Pho My Lan

The food here is delicious and very authentic. Since I first tried the Seafood and pig’s blood pudding Vietnamese udon, I became hooked and that’s all I ever order for take out now. It’s very different from Japanese udon and so worth a try. Phở My Lan may be the only Vietnamese restaurant in Honolulu to offer this noodle dish. I’ve asked others and they say it takes too long to make and there’s not enough demand.
Very friendly staff, but definitely very «local» in terms of interior ambience.

I recently came back here and I think that lady I mentioned in my previous review isn’t working here anymore? (Hallelujah~) I came here with my friend to eat dinner after school a few times. The food tasted good and the wait time was really fast. They guy server was very polite and attentive. I like the atmosphere of the restaurant with the colorful lantern decorations, quieter location and the silver Arowana fish in the back.

Our Phở My Lan experience just went up another star knowing the rude, old, slight of build man no longer works there.
My wife and I love the food and the family is always very friendly :)

This place is great we always come here on a rainy day… Like today. But the problem is they don’t check on you after they drop off the food… Other then that it’s all good!

Not sure if it’s jus me but last time I came here the phở was better then 2day. Maybe I was hungry back then …

New management is shitty as fck. Excuse the language but it’s true. Family when to order the phở and usually gets the same thing. New manager came up and decided for my family on 4 large phở’s… He came up and saw 4 people and DECIDED… When had it become the employees job to decide the meals to eat? My mom can’t even finish a small so why would she want a large!!! He then went away and my brother couldn’t change the order. And for the LARGE phở, my mom got 3 THIN slices of beef. They were really skimpy with the bean sprouts and all the sides as well. New manager of you’re reading this, you are not doing things right. And we’re not the only ones, seems like my friends are getting shitty service from new management too. Would not recommend at all, all he wants is your money for shitty food, bad service and an ignorant a**hole.

I used to come here ALL the time when they first opened years ago. The staff is young and they were really nice. The turnover was kinda high, always different workers. But now it’s a new owner.
Anyways…the man that takes the order now, it seems like he’s rushing you to make a decision and he wants you to order more. So if you just order like one small bowl of phở for each person. he kinda gives you a look like «that’s it?» He’s also kinda rude… makes you feel like he doesn’t really care for your business either.
I usually get a small combination with the meat outside. The portions are good. The broth is dark… so it makes me feel like I’m drinking beef broth. Usually the other phở places I go to, the phở broth is clear. I got the beef salad once and it was good. The amount of beef was decent. But I’ve had better. They have really good fruit smoothies. I like that they don’t blend the ice all the way so there’s some crunch to it.
The restaurant is big and doesn’t get busy often so you don’t really have to worry too much about the wait (it’s been that way every time I go.)

Been coming here for many of years but recently the service has been terrible.
Can’t stand the older man that now works there, He tried to charge me for extra bean sprouts telling me that the price for vegetables went up. Lol. So when I saw the owners daughter I told her about that so the next time I went for lunch & ask for extra bean sprouts he turns around and tells me OK I no charge you cause we friends. Wtf that’s just 1 of many complaints about he’s Suck ass service.
But none the less I still love there PHO & he sure as hell ain’t gonna soil it for me!!!

I’ve been going to Phở My Lan for a long time. First when there were large pictures on the wall of the owner — I called it the «I Love Me» pictures. The food was good. Then other relatives were running the place (the pictures came down, thank goodness). That’s when the service was pleasant, consistent and dining there was relaxing and enjoyable. The food was consistently good. The amount of veggies they gave was always generous.
Now there seems to be different owners/​operators … the guy with the sideburns, he’s okay. But the young lady — they gotta get rid of her. First, she brought out the plate of vegetables to put in the phở. There was only half as much bean sprouts as normal (I always appreciated PML’s generosity — the previous operators). So I asked her if we could please have more. She said, «They said no more.» When the guy with the sideburns brought out our 2 bowls of phở, I asked him if we could have more sprouts. He said yes and got them. Okay lady, what the phở?
We were finishing up when they were close to closing. When we were done, the girl came to clear the bowls away. She kept stacking and restacking them, so that she could carry them away. It was really annoying watching her, the way she did it. She was taking so long, I thought it was free entertainment. Then when we stood up to leave, she immediately rushed our table to wipe it. No lie, she couldn’t at least just let me walk away from the table. I actually had to take steps back and walk around her. Again, what the phở?
The phở is consistent and ono (delicious), but the service is going downhill. The good thing about PML is that the back door leads to the municipal parking lot. Perfect for if you need to wheel someone in who’s in a wheelchair or if it’s raining, you can stay dry.

I had the Beef Noodle Soup with Seafood (P22), I loved it. My son had «Bunoc.» My daughter had the same dish. It was delicious, with a lot of vegetable.
The price was comparable to Little Saigon, in O C California

Been going here for so many years, I am surprised I haven’t written a review until now. When I worked downtown, I would visit at least twice a week, and now about 4x a month. The owner, Quynh, and servers are all very nice, especially Johnny, who just cracks jokes and makes you feel welcome. The food is very good, especially the phở, which is my favorite on the island mainly due to their using fresh noodles– made specifically for PML by a local noodle producer. I think PML is the only restaurant in Hawaii using fresh phở noodles. You can really taste the difference. Everything I’ve tried on the menu has been delicious.

I came in for take out, and the guy was really friendly and polite. My phở and summer rolls came out extremely fast and in the mean time, the gentleman there gave me water while I waited. He made sure I had extra spoons and made sure I could carry everything. I told him I am only going a couple blocks anyways. The place was nicely decorated and peaceful, but roomy enough for a party. I love the ceiling here. This place has a great vibe, I will be going back.

We usually go to Phở 97 but they were closed that evening so we came here. It’s bigger & appears «cleaner» than Phở 97. I enjoyed the food. My husband likes Phở 97 more. Their tomato crab phở wasn’t as tomatoey as Phở 97, so I’d prob return to Phở 97 for that. But for their phở, I thought it was good. And i’d like to try other items on their menu too.
Staff were very nice.

PHO the SICKNESS
²⁄₅ Stars
Growing up my mom use to take me to phở here. I always enjoyed myself when I was younger, but I guess my taste buds weren’t as judgmental as they are now. My family recently came here for dinner and it was not the best experience.
SERVICE
The service is normally ok, but they always take a little longer than most places. On this recent occasion, they were even worst. We had a table for 8 and they brought 5 waters only. We also all knew what we wanted to order and kept our menus closed and piled and they still didn’t bother to ask if we were ready. There were two servers that night and one walked by to ask of we were ready and we said «yes.» Then he said he would be back. The other worker walked by us 3 times and totally glanced over our table and didn’t even bother to take our orders either. When the other 3 waters were brought to our table, our order was then taken. In the end, they didn’t even bring out our summer rolls so we made sure we weren’t charged for it.
FOOD
The Phở here is pretty good. Not the best on the island but good enough to warm yourself up. It is delicious once you add in all your herbs and sauces.
The Green Papaya Salad is also ok. It didn’t seem as fresh as other places. The green papaya was a bit soft and the sauce was extra spicy.
Overall, Phở My Lan is just an Ok spot. I still come here, only if I was invited or if everywhere else is closed/​busy.
**typed using iPhone App**

I love this place! My bf and I go once a week to fulfill our phở cravings. The phở broth is delicious and they don’t skimp on the veggies. If we’re feeling extra hungry, we’ll get some spring rolls on the side which are nice & crispy.
You can’t go wrong with the prices here. It’s also very easy to pick up takeout. Our order is usually ready within 10 minutes.

Phở My Lan is where I go to for the «bun» (dry vermicelli) dishes when I’m in the area. The meat is pretty flavorful, and it’s a safe bet. However, there are a bunch of Viet places around Chinatown, and depending on what I am craving (e.g. crab noodle soup, spicy beef phở, etc.), there are other establishments I would rather visit.
Service-​wise, it’s pretty standard Chinatown service: take order, serve food fast, refill water, and otherwise left alone. The things that kind of skeeved me out was when the waiter serving me did something not so sanitary, and when I saw a baby roach crawling on the counter as I paid the bill.
4 stars for the rice vermicelli, 1 star for the grossness. I still give this place a 3, because honestly, I think a good number of restaurants will have roaches… it’s just a matter of if we, as customers, see them or not.

I have been to phở my lan twice and the most thing i like from here is the bbq chicken sandwich. it’s good fresh but that’s the only thing i like it from here. Flavor they use on the chicken is good with crunch vegetable. you should give it a try
I heard a lot of people like to go here so i gave it phở a try but to me flavor of the soup was too blend for me. i felt like they didn’t make a good job on the broth.
Plus they don’t have the spicy garlic fried oil sauce that i like too, their hot oil hot sauce wasn’t even hot like they water it down or something. i wasn’t met my expectation.
i think if you like your phở blend and not salty at all this is place for you. i’m sure it’s more healthier but it doesn’t satisfy myself.
i hate the parking lot which it seems very dirty and dark, and the door way that connect from parking to the back door look very dirty where i don’t want to touch it. i don’t really feel welcome coming into the parking lot.

With so many Phở places in Chinatown it’s hard to pick just one but being a Sunday night there are lots less choices.
Phở My Lan is very good and clean with a great menu and quick service.
We especially like the Summer Rolls you make yourself, really tasty.
The Phở is nice and the Lemongrass Chicken is above average.

There’s no shortage of phở places in Chinatown. After a certain hour, however, many of them close. The great thing about this place is it’s open relatively late for Chinatown.
Likes: Open later than most places in the area. It’s clean looking. At work, we go to two places: «dirty phở» and «clean phở». This one is «clean phở».
Dislikes: I could say parking, but there’s plenty of cheap municipal parking or metered street parking. Haven’t run into anything major though.
Favorites: The combination beef phở that has everything, including the crunchy beef fat. It’s not exactly crunchy like granola, but more like firm cartilage. I love the different textures from that, to the tendon to the different beef cuts. The broth is good to me too, but each person has different tastes.
I’ve got to venture to the other phở places in Chinatown. It’s just so hard to go to another place when I already have two the I like (this place and Cuu Long II).

Big servings, non oily broth, lots of fresh veggies for my phở, and they have cool porcelain spoons and dishes. Plus, I like the pale blue décor and the cleanliness of the place… hard to find in Chinatown! Server was sweet, kept the waters filled, and phở was served super fast. The vermicelli here is excellent and they give you more veggies than other phở places. They even give you a lot when you take out!!!
This will be my go to phở from now on. It’s not crowded because it’s not in say, kaimuki. I don’t mind. Plus, it makes for a nice walk into Chinatown if you live in kakaako.
Go here and you won’t regret it.