemongrass chicken. Since the change in name and ownership, the menu has grown to include more dishes, such as salads, sandwiches, curry and beef stew, soups (wonton, noodles), rice plates, and other house specialties. The service is always attentive and friendly, even during busy hours. Go to Planet Phở for delicious food and great service!