Taste Vietnam in Houston TX

After a month our delightful visit to the Texas Hill Country had come to an end. We decided to return to Houston for a month to spend more time with our dear friends there. On our return the four of went for a taste of Vietnam in Houston TX, by visiting Pho Saigon Vietnamese Noodle House.

The Pho Saigon that we went to is in the beautiful Houston suburb of Pearland. But the have several other location across Texas. In fact, they were voted Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Houston!

The four of us had enjoyed delicious Vietnamese food at a couple of other restaurants in Pearland, but this one was new to us. The menu was enormous, especially for such a tiny, casual but pretty, space. The food was outstanding!

Before opening his own restaurant, P. B, Tran worked for 12 years for a Vietnamese restaurant chain that had locations throughout the U.S. He’d worked his way up from General Manager to International Manager helping with the company’s expansion as far away as Southeast Asia.

In 1998 he decided to leave to pursue his own dream of opening a restaurant the he and his wife could operate together. They wanted a local place so he didn’t have to continue traveling as much as he had with his previous job.

In 1998 the Trans opened  Pho Saigon Vietnamese Noodle House in Midtown Houston.

Tran is a devoted family man and a man who’s completely committed to honesty and integrity. He treated everyone from friends and business partners to strangers with respect and generosity. As time went on he welcomed other family members and friends to become investors in his restaurant concept. Pho Saigon started as a mom and pop operation that, within the first five years, grew to five locations.

P.B. Tran is a family man, and is highly committed to maintaining honesty and integrity with all his cohorts, from business partners to strangers who walk up to him. He will always be honest and kind to you. With his generosity, he welcomed other family members and friends to invest in the Pho Saigon concept. What started out as a “mom and pop” shop, grew to 5 locations within the first five years.

Now, this delicious taste of Vietnam in Houston TX is in its 25th year with 9 locations across Texas. It’s growing more rapidly than ever.

After spending a good bit of time reading the vast menu items we had made our decision. Our starters were two orders of Gỏi Cuốn, which consists of two Fresh Spring Rolls of bean sprouts, shrimp, cold cut pork, vermicelli, lettuce, basil wrapped in thin rice paper served fresh with super yummy peanut sauce.

The rolls were large and amply packed with fresh tasting ingredients. You could put the peanut sauce on shoe leather and it would have tasted great!

Following that Laura and Stanley shared the Bún Tôm Thịt Nướng, a bowl of vermicelli with charbroiled shrimp and grilled sliced beef. The portion was definitely shareable, especially after having the Spring Roll first.

Steve and I decided to try a couple of Bành Mí sandwiches. It was something I was anxious to try for quite awhile. New Orleans has a huge Vietnamese community and I had read about how delicious their Bành Mí were, but I could never get Steve to try one. Finally, at Pho Saigon, I coaxed him into it! And he loved it. YAY!!!

Our sandwiches were on lovely, crusty French rolls and filled with luscious slices of marinated grilled pork, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, cilantro and jalapeño.

In fact, they were so delicious that we went back a few days later to pick up a couple for take-out. Now we are hooked.

About 10 days later the four of us returned to Pho Saigon for another taste of Vietnam in Houston TX. Again we started with the amazing Spring Rolls, but this time all four of us had Bành Mí.

And now, months later telling you about this delicious food, I realize that I can’t wait to return to Pearland for both the food and the friendship.