Pho Danh #4

Sadly, they are closed. Stopped by today and a new place moved in. Name is as long as my arm so I can’t remember it.
I will miss them.

I’m kind of on a new mission to try all of the Vietnamese restaurants in the area. That is what brought me to Phở Danh.
First of all, Phở Danh is located right inside the Hong Kong market, so if you are looking for it, that’s where it is.
I stopped in around lunchtime and I was surprised that there was no one in here. Seriously. It was me and the staff. The place was completely dead except for that. I’m thinking that maybe they get more of a dinner rush after people have done their grocery shopping after work or something.
Anyway, after looking over the menu, I decided on a small bowl of brisket and tendon phở. It came out quickly and I was excited that there was a lot of meat in it. The broth was okay, but really nothing spectacular. It had a decent flavor, but if I were to compare it to a place like Tan Dinh, there would be no comparison but for what it was, it was okay and got the job done. The price of the small bowl was a tidy $ 6.50 or so and made for a good lunch.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to get Phở here, but if you are looking for a bowl before doing some shopping at the Hong Kong market, then Phở Danh is a viable option.

Ehhh, it was just ok. I’m always on the hunt for great Southeast Asian fare.
To start, it was a bit confusing to find them. They are located inside the Hong Kong Market. It’d be nice if they had some signage outside somewhere to help guide you in.
The restaurant was quite spacious. Much more so then I figured it would be. Service was prompt and courteous. Food came out in a reasonable amount of time. I ordered the red Thai curry. It was of average flavor. Not the best I’ve ever had. Perhaps I should have ordered off the Phở menu. I suppose that’s my bad. I kiddingly asked my buddy if it was a Vietnamese restaurant with a Thai menu or a Thai restaurant with a Vietnamese menu. I take full blame for ordering Thai and not Phở.
I’ll definitely go back and give them another chance. Next time I’ll stick with the Phở noodles and post an update.
On the plus side, the Hong Kong market is awesome. We walked through after lunch. They have an incredible seafood department. If you’ve ever lived anywhere in Western Pacific, you’ve got to stop in.

Awesome! I had late lunch on last week with big bowl of Yen ta fo noodle and taro bubble tea. So good I love it. Yummy and super save. This is my favorite place now.

Great food and service. I was easily allowed to substitute a different meat of my choice in a dish that wasn’t served that way usually. This is my 3^rd visit, and I love it.

Phở broth lacked flavor. Tasted like simple chicken broth from a can. Even when I squirted copious amounts of hoisin sauce, lime juice, and hot sauce, it still was bland. I would not order phở from this place again.
Bun thit nuong (grilled pork with vermicelli noodles and salad) was also substandard. Pork didn’t have that grilled crunch or marinated flavor.
Drunken noodles were ok, not memorable, and not worth ordering again.
On the plus side, tom yum soup was outstanding. Maybe this is the place to go for Thai food, rather than Vietnamese.

Ummm… they advertise vegetarian dishes, but most of their Vietnamese items with tofu have chicken broth or pork… exception is the tofu appetizer.
Stick with the Thai specialties if you want to avoid the meat stuffs.
They do have 3 sizes of phở bowls so if you’re feeling extra starving (or want to feed a family) get the large.

This place is hidden inside the Hong Kong Market. It’s large and offers lots of seating, and deserves to be full of people all the time because it’s so delicious!
There are offerings of Vietnamese and Thai dishes. The phở is excellent. I also STRONGLY recommend the Drunken Noodles.

I have to say. The food here is decent. Not the best I’ve had though. My main complaint with this place is the thick skin they leave on the chicken in their Phở Ga. Other than that it’s a pretty good restaurant to go to if you’re looking to grab a bite to eat before shopping at the Hong Kong Food Market.

Awesome place with a true Asian feel, with HK market next door, how can you beat it?

Nice and clean, with a good variety of options, but, there are too many other places on this side of the river that I LOVE so much more. This location is great if you happen to be short on time and are coming to the Hong Kong Market anyway, but that is the best thing I can say.
I tried some Thai options (Tom Yum and Beef Salad) and my partner tried the Bun, both were OK, but lack something that we just couldn’t put our finger on. The Thai Beef salad wasn’t what I was expecting at all, not bad, just not right either.

The pad thai is quite delicious! You can taste the garlic, chilis, green onions, and whatever sauces are used to make Thai cooking so flavorful. By contrast, most of the time when I order pan fried noodles, they have that dirty «oil» taste… sorry, that’s the only way I can describe it! I was skeptical at first because it looked very pale, it wasn’t a reddish beige color like I’m used to, and the noodles were thin. But the taste made up for it!
My only complaint is that the portion size was not enough for the price. I got takeout, and it was served in one of the smaller clamshell containers. The bottom half was filled with noodles and the other two spots on top (where you would normally put your side items) contained a lime wedge and a miniature spring roll. I thought that was pretty chintzy for a full price entrée. But in any case, I would rather have that than a FULL container of sub-​par food!

This place is conveniently located in the Hong Kong Food Market plaza so if you’re doing some grocery shopping and want to grab phở for lunch, Phở Danh is the place to go for time’s sake. But if you have time to make a drive there are lots of other Vietnamese places with much better food a short drive away on the West Bank.
Oddly enough, it seems that Phở Danh caters to non-​Vietnamese people, as I seemed to be the only Vietnamese person in there the day I went. And the place was decently packed. So given that, it might be unfair of me to say that the food here is not good (although I do think that) but rather I should say that the food here is not quite what authentic Vietnamese phở should be.
As a Vietnamese person, I feel they cut corners, skimping on portions — like giving too much noodles and not enough meat — overcharge, and the broth is a bit off. I don’t think I’ll be coming back here anytime soon.

Oh my goodness, this place is the grand slam of Vietnamese restaurants. How can you top:
1) The Location — they’re located in a mall JUST outside of a Hong Kong Market!
2) Appearance — it’s bright, it’s roomy, it’s ÜBER CLEAN. These first two alone brings it up to four stars.
3) The Service — EVERYBODY IN THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY SHOULD COME HERE TO SEE HOW IT’S DONE!!! I can’t stress that enough.
4) The Prices — great prices for an abundance of food.
and 5) THE FOOD! One word, «WOW!»
I had the drunken noodles with chicken. The noodles had great texture, the sauce was rich, spicy and delicious and the chicken was very flavorful and tender. And there was quite a bit there so I was quite happy.
Can’t remember what the dish was called that my wife had, but it had chow mein noodles, a brown sauce, Chinese broccoli and (she chose) fried tofu. Understand this, I do NOT like tofu — or, at least I THOUGHT I didn’t until this dish. I got to finish it for her because there was so much (darn the luck!). I ate every scrap, tofu and all. It was THAT GOOD!
One last thing to rave about. Iced Thai tea! If you’ve never had it, TRY IT. Be prepared to be taken aback by the appearance in the glass. It looks like tomato juice with milk over ice. BUT, it tastes like a Kahlua and cream without the kick. In other words, IT’S GREAT!
I’m seriously craving this place now… dammit…and we live 9 hrs away!
…if we leave now…

Solid Thai and Vietnamese. Lots of beef phở options. I like the eye of round. Meatballs are okay but not impressive. Reminded me of cafeteria or bad Ikea meatballs with cartilage in them. The fried egg rolls are seafood and pork but more fishy tasting. Drunken noodles and pad Thai are a little sugary. I think they add sugar to most noodle dishes’ sauce. Very satisfying. A large phở is enough for two meals. I go when I’m in the area or hungry before/​after shopping at the hong king market. Good service. Try the soda chanh yummmmmmmm.

Came to Louisiana for my cousin’s wedding. They live across the street from here so we went here to eat. Everything tasted like normal phở. They even had thai food too but I didn’t feel like taking the risk of trying thai food from Vietnamese restaurant.
Checked in and got some discounts. yay to savings!

The pad thai keeps me going back and the egg rolls are tasty too.
I love all the different coffee & tea drinks they have– I think I’ve tried a different one each time I’ve been there. & I haven’t seen puddings like theirs anywhere else either.
The servers are friendly (even if you need a fork instead of chopsticks), the restaurant is always clean and bright and the tv’s never too loud.
Hours are 9am till 7pm aside from Wednesday, which is 9am to 2pm.

Boy did this place go downhill.
I remember this place used to be decent for phở. I guess it went downhill after the ownership change. After a night of drinking, phở always sound good to me the morning after. Got the large phở dac biet (special) and it was just a complete disappointment. There were barely any meat or noodles and the broth was just plain disgusting. Broth tasted watered down and lacked flavor. I was hungry and since I don’t like to waste food, I still ate it. Some of my friends got the bun bo hue and claims it was good so I might give that a try if I ever return to this place.

Phở is probably one of the best things in this world, and Phở Danh #4 is the best I’ve had in the New Orleans area. Along with a great phở selection, there is a new Thai menu that is fantastic. The atmosphere is a little odd since the restaurant is so large and every time I’ve been, there haven’t been many people, but that just means more space to eat and quicker service!

I was trying to head to Phoenix Restaurant for lunch, since I was on the West Bank already, but as the phone number was disconnected and I didn’t see the restaurant at the Unilocal-​given address, I officially designate Phoenix as CLOSED.
Since I was by Hong Kong Market, however, I recalled having seen a cash-​only phở place inside and decided to try my luck. Although it doesn’t have that lingering smell of slow-​cooking phở broth, the restaurant is clean, large, brightly lit, and white – white walls, white tables, and brightly flourescently lit. The clientele when I walked in was some elderly Vietnamese folks chatting loudly, a couple ladies sitting down after grocery shopping, and two younger women who appeared to be having a business meeting. That last was kinda weird.
The menu is fairly simple; different types of phở, and a few other noodle offerings, such as bun bo hue, and phở ga. I didn’t trust the latter two because Daniel N. is always reminding me to only eat what each place specializes in.
I ordered Phở Tai Nam Gau (rare steak, flank, and brisket), and a fresh lemon soda. My drink came in two glasses, one full of ice, and one with lemon pulp, a slice of lime, and sugar at the bottom, and a bottle of Perrier, to make my own soda. Rad. The sugar never dissolved but its a cold drink so it shouldn’t, and it was sweet, limey, and refreshing.
The phở broth was clear, with a little oil at the top, and had a good flavor. It came with a lot of bean sprouts and basil, and they were fresh and not wilted. My brisket had a good amount of fat, but it wasn’t quite tender; the flank was drier, somewhat overcooked. All in all, a good meal. However, it was pretty heavy on the MSG, which I realized later when I started to get a headache, even after having drunk water and a drink.
Next time, I will ask for an extra cup of water to keep the MSG head ache at bay! Again, this place is CASH ONLY, so come prepared! Don’t run next door to the market and get cash back. They will laugh at you. Not that I know from experience or anything…