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Today I had to have the battery replaced in my iPhone, so I took my phone over to my favorite wireless device repair, Yakety Yak, in Rocklin's Blue Oaks Town Center. What to do while the battery is replaced? How about lunch at Pho Hot, located in Rocklin, CA! As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: Pho Hot is located in a small suite in Blue Oaks Town Center, next to the theater, in Rocklin, CA. As the name "pho" suggests, all varieties of "pho soup" are the specialty of the restaurant, practically every dish featured in Vietnamese cuisine is on the menu.
Photo: It's just after 11:30 in the morning, Friday, November 22, 2019, and I've arrived at Pho Hot to enjoy... what else... pho! The great restaurant is a very popular Vietnamese restaurant in Rocklin. The gentleman at the counter is Mac, who would be my server today.
Photo: Close-up of the counter, and the door to the kitchen to the left. Pho Hot is a very busy restaurant, as the phone was constantly ringing, and a steady stream of customers arrived to pick up phone-in orders. As near as I could determine, it looked like three gentlemen were running the restaurant.
Photo: The menu is large, and offers several pages of all of your Vietnamese favorites. Today was a new adventure for me, as I'd never had a chance to enjoy beef pho, so I only photographed the "soup" page of the menu.
Photo: I'm ready to enjoy my bowl of "Combination Pho" for lunch at Pho Hot. Notice the size of the "Large" bowl... can you believe the size of this? It was delicious, I loved it, and I ate every drop of it, and everything except for the sprig of basil. Service is lightning fast, as my lunch arrived in less than ten minutes after I placed my order. I assume they must have a large pot of broth and noodles on a back burner in the kitchen, and just add extras to customize each menu selection. My server was friendly enough, but he seemed very hesitant to have his photo taken, so I didn't press the point further. I know enough about Vietnamese culture to know that many folks are very sensitive about having their photo taken, for whatever reason. He readily agreed to take my photo, as I prepared to chow down on the monster bowl of delicious pho.
Photo: From the "Beef Noodle Soup" known as "Pho" page of the menu, I chose #24, from the "top" of the menu, which always a great place to begin. #24 is simply known as "Combination Pho..." I ordered the "Large" bowl - only $1.50 more than the "Small" bowl, and I amazed at the ENORMOUS bowl of "Combination Pho" I received. The "Combination Pho" definitely is a beef noodle soup, as the cuts of beef include sirloin, flank steak, brisket, tendon, tripe along with meatballs. In keeping with Vietnamese tradition, the meat is thinly sliced, but the slices of meatball and tripe are much thicker than the rest of the beef. The soup itself if a richly seasoned beef broth, which tastes like it's made from scratch. I noted a very strong taste of cinnamon and ginger, which makes a heavenly combination. The thin rice noodles are mixed in with the broth, and there are LOTS of noodles, so many that I used a fork and ate them like spaghetti from the delicious soup. I noted onion, cilantro, colander and other goodies in the broth. It was simply delicious! A small plate of bean sprouts, lime wedges, a sprig of basil and sliced jalapeno pepper accompanied the "Combination Pho," which added to the presentation. I'm not an expert on Vietnamese cuisine - in fact I'm an amateur - so I simply dumped everything, with the exception of the basil, into the bowl of pho and enjoyed.
Photo: In the end, I simply dumped the bowl of mung bean sprouts, pepper and lime wedges into my bowl of "Combination Pho" and enjoyed. I left the sprig of basil out of the soup, but I stuffed it into my pocket to take home with me, and save the leaves for another occasion. Note the large, juicy piece of tripe. Delicious! The "Combination Pho" is delicious, you won't leave hungry, and the service is as fast as it gets. Taking photos of the staff is difficult, but if that's ok with you, there's a great bowl of hot pho waiting for you at Pho Hot, in Rocklin, CA. Pho Hot Copyright(c) 2019 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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