Day 1: Pho Xe Tang (Tank) 7/3/11

After checking in, my family decided to go to the older chinatown we call Vietnam Town. There are dozens of Vietnam restaurants there, but one of them was especially good. It is located on the corner of N. Broadway and it is always crowded. Every time I go there we have to wait and share tables with other customers, but it is worth it. It is not as good as Taste of Vietnam in Central Jersey, but it is pretty close.


My mom, dad, and I ordered the well-known phở. It consists of vermicelli noodles with beef tendons, beef strips, beef balls, bean sprouts, onions, green onions, and a beef soup base. The beef strips are put in raw so when the soup is put it, it will cook the beef strips. This is so the beef isn't too chewy.

Phở

My brother ordered one of his favorites: Pork cutlet on rice with ground beef and egg cake with fish sauce (which is widely used in Vietnamese dishes). 

Beef Cutlet with Rice

For drinks, I ordered young coconut water. I expected a cup of coconut water, but when they came out with it, it was the whole coconut. I was surprised that one coconut had so much water. I could even eat the coconut meat after I finished drinking.

Young Coconut water

My brother got a jack fruit shake. A jack fruit is a native fruit that grows in hot places. The fruit is generally sweet. They blend it in with milk and a little sugar and most places offer them with tapioca. 

Jack fruit Drink

Pros: Amazing food, good service, not too expensive, very traditional, servers are Vietnamese, good turnover

Cons: It's really busy all the time, share tables, small restaurant

Advice: Go ahead and share tables if you don't mind or else it will take forever to find an empty table

Overall: 5 of 5