Yummy Choice

Yummy Choice… Smily face.

OMG dude. This soup is like… OMG.
I’ve been to Wayside a bunch of times but am tired of the shoddy service and just wanted to be in and out. Their phở is sketchy anyway.
I read a review touting the chicken phở here and because I don’t like change I ordered a beef and a chicken to go. Standing in my kitchen I couldn’t decide which to eat because they are equally amazing. I“m gonna stuff myself silly on both.
Just what the doctor ordered for this cold.
Parking sucks, but if that bothers you, considering NOT going to midtown. Like, really.

A phở for you, no phở for me.
I never knew the name of this place, I always refered to it as «the phở joint downstairs.» As I live upstairs on Jay’s Café. I watch their sexy tattooed Vietnamese sons prance to and fro between restaurant and park when it’s summer time and they have their kiosk out during Concerts in the Park (boo!). So, I decides to come and eat here a few years ago and get some grub. I didn’t get Phở, I got something else I shouldn’t have gotten. It was horrible! I tried to feed it to the ducks at McKinley and they weren’t having it.
Smart Geese.
I vowed to never step foot in this place ever again. Until I got sick with the flu two weeks ago and couldn’t muster up the courage to get Won Ton soup at a place near my mom’s. I had to man-​up and make the journey down the stairs and to Yummy Choice. They only have one size, not an issue, and the to-​go was not entirely too small. They give you the hoisin, sriracha, lime, basil and sprouts to go. That’s dope. It really was a mood improver when I opened the carton in my studio.
But, wait… what’s this? AH! I’ve been gyped. They don’t even use beef broth, they use chicken broth. No bueno, man. They even use beef broth in third world mo’ped whizzin’ maniacs Vietnam! Still, it wasn’t entirely horrible and the effects were still the same to my sick little self, it made me feel better.
And that’s the important thing. Until I feel better and eat there again! Their sons will hear from me. With their smooth, golden, hairless skin, and their dark eyes. Natural muscular body with tattoos…
(blank stare) What the fuck was I talking about?

I was feeling lazy today and wanted to try Phở from a store across from my work so I went to Yummy Choice. It was a little bit yummy, but definitely not Phở. Maybe this is fusion chinese-​vietnamese food? The soup broth was more of a watered-​down beef stew concoction made fresh. Not to say that it wasn’t good, it had great flavor but was not the typical phở broth that I had been expecting; it was more of a won-​ton soup type broth. The beef pieces were inconsistent. There were about three pieces of thinly sliced beef that were a bit too greasy and some small cuts of what appeared to be tri-​tip that also tasted greasy. The noodles were a bit thick, crunchy, and undercooked and few in number. For $ 7.01 after tax, this was equivalent to a small-​medium bowl at a large price. To compliment the beef chunks and slices were beef balls; not a fan of fish or beef balls. So, no tripe, flank, brisket, tendon, or any of the other usual goodies that are included in phở. And the portions of beef were good for someone on a diet but not for your average patron. Five pieces of meat is definitely not enough.
To make this dish worth buying, they should increase the portion of beef, lower the price to $ 3.95, and do a better job on the soup base and noodles. Strike Two Yummy Choice. I’m definitely not going to see if the third time’s a charm.

I had high expectations after reading David L.‘s review. It was a perfect day to eat phở, but it wasn’t the perfect phở. All the necessary parts were there: big bowl of steaming broth, noodles, plate of sprouts with jalepenos, basil, lime — and the requisite chile paste. I doctored up my soup and dug in. Blech! The soup broth had too much flavor – as in fake flavor. The broth is supposed to be rich and beefy (in this case) but not overly tasty. It tasted almost like a soup mix. And that’s what I think it was soup broth made from the phở paste. It was too much flavor for me and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Holy phở! Good phở at a generic Chinese food restaurant? I’ve heard grumblings about Yummy Choice offering phở for lunch at one of their downtown locations, but was apprehensive. Was their phở real or faux? I mean, this is a place that specializes in exotic Chinese dishes such as «eggroll», «chow mein», and «fried rice». Could they make the transition from «eggroll» to «phở»? I was doubtful but as a true phở-​aholic I had to find out. After circling Caeser Chavez Park too many times trying to find parking (do we really need 2 meter maids going around 1 park during lunch?) I finally made it to the restaurant. The lady who took my order corrected my pronunciation of phở with the correct way of saying it (said as «fu», as in «fuck», not foe as in foe) which put me somewhat at ease. Glancing around the cramped dining room I saw a few people with big bowls of phở, and every bowl seemed to pass the visual test. One thing I was disappointed in was I realized I was going to have to mix the broth with the rest of the ingredients, but without a bowl. Getting a second Styrofoam container solved that problem. Once safely back in my cube, I delved in, curious as to what I’d find. At first I was confused as the ingredients only seemed to be noodles, peppers, and soybeans. It took me a sec to realize the broth contained all the meats. Everything looked right, so I was ready to try it. The official consensus? Not too bad. In fact I’d almost say good. It was a little bland and missing some brisket & tripe, but other than that it was pretty good. The thin pieces of steak weren’t too tough and the broth was very phở like. Especially when considering its origin. I admit it, I was pleasantly surprised. Would I go again? Sure. The only reservation would be dealing with parking. I want to give Yummy Choice a better rating for going out on a limb with the phở, but the other menu choices hold it down at three stars.
03÷02÷06 Update: I find myself returning week after week, not for the phở, but for the chicken noodle soup (phở ga). Its probably greasy enough to run a car for a year, but its still damn good. Especially on a rainy day. Good enough in fact to bump up Yummy Choice to a legit 3.5 stars.
04÷05÷06 Update: Pad Thai is now also served, looked great and will have to try it next time.
09÷14÷06 Update: Im still coming back at least once a week for the phở ga. In fact Yummy Choice and their phở ga has become my favorite to-​go lunch spot. And that means I must bump them up a star to a full 4 stars.