The Pho: Gwangan

 

Recently myself and my fiancé found ourselves at a loose end, and hungry, in the midst of Gwangan. I’ve always been fond of the restaurant scene in Gwangan, finding there to be a better range to suit all budgets than the slightly pricier Haeundae.

On this particular day, we stumbled upon a tantalizing looking Vietnamese restaurant called ‘The Pho’. I was lured in by the prospect of a decent bowl of pho, something that can be hard to find in Korea!

The restaurant was quiet, so we were seated quickly and given menus to peruse. We decided to share a couple of bowls, so we plumped for the ‘Rare Beef Tenderloin Pho’ (9,000won) and the Sa Oh Ka Tom (10,000 won). I thought this was a cracking price considering how expensive any foreign food can be in Korea. The Sa Oh Ka Tom was excellent, with generous amounts of sliced chicken breast and plump, juicy prawns, as well as fresh vegetables. It had a lovely smooth garlicky flavour as well. The Pho wasn’t quite as impressive. It’s hard to find Pho with a broth that has the full, rich, savoury yet refreshing flavour you want, and this wasn’t quite there. Having said that, it wasn’t at all bad, and the beef was sliced wonderfully thinly and melted in your mouth. The fact that full sauce bottles were left on the tables to season the dishes was also welcome, as there is nothing worse than being left with a piddling portion of sauce to flavour your dish.

The décor is pretty cool, all warm, minimalist wood and bare floors, with a few choice Vietnamese installations, such as the cool hats you can see below. ‘The Pho’ also have a good selection of local and imported beers by the bottle, which we declined as your truly was driving. All in all it was a decent meal, and for a price that ensures I’ll be back the next time I’m lost In Gwangan!

Directions:

‘The Pho’ is located at Gwangan 1-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan. It’s just a block or two back from the eastern end of Gwangalli beach.

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Filed under: Food Tagged: busan, Food, noodles, pho, vietnamese

 
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