Cho Lon

I feel like there’s something missing in my life and I don’t know if it’s a person… a thing… or just a big fat bowl of phở…
Yes the Veitnamese spring rolls are there famous dish… A must have! I always get phở or beef cube servied with rice… There serving is very big… full and filling… And there is a side vegetable dish that comes with it… If you are a fan of chili like I am … you can also order… hot Phở… Hot and spicy Phở that is…
Too big for me… I could never really finish it… I wonder if anyone ever finish a large phở without an upset stomach… it could be a good contest!
Area is hard to find parking… I never have to wait for a table so that’s good! Service is ok… but at least the food is consent! Enjoyyy!!!

THIS PLACE IS A JOKE.
I been coming here for the past few years because it opens really late but the food is disgusting. I have not been back since last year. I used to come here because this was the place to go when you are hanging out late and have the munchies.
I remember ordering the summer roll and the lettuce was dirty and the peanut hosin sauce was old!!! I had one bite and I HAD TO SPIT IT OUT. I am not the type who would get disgusted easily but the sauce taste like it has been in the refrigerator for months. It smells bad too. It was definitely tainted. I asked my friends to try it and they agreed. We did not bring it back because we did not speak the language here. BTW this place is Chinese own.
The phở is big however the broth… wait what broth? It tastes like straight msg. I know all phở places uses msg (I know people who worked in phở places and they told me that they always uses msg) but there was barely any beef flavor. Also the spring rolls here are bad. The only thing that tastes okay was the fried rice and the pork chops. They are not the kind that they serve at authentic viet restaurants though. The brothless vermicelli also taste bad. This is just a bad place overall. I hate to write a bad review but serving your customers food that gone bad… that is just wrong.

Try the Goi Tom and understand that this place is blessed with the best possible ingredients and food. The shrimp was so easy to eat it was melt in your mouth soggy. The peanuts? Don’t worry they accounted for your possibly allergies by not including it! Oh let’s not forget the noodles, they left it out to ensure you have a healthy diet. For $ 7.25, you get shredded cabbage and some… 4 – 5 pieces of shrimp cut in halves! It’s amazing. Lets not forget, I had a coffee with condense milk here, it’s similar to that BBQ milk flavor. Smoky, sweet, and completely lack coffee flavor. Perfect drink for those looking to be tough and order a Vietnamese coffee for its powerful coffee bitterness. Would I recommend you to come here? Of course! Please experience for yourselves how excellent this place can be!
Other dishes I tried was the pork chop, sausage, and fried egg rice dish, a staple rice dish in any Vietnamese restaurant in Brooklyn. Pork chop was great, sweet, and aromatic, sausage was expertly fried to crispness on the outside. Perfect! The egg was an over cook pile of white and yolk, when bitten into felt like a gush of lard entered your mouth. Oh the richness of an egg! Lets not forget the perfectly tailored vegetable on the side which consist of rancid cucumber and fresh slice of tomato. The cucumber gave you an idea of what scent the vegetable market consist of at the end of the day with unsold rotten vegetable. The tomato was such a generous portion that I am sure you can feed a family of 10 with one tomato. It’s a valuable set of ingredients that you will not regret paying $ 6.00! Right, the rice… Yes maybe 2 – 3 days old, perfectly dried out and ready for making fried rice, except it is not fried rice.
Service, whatever that means, is awesome! The waitress was working hard to study the menu and does not pay attention to the only table that had people in the restaurant. They sit as much as I would sit! I can’t believe the genius of the management here!
Bottom line? Your mileage may vary!

When asked about Viet cuisine in NY, it seems over the years, my default answer has become simply «Brooklyn.» For all the solid banh mi shops and noodle spots throughout the borough, it seems natural to put faith in a place like Cho Lon, divey and open late. Sadly, the shoe doesn’t fit and Brooklyn’s Chinatown has itself a bust in the Viet scene.
After their mini-​restart as a Phở + Shabu /​Hot Pot spot, the menu has had a slight makeover. Gone are the oodles of traditional Viet dishes that first got me in the door and now are limited to rice dishes, phở, and a few noodle dishes. The establishment is clearly more Chinese than Vietnamese, most of the staff can barely recommend anything let alone say the names. It might be safer to venture the hot pot route at this point.
Phở is only as good as its broth and the one here at Cho Lon is beyond bland. It almost seems too clear — perhaps not enough beef bones? The flavor is lacking in some way, the herbs that would usually overpower most soups just don’t seem to be potent enough in their version. Having tried their phở ga (yikes) and the phở tai (ugh), it just seems to be consistently mediocre.
Bun Cha Gio is a classic staple for me, added with any extras like thit nuong and the fixens of any dac biet dish, it can be the perfect balance of all things in one bowl. Cho Lon’s noodles are a little stranger, instead of the usual rice noodle bun, it seems to be the slightly wider hu tieu version, i.e. more fettuccine than spaghetti. A bit of a no-​no in most cases, along with an overly sweet nuac mam. When the fish sauce is the same color as the tea, that can be somewhat problematic.
Their saving grace is a solid suon heo nuong over rice and a decent crisp on the cha gio spring rolls. Summer rolls are also on the blander side, primarily for the bun substitution and funky mints. At least the shrimp is plump, but even the fecal strip could probably use more stripping. (ahem)
Then there is the hot pot. It’s possible if one were to go here solely based on it alone, might garner for a better rating and overall experience. And it seems obvious, the staff knows their stuff more, and there is less emphasis on prep and more focus on the broth. I’m not terribly thrilled with it, simply because a majority of the ingredients (meat especially) appear to be frozen, and the spicy broth is lacking serious kick. Given the circumstances, the hot pot is a much safer bet than any of their Viet dishes. I’m not sure I’m willing to frequent Cho Lon to find out.

I’m kind of surprised by the negative reviews, but the only thing I come for here is the grilled pork over rice. It is AMAZING, but I don’t know about the others, and we always take out, so don’t know about the experience of eating there.

This place is cheap and delicious. Spring rolls are really good here. I get the grilled pork with noodles or over rice and it never disappoints me. Plus they’re open late!

Hot damn the hot pot at this place is more zesty than boxing kangaroos — serious kick with serious buy-​in. My body was leaking shabu shabu for two days afterward but I couldn’t say anything bad about it. Meat and vegetables were all fresh (albeit beef and pork slices were frozen like I’ve had in the past but still much fresher). Against the wall in the back there is a dodecahedron of flavors to mix in with your shabu (from wasabi, peanut oil, sesame oil just to name a few). My mouth had multiple orgasms.
I’ve been here before and have to say the phở and noodle dishes are superb as well. Meat is always cooked perfect, you certainly don’t feel like you are eating shoe leather. Bonus points are that this place stays open till 3 AM shall you need to get your grub on post witching hour.
On top of it all, it is cheap as hell. You can go in here with a gal pal or whatever and eat for less than $ 25 and have room in your wallet but not in your stomach. Def good cheap in my book.

I was so excited to find bun thit nuong at 130. But then I opened it to realize it wasn’t.
The noodles weren’t even bun. They were bullshit Chinese rice noodles the size of lo mein.
You can’t do that. That’s the entire point of the dish…
Anyway. Vegetables were all on the bottom, underneath the shit noodles, instead of on the side. So all the shredded lettuce & bean sprouts (which was all they gave me) got soggy.
The pork was mildly ok. But everything else ruined it. Vietnamese food works because it’s a delicate harmony of flavor, texture & temperature. This isn’t.
AND they didn’t even give me Nuoc Cham! WTF! Do you realize how pissed I am that I actually spent money on this shit!
The waitresses couldn’t even pronounce anything on the menu, they just looked confused and talked to each other in Mandarin really fast. I should’ve ran as soon as I heard it.

Not the cleanliest place since its located in 8^th ave but the food’s pretty good. Unlike other viet spots, their #1(noodles section)‘s soup tastes semi-​homemade!
You can also do hot pot if you dont want to order from the menu.

So the old Cho Lon closed down. It is now a ShabuShabu/​Phở restaurant.
I walked in with no prejudice at all. I mean, I was a fan of Cho Lon ever since it opened about 8 years ago, but since this Phở restaurant was the closest one to my house, I really really wanted to like it.
The décor is okay. Purple walls. Flat screen tvs. I noticed right away that one of the waitresses that worked at the old Cho Lon was still here, which puzzled me. But I digress.
The phở broth was absolutely horrible. It might as well pass for chicken brother, oh, but except that it had no flavor. It was downed with water so much, I had to add the hoi sin sauce to it just so that there was a hint of something in it. The meat was in smaller pieces than it used to be. The noodles looked like they were taken straight from the carton (like when you do take out), and dumped into the soup. I mean this as in it was still shaped like a big chunk of noodles.
There is only one good Vietnamese restaurant now, which is Gia Lam. I guess they should be happy since they will be getting much more customers now.

I’ve been here numerous times, and it’s almost never failed to satisfy me. In fact, I’m in love with this place. Which was why I was heartbroken when I saw it closed. I’m not exactly sure if it was shut down or if it’s just reconstruction. Either way, I’m writing this review with tearful eyes and a rumbling tummy.
Melodramatics aside, enter Cho Lon ! Because the establishment is not owned by Vietnamese people (I don’t think so at least– the two ladies that serve us interchangeably speak Chinese), I wasn’t expecting totally authentic Vietnamese food. And I was right. However, that doesn’t really bother me, seeing as they serve good food nonetheless.
A word of warning – as you can see by the previous reviews, there have been bad ratings of their phở. I agree, for the most part. The broth is MSG laden and resulted in severe thirst, and weirdly, hunger half an hour later. The noodles used are not traditional– they’re too thin and don’t have that ‘bouncy’ consistency that I like my noodles to be. The beef is average, nothing spectacular. They also serve it with a lemon wedge. If memory serves me correctly, other more authentic Vietnamese establishments use lime, not lemon. However, don’t be too quick to judge ! (Although I don’t blame you for it– what kind of *Vietnamese* place serves crappy phở?!)
I find myself coming again and again for their rice dishes (and their hoisin sauce– I swear, it’s magical compared to the brand that I use at home). Every dish that I’ve ever tried was consistently delicious. Their pork chop rice is probably their most popular dish. However, their grilled chicken is excellent as well. They make brilliant versions of simple dishes (although not necessarily authentic) such as beef and broccoli (it’s all in the sauce, baby)
P. S. — On whim, I also ordered soy milk which turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
I really hope this isn’t the death of Cho Lon, because my cravings won’t go away! (The more expensive, subpar Vietnamese restaurants at Brooklyn Chinatown will never satiate my munches !)

Last night we went on a little adventure to Sunset Park which apparently resides deeply in Brooklyn. We were lured there by promises of good phở, but, alas, our restaurant of choice closed promptly at 8pm. In this neighborhood of early risers, we decided to walk about and find the next best thing. We chanced upon a very inviting Vietnamese restaurant several blocks away that included phở among its specialties. Happy days were here again.
Or not. I ordered a beef phở bowl replete with all of the parts: balls, tendons, stomach lining, etc. To drink, I had a homemade lemonade soda. The phở was an interesting case study. I began by leaning in and taking in its scent, as I always do. I came away with the distinct smell of nothing. Sure enough, the broth was nothing more than hot water. The rice noodles were okay and were not particularly starchy, but the beef was largely unfortunate. The meatballs were bulbous and were generally of dubious quality. The tendon meat was okay, but had no imparted flavor to it whatsoever. The add-​ins included sprouts, Thai basil, and lemon. Lemon? It’s always lime, always. Adding Sriracha sauce really failed to revive the dish in any way. Worse, the stomach lining was cut into thin strips so that they were often inextricably linked with the noodles creating an unwanted mishmash in texture. Regrettable all around, and I ultimately left my bowl unfinished with more food left in the bowl than I have ever left before. This is revealing given that I almost always finish my phở. (Always when I like it)
Okay, so the food here is generally bad to terrible. However, the ambience is nice and the service is quite friendly. The place on our visit was patronized, outside of our presence, exclusively by Vietnamese folks which sure seemed like a vouch for authenticity. It had all of the trappings of a nice neighborhood ethnic spot. It just failed to deliver on the food. Go for the coffee, my girlfriend enjoyed hers quite a bit, and then proceed elsewhere.
1.75 stars (rounded up)

The Rice vermicelli noodle is not the normal rice vermicelli. Their noodles are thicker and create a different taste. Their fish sauce is also not good. Their regular spring rolls are small and oily and it is not served with greens. I got excited to see that they had vegetarian spring rolls so when I order that, it was big! It was literally an egg roll. It even had required a different sauce, to me it tastes like pepper duck sauce. I was hoping it was just regular spring rolls without meat. The positive to this restaurant, is their lemonade. It’s fresh and not sweet and not sour.

There is never going to be a –1 star rating right?
I give up. I am never wanting to eat at this place again. Originally I came here with my family a lot, because there is a slice chicken variation Rice vermicilli noodle dish that I like, but I am never going to this restaurant again.
One.
–My mom said that they don’t care for how their appearance is, with how run down the front of the store is.
Two
–They forgot to bring out bean sprout additions that usually come with Rice vermicilli noodles, unless I asked them. I still ended up tipping the waitress a buck. but I really didn’t want to tip them.
Three
–The most important reason, and if someone calls the Health inspection, then be my guest. my dish literally had a bug in it. that turned me right off the meal, that I truly regret going to this restaurant for a meal…

The Bad
— Rice vermicilli noodle does not look like rice vermicilli noodle. Their noodles are way thicker than how it is suppose to be.
— Their veggie spring roll is an egg roll.
— Regular spring rolls are tiny and not tasty (very oily)
The Good
— Veggie spring roll (looks like egg roll)
The Bottomline– Not worth checking out. So many other viet restaurants to check out in 8^th ave. Go to Gia Lam or something.

This has been my place for phở for the longest time especially after seeing waiters/​waitress in Gia Lam sticking half of their freaking hand in my bowl of phở. Despite the criticisms of the food, at least the service is quick and smooth. They seat you, give you a few mins to decide, take your order, give you your order, BAM! Done.
The food though is nothing spectacular but average. I only order #3 or Dac Biet as that is the only dish my family cannot make within reasonable price range for the ingredients. The broth is filled with MSG, has maybe 40−60% of the authentic beef taste, and rather oily. They give enough proteins to fill an average person up and at the very least, it is still reasonably priced unless one restaurant in 18^th avenue that charges more and gives 30% of what Cho Lon gives.
Cho Lon’s food isn’t amazing but it’ll hit the spot if you’re craving for some phở. The other food they have is simply mediocre and STAY AWAY FROM THE FRIED SPRINGROLLS. If you want better springrolls, I can just give you the recipe.

3.69 stars
i can’t talk about the phở, because all i had was a cup of vietnamese coffee. it was a decent cup of coffee and it revived me from a zombie-​like stupor.

If it wasn’t for the MSG, then the Phở would be overcooked meat in tap water. I wanted to write this review as soon as we got home from dinner here, but I had a splitting migraine from all the MSG. My head started leaking brains as soon as we literally stepped out of the restaurant. it’s like they had some protective force-​field around the place, but once you stepped outside BLAM — MSGraine.

Cho Lon = Bland.
We went for Phở, hoping to find an alternative to Gai Lam, a place further down 8^th Ave that we frequent when we need our phở fix.
Ordered the special phở with various beef parts, including tendon and tripe, my fav. Was pleasantly surprised by the tripe count, usually they give you 3 maybe 4 tiny pieces, but this was overflowing with that chewy-​goodness. The broth had the familiar phở flavor, but was really watered down. You know it’s bad when you can actually taste the MSG… mmm, migraine.
Also ordered the spring rolls. Those weren’t bad but the fish sauce they came with made me feel like I was dipping my crispy spring rolls in water.
In the future, I think we’ll head back to Gai Lam further down 8^th Ave, or Mekong when we feel like shlepping all the way to Queens.
Sorry NYC, Philly’s got you beat in the phở game, HANDS DOWN. And on two counts – there’s plenty of phở places and most of serve up broth with really great flavor.