New Hoa Ky Restaurant

I can understand all the negative reviews… It’s not the cleanest, nicest nor with the friendliest staff. However, for a decent price, you get a phở bowl the size of Texas!
It’s filling and usually keeps me satisfied, so I’m okay with this place.

My bf and I always come here because my bf is such a fan of phở. And their bowls are huge! He always order number 1 and I always order the rice plate… which i think if I straight translated from chinese is called the «3 color rice» but instead of the pork chop, I always order the chicken… I like how the chicken is fried and crunchy all the time, shredded pork is good and an egg with rice.
Such a deal here also, we finish dinner with a $ 20. well it’s only $ 15 something but since its such a deal, my bf always tip them the rest. Done.

I’ve been here several times over the past few years and I’m always happy (and satisfied) with my order!
There’s no frills or excessive gaudy décor, just straight up delicious phở! I usually get the beef ball phở, the seafood combo, or the chicken. The place is clean (bathroom is OK, but could be better) and the people that work here are nice enough, although be sure to let them know in person that you want the check! The dishes are average priced ($ 7-​$ 9) and there’s a lot of variety! Like others said, your food comes out pretty quickly. I’ve actually never been when it’s super busy, so I can’t say how service is then.
Overall, a good place to come if you’re craving a nice hot bowl of phở on a cold San Francisco day :)

Ever since I gave into trying Phở, this is one of my most favorite places to go to. Unless they’re busy, you receive your food in less than 10 minutes!
I love their Phở Tai and their Five Spice Chicken here. The Five Spice Chicken is very crispy and delicioussss, and I always add an egg to it. YUMM!

I have been going here for the past year or so and it is my GO-​TO place for phở (since phở clement smells and turtle tower is mainly known for their PHO GA –chicken).
But today, it was a LITTLE irritating because my order was messed up:(I usually order the «Beef Phở» and the lady usually understands that i want the thinly sliced beef. but today this new lady kept asking me WHICH beef phở i wanted. so i overwhelmingly look at the menu and said «SEVEN». nope. definitely wasnt what i was looking for because i ended up getting something weird and chewy.
But besides that– i really like this place:) Its clean and yummy.
Just dont get the beef flanks because it tastes kind of funky! that is all.

Good value for acceptable phở.
#1 is my go-​to on a cold/​foggy/​hungover day, generous portions of the unmentionables that go into a combination meat phở.
Word to the wise: this place isn’t going to impress you with it’s décor, service or amenities (although the TVs usually show the current sports game going on). It’s also probably not the cleanest place, but as long as your tolerance for that stuff is high, you’ll be fine. They also have overpriced toy machines at the front that cost $ 1.50, which is funny/​random.

The large? Is LARGE.
So large that when I ordered it, the waitress said, «Large? It’s really large.» and gave me the hairy eyeball when I ordered it anyway.
For the first time, I didn’t finish my phở! It was tasty the next day, too.
This is very decent phở for the price and the sheer size of it all. You could go swimming in that bowl! Dive on in.

I like to come here for a simple bowl of phở with no hassles, generally no waiting times either. Service isn’t anything flamboyant, but it’s a phở place not a 5 star restaurant — what do you expect? Decent food, good price, family atmosphere (and by that I mean the family is always about). Perfect hangover food.
If you want your basic, down to earth phở joint what more could you ask for?

Still on my phở kick. Pretty decent soup. Alas… only 1 star. Here is why:
1. I could hear the crickets chirping in here on a Friday night. We were literally the only people in the place. And they didn’t have ANY music on. Awkward…
2. The waitress/​owner stood in the middle of the restaurant watching us like hawks the entire time. I know it was slow and that she was really eager to get us anything we needed… more napkins, water, are we ok? are we ok? are we ok? We were fine… except for this annoying staring.
3. The hot tea was not hot. In fact, I think it had been sitting around so long that slime built up on the inside of the pot. My boyfriend choked so hard on the slime that it came out his nose and onto his dinner. The hawking waitress did not approve.
…thankfully, no one else was there to witness this event. The end.

Drove pass and noticed this place several times last week, so decided it was a sign to try it out. I had lunch with a friend here today.
I just had phở and my friend had the seafood wonton noodle soup.
Phở was standard, nothing amazing. I don’t have much to say about it. It was $ 7.
My friend’s seafood wonton looked really watery and oily. I wasn’t enticed by it. I tried the soup, it didn’t taste like anything.
It’s not great, but it’s not horrible. The service is pretty quick.
The end.

On a cold day, it’s hard to beat hot Phở. It’s a simple place with good food, good prices and football on tv.
I started with the spring rolls (which do have shrimp in them, vegetarians, beware! They tasted quite fresh, but lacked punch.
The #12 is where it’s at of the phở dishes. For the occasion, I wrote a haiku (poetry purists, avert your eyes!)
Thinly sliced beef swims
in an ocean of warm broth
only seven bucks

I’ve eaten here over 50 times. That’s probably like 25 pounds worth of MSG but whatever, we all gotta die at some point. Nice mom and pop joint.
Its just a basic meal for a reasonable price. There are probably better, but when you live and work within walking distance, its a quick solid choice on a rainy day. Portions for the large get the job done.

Decent phở. The usual suspects appear on the menu and, suprise; all menu items have numbers as well! I appreciate their attentive service, but I can’t, in good conscience, rate any restaurant higher than a 2 star if their menu is numbered. I had the Five Spice Phở bowl. Their serving size is a bit too big but I take my chances, regardless. I usually go at least once a month and I have found them to be consistent. Don’t expect fanciful food placement. This place is all about fast noodles and cheap rice dishes

What’s best after a 9 hour night of drinking? PHO! There’s something about the broth that just helps settle your stomach and whatever aches you may wake up with. My roommate and I, new to San Fran, have been on a mission to find our new favorite phở place in our new hometown. We’ve tried Golden Star in Chinatown which is pretty good but also pricey for phở standards so I used my handy Google Maps on my phone to find a closer phở place to us. And ta-​da! It gave us New Hoa Ky, which I thought was somehow connected to the Phở Hoa in L.A. Chinatown but I guess not…
Cause it was not very satisfying. For some reason, I wanted to get the Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Beef Noodle Soup) instead of my regular Phở Tai. Turns out I made a good choice because my friend’s phở broth was just not that good. I mean, my soup was not that good either (not spicy at all) but I think I was more disappointed with the phở cause you just can’t be a vietnamese restaurant if your phở sucks. Ok… maybe «sucks» is too harsh of a word for this place but it’s definitely not great. And the temperature of our soups weren’t even that hot. *sigh* I also ordered their Vietnamese coffee, which although strong as hell (forget Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and Pete’s), was really little — half the size of what I normally get in vietnamese restaurants.
Our bill came out to about $ 29, for three people. It was cheap but I was not satisfied at all. I must find a place that’s both good and cheap (like Phở 87 in L.A. Chinatown!!!).
Until then, the search continues…

You know those little tiny dishes you see at some Vietnamese Phở restaurants, in the table dispenser with the chopsticks, soup spoons, Sriracha Tong Ot and Hoisin Sauce? What are they for, you might ask?
It’s a condiment dish.
Not all places have them in the table dispenser. Most Vietnamese (and Chinese, since they usually have a 100% Chinese designs on them) places have them somewhere, if not on the table, you can ask for it from the kitchen.
When I first started eating Phở many years ago, I would throw everything into my bowl, including squirting it full of Sriracha and Hoisin, tossing in the basil leaves or cilantro, bean sprouts, squeeze the lime, and maybe a chili pepper.
For the past couple of years, I have changed my Phở eating habits. Thats because I have been hanging out with Vietnamese more. Now, I fill that little condiment plate with half-​Sriracha, and half-​Hoisin sauce.
When my bowl of Phở noodles comes, I first taste the broth with my soup spoon, to discern its true flavor, before I throw anything else into the bowl. Once I have a good taste of it, then I throw in what came on the veggie platter.
When I start eating my Phở, I pull out a piece of meat, and dip it into the condiment dish, getting some Hoisin and Sriracha, and I eat the meat with those flavors. Then I slurp some noodles and sip on more broth.
I find this new ritual much more satisfying. I get the flavor of the sauces on the meat, which I like, but I can continue to get a nice, more nuanced flavor fro my noodle soup. This is much better than just dumping Hoisin and Sriracha into the entire bowl, which basically overwhelms and destroys the flavors that is the essence of Phở.
This New Hoa Ky restaurant has those little condiment dishes at the table dispenser. That makes me happy, so I don’t have to ask. However, when I ordered my Phở Tai Nam, the meat was mostly in little tiny pieces, not large round (for the Tai or rare beef) slices or half-​round slices, and instead of nice long cooked pieces of meat (brisket, or Nam), they were mostly little itty bitty pieces all mixed in with my noodles.
Now it is hard to pick out all those little pieces and do my new Phở eating ritual.
But besides that, when I tasted the broth, it was weak. Too watery in flavor. I couldn’t taste any Star Anise, and the deep beef flavor from a stock cooked with large beef bones for hours was absent.
It could have been an off time (5:30pm on a Saturday night?), or a substitute cook, maybe? (I didn’t hear any Vietnamese being spoken, only Chinese, so it makes me wonder.)
The restaurant has other basic Vitenamese dishes. Bun Bo Hue, Bun Rieu, Hu Tieu, Bun (vermicelli) and Com Dia (rice plate), even Chao (rice porridge) and a special item, which I like, Canh Chua Ca Bong Lau (sweet and sour catfish soup, a la Tom Yum in a Thai place).
So maybe this is a Chinese-​Vietnamese place, meaning, they were part of the Chinese diaspora ethnic minority living in Vietnam before they came here. The food is ok, but it is not to the level of 90% of the Little Saigon Phở establishments in Westiminster or San Jose.

I have gone here for 5– years and the food is great. One day I was alone when the staff was ready to eat and I asked «what is that you are having?» Next thing I know, a small sampling of it comes to my table.
The mother of Dr. Kimberly La (see my review) is the sweetest lady and usually serves me but all the servers are nice.
I love the Vietnamese spring rolls and the 5-​spice chicken dish the best.
I’ve never seen anyone clipping their nails there so I can’t comment on that remark that was made.
It’s a basic place, not fancy, but clean and neat… don’t expect a «dining room» experience just go and enjoy the food.

The never ending battle for the perfect Phở.
I haven’t eaten here in a long time. A couple years ago I worked a few blocks away and would often get food to go. To go portions are pretty huge when it comes to vermicelli and rice plates. I have this thing about ordering soup to go… I think soup is best eaten at restaurants. Anyhow, eating here always seemed somewhat depressing. The whole atmosphere is drab.
My favorite dish here has always been the vermicelli with charbroiled shrimp and imperial rolls. SPICY FISH SAUCE, FTW!
yum, yum, yum.
The phở was always pretty good, too. At times, the broth could be a bit bland, or the noodles too chewy. I rarely craved phở here, only on really cold days. Sometimes the bean sprouts were old and they’d forget to give us lemons.

«I gave her a second chance, and she blew it.»
Tip: Reading this review will save you a very bad dining experience and $ 20.
Around ten years ago, I stopped going to this Vietnamese restaurant on bustling Geary street.
Why?
Ten years ago, as I slurped my Phở noodles, the cashier was clipping his finger nails and the food was bad, but I guess they did not change a lick. (Crunch should be from egg rolls, not finger nails)
Like any good hearted neighborhood eater, I decided to give them a second chance.
Arriving on a foggy night, beef noodle soup seemingly would pair well with the weather. The #1 Beef noodle phở (thin slices of beef, flank, tendon, tripe and beef ball -$ 6.30) was off the mark. The beef pieces were rough but more importantly, the core was missing.
The core of this Vietnamese national dish is the soup base. Lacking were sweet flavors of star anise and nutty notes from spices. Instead, the soup base tasted watered down.
When phở soup base is done well, it is magical comprised of sweet and savory notes, all in one joyful marriage.
As for the side actors, the basil leaves lacked vibrant colors and the lemon wedge had poor knife skills, so bad I was not able to use the citrus juice.
On second bowl of poison was #22, the bun rieu.
This bowl is comprised of crab paste, shrimp, and tomato ($ 6.75) was over salty. The knife skills were horrible, resemble elementary school kids chopping tomatoes. The tomatoes were chunky and just plain ugly.
Instead, try the crab noodle soup at Bodega Bistro or PPQ on Irving. The soup should have sea-​sweet elements from the crab paste.
When we arrived, I should have known. There were only three sets of customers and the place lacked energy. Our waitress appeared to be from zoombie land, lacking a smile or greeting. She appeared to been in a recent breakup, but she did not have to show me.
Top 3 Vietnamese Places for Beef Noodles Soup
1) Bodega Bistro (tip: they happily split into two to share)
2) PPQ Irving
3) Bamboo Garden
Honorable mention: My mom’s Crab noodle soup,
In this recession, it is hard to open my already slim wallet to give people a second chance. Food is dynamic, not flat. Meaning, we eat at a restaurant not only for the food, but for great service, experience, and vibrant creative dishes.
As a former food writer, I would have to say this is the worst meal I have had in the last year in a half.
In this town filled with great restaurant, the customer is King. So if you’re a restaurant owner, watch out and start training your staff filled with smiles and serve on par quality food.
Being in the industry all my life, most restaurants will not survive this recession.

My most recent Phở experience is here:
On an eternal quest, and primarily because driving out to the Sunset would cost more than the bowl of Phở, we opted to come to this place to see what was being called Phở. Many, many years ago, I take it this used to be «THE» phở joint, so always being up for Phở, I gave it a whirl.
For being opened at 3 pm on a weekday for lunch (unlike the other places we tried out before this) — kudos to you.
For the Phở, which I ordered the way I always do with rare beef and tendon, I give you 3 stars. You get one star off because the noodles start off too overcooked. Soup was tasty, all the condiments were available and fresh — and you gave extra cilantro. Good job. You kicked Turtle Tower right out of the ocean. (
)
Portions were ample, and meat was plentiful. And, they used the right huge chunks of tendon. Just the way I like it. Ding on the noodles only.
For the fresh spring rolls — you get 0 stars. If I wanted a rice wrapper with some shrimp and a boatload of noodles in it, I would’ve ordered just noodles wrapped in rice paper. That was THE worst spring roll I’ve had to date.
For the fried rice — — though I did have to add half a bottle of salt to it — you get 5 stars. That was on awesome combination fried rice. I could tell that the majority of the meat was leftover chunks from here and there, but that’s alright, it tasted wonderful. And it’s a very good fried rice when some salt to can bring this much life to it. I never complain when salt can come to the rescue.
For the friendly service we received from the staff here — — always a «you’re welcome» to our thanks, and obliging us with a smile and sincere friendliness by the pretty lady staff members, if we asked for a little more of whatever — — - I can honestly say that I have never encountered such courtesy at any Phở place. Ever. Thank you so much.
Compared to PPQ, I’d have to say that PPQ is better overall, for Phở.
But you know what, with $ 5/​gallon gas and 20 minutes it takes me to get to that end of town, I no longer think it’s worth the drive. Phở Hoa Ky is much closer, and with the exception of the spring rolls, everything else we had, including the Iced Coffee, was «good enough», if there is such a thing as «good enough».

Used to be part of my regular rotation when I lived off the Panhandle. Just went back while running some errands.
Big menu, but I usually get one of 4 items. Phở Dac Biet (Beef combo phở), Phở Ga (Chicken Phở), Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong (Vermicelli bowl with imperial roll and grilled pork), or Beef and Tripe Chow Fun.
They bring you a plastic cup of hot tea when you sit down (What’s with the places that charge you for hot tea?!?) and then stand there making you nervous while you stare at the menu (they will leave and come back if you ask).
Sometimes the basil looks a little wilty, but the broth is always piping hot and tasty. Some of the most tender chicken that I’ve had in the Phở Ga anywhere.
Had a rice plate once and it was so-​so. Stick with the Phở and Bun, IMO. .. or the beef and tripe chow fun! ;-)