As its name clearly puts it, Pho Bar cleverly combines the concept of the Vietnamese pho (beef noodle soup) and a Japanese ramen bar. Situated in the narrow alley of Li Yuen Street West in Central, Pho Bar is a casual contemporary noodle shop featuring a long bar table along the open kitchen. Like at a ramen shop, guests are given an order form, where you pick the specific parts of the beef, the type of noodles and a selection of condiments. Apart from the expected medium rare filet mignon slices, you get unusual choices such as beef brisket, oxtail, beef shank; and as for noodles, healthy-eaters would be glad to find zucchini noodles here.

Being a meat-lover, I went all-in for the Supreme Combo, which means you get every type of meat on the menu in one bowl: medium rare filet mignon, beef brisket, oxtail, beef shank, beefy meat balls, tripe and vietnamese sausage. I was told the flat rice noodle was sold out but I was happy to try the zucchini noodles. For condiments, they offer a variety of choices from mint and Thai basil to the more common bean sprouts and spring onions.

The star of the Supreme bowl had to be the soup. The soup was delightfully rich and aromatic, and with all the various herbs, bean sprouts and lime, the pho was more of the Southern Vietnamese style. The beef was not as impressive as I expected though, not even the filet mignon (supposedly the core of the pho). I think you’d get better ones from going to a hotpot shop. My favourite meat in the whole bowl was the briskets (definitely add extra!) and I’d suggest to forget the Vietnamese sausage altogether. The zucchini noodles was crunchy (shredded zucchini) and worked well with the mountain of meats piling on top. I like how light and easy the noodles was on the stomach but would think that the portion might be too small for some people.

There was no line when I went for dinner, but I wouldn’t be sure that’s the case for lunch. Good convenient shop for a quick pho fix if you’re around the area!

Pho Bar
Address: 24 Li Yuen Street West, Central
Hours: 11am – 9pm, Mon – Sat
Price: HKD 68 for ordinary pho, HKD 88 for Supreme Combo
Best for: Pho (duh, what else)
Favourite dish:  Beef brisket