After another round of Kubb, I’d worked up an appetite and was ready for dinner. I had Pho Xe Lua 24 in my bookmarks (no idea how I heard about this place) so we decided to give it a try. It’s only a few doors down from the always busy Rain or Shine Ice Cream.
Hours are solid. Open everyday (surprisingly) from 11:00am to 11:00pm.
Sign outside.
We dropped in on a Tuesday evening (around 7:45pm). There’s plenty of seating inside and it’s actually quite modern compared to the usual Vietnamese spots we frequent. The ladies working here are friendly but they didn’t come back to refill our waters.
Menu is split into appetizers, banh mi, pho, Phnom Penh special soup, rice, vermicelli and drinks. Fairly short and simple.
Click here to see the full menu (1 and 2).
This chili flake paste looked thickkkk.
Trip #1
Herbs
The usual basil, bean sprouts and lime. At least the basil was fresh.
Bun bo hue (#18) ($10.50 large)
This came with what they call thick vermicelli (it’s the normal BBH noodles), grilled onion, cilantro, thin beef slices, ham and tender beef balls. Decent but the broth was clearly lacking in depth and flavour.
They tried to mask it with spice but even that wasn’t enough. There’s much, much better options elsewhere in the city.
Hu tiu nam vang (#23) ($10.50 large)
Special Phnom Penh style noodle. It came with rice noodles, grilled onions, cilantro, shrimp, ham and a couple of delicious fish puff cakes.
The broth was much more satisfactory. Better flavour, more on the sweet side.
Trip #2
Came with a few buddies on a Saturday afternoon after we played tennis in the area.
Herbs
Basil and bean sprouts. Same as the first visit.
Pho dac biet (#1) ($10.75 large)
House special noodle soup. Decided to try their pho this time around. Broth was okay; a tad salty and on the sweeter side. Good variety of meats (beef slices, beef balls and tripe) but it was fairly run of the mill.
PXL 24 was decent but there’s too many good Vietnamese options to settle for just decent. Cash only.
Pho Xe Lua 24
3346 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 876-6618
CHERRY BOB-OMBS 