Monday, January 24, 2022

Hale Vietnam Vietnamese Restaurant

Hale Vietnam is located on 12th Avenue, just off Waialae Avenue, in Honolulu, Hawaii.




Yup, I'm finally back with another post. Due to a busy new job and the ongoing COVID pandemic, I'm not sure how frequent I'll be posting. But the blog is far from dead...so many more adventures to go on!

It was my mom's birthday recently, and to celebrate, we wanted to get pho, one of mom's favorite meals. Due to the COVID-19 omicron variant, my dad was hesitant on dining in, so we placed a takeout order instead.



Inside, tables were spaced apart and patrons were seated roughly every other table. It was not a full house at dinner time on a Friday, but there are a few eateries in the area.

The menu includes the usual staples, including pho, stir-fried dishes, and summer rolls.





I ordered the medium-size #9 pho, which has rare steak and brisket ($14.50). For takeout orders, the meat and noodles go in one container, broth in another container, and veggies (basil, sprouts, and jalapeƱos) in a bag.




Since the broth cooled down a bit, I popped it in the microwave to also allow the rare steak to cook through a little more. I then added the basil, sprouts, and jalapenos afterward.




It was a good pho, soothing broth. I don't think it was the best pho broth I've had, but definitely a thumbs up. Good portion, although I'm not sure if recent increased food costs upped the price point to make it $14.50.

My mom ordered her #14 tofu and vegetable pho. She also enjoyed her meal, yet also echoed having better broth from other places. It's a tough market to stand out with outstanding pho here.

This blog post also takes the transport time into account. Although the pho noodles stick together after cooking and not being in hot broth, this didn't affect the review. Virtually everything focused on flavor and execution.

My dad, who isn't a big pho fan, went with sauteed beef and veggies in a black bean sauce ($20.95). This one was more an average dish to us. While everything was cooked OK, the sauce didn't really stand out. It was also much more expensive. Not sure if we'd be ordering that one again.

We waited maybe 15 minutes for the food, not too bad. Friendly service.

Hale Vietnam was an OK experience here. I'm not too familiar with a lot of food spots in this area, but it was good to try. 6.75/10

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