越苑 - Yue Yuan Pho

Address : 12, Ln 155, Dunhua N Rd, Taipei City (台北市敦化北路155巷12號)

Telephone : (02)2718-0660

Location 2: 8, Ln 103, Dunhua S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路二段103巷8號)

Telephone: (02)2701-2523

Hours: M-F 11:30AM - 3PM ; Sat-Sun 11:30AM - 9PM

Eventually I'll get around to more Taiwanese food.. but today is not that day. Let us visit our SE Asian neighbors and sample their most famous culinary export... Pho. I don't know if this applies to the state of Vietnamese food in Taiwan, but there seemed to be a recent push in America for high end Vietnamese restaurants, with a menu full of words and phrases that I don't usually associate with their cuisine. Call me uncouth if you want.. but to me, Vietnamese food begins and ends with Pho and the accompanying fried egg rolls.... that's just the way nature intended it. Yue Yuan (越苑) in a short time has carved out a name for itself as the foremost Pho establishment in Taipei. Does it live up to its billing? Well, let's just say for now that I left very satisfied.

The necessary components.

Was only made aware later that this was the small sized beef Pho. Good value here. The broth was flavorful and the meat was tender.

Get up close and personal.

We came here on a balmy afternoon at around 1PM. There was a fair amount of people milling about waiting for a table. This is a testament to the popularity of Yue Yuan (越苑) since this was the first legitimately hot day in a while and people were still willing to wait for an opportunity to ingest hot steaming soup. After we got situated (by the hustling and bustling proprietor... who seemed to be the only one on the waitstaff that wanted to talk to customers.. but his booming voice was really all that was needed) we promptly ordered the aforementioned beef pho, a BBQ pork chop rice plate, a beef sandwich and some fried egg rolls... as you can see.. we weren't messing around.

BBQ pork rice plate with all the fixings.

The star. Very good and very appealing to look at.. a important part of any dish.

I've been told that the broth should be tasted on its own before dousing it with hot sauce and hoisin sauce, but again.. I know what I like, and I like my soup equipped with lots of flavor. Even with my heavy hand.. the essential essence of the beef broth could still be tasted. The noodles also held up well being soaked in the soup.. as a common complaint is that pho noodles will often become a soggy mess at the first sign of liquid. The beef comes only slightly cooked, but they will cook fully by just dumping it in the soup. I always found a Pho meal to be very filling if the soup is vacuumed up by your mouth down to the very last drop.. that broth packs a mean punch.

The rice plate was colorful to look at and the meat was slightly sweet and tasty. I don't know what else to tell you except that it was cooked well and tasted good... the end.

Alright.. let's make something clear. I adore sandwiches... they complete me. But it's something of a chore to find a fantastic sandwich here in Taipei (at least so far). Delicatessen's and delis apparently don't agree with the taste buds of the indigenous, and subway seems to be the status quo of a good sandwich. So there was something missing in my life, a gaping sandwich shaped hole. Well, bad news is that of course this style of Vietnamese sandwich is called a banh mi and isn't what I would call a classic deli sandwich. Good news is that it does not matter at all cause the sandwich is DELICIOUS...HALLELUJAH! Unlike most banh mi creations where a hacksaw might be needed to get through the bread, the baguette used at Yue Yuan (越苑) is warm and with just enough crisp to maintain its authenticity but not so hard to make eating a chore. The beef inside is juicy and tender, and the mix of sauce and pickled vegetables made me a very very happy fat person.

The delectable fried egg roll.. dressed up in its Sunday best, awaiting an introduction to my gullet.

Like much of the food that is now just finding a foot hold in Taiwan, calling Yue Yuan (越苑) the best Pho place in Taiwan isn't necessarily saying a whole lot. But like I have said previously, there really isn't a need to label or pigeon hole restaurants. Yue Yuan (越苑) is a quality dining establishment that provides simple but excellent Vietnamese fare at reasonable prices. After living in a East Bay of the bay area, otherwise known as a landscape where no good Pho can exist, I'm happy to discover such a good place so quickly in my new home.

Overall Yue Yuan (越苑) receives :