I’m not going to lie, I was sorry to see KK BBQ House go.
It was my go-to spot for chow mein, in my opinion the best on the Shore. It had that deep brown wok-fried colour and the noodles never clumped. KK’s char siu, Hong Kong style barbecued meats, especially the duck, was outstanding too, as were other dishes like Salt and Pepper Chilli Squid. But the place was never busy.
They didn’t operate a website, so it was hard to find anything about them and the owners didn’t do much with the interior of the restaurant, on Lonsdale Avenue between 14th and 15th streets. I think, in the end, it was simply too easy to overlook, particularly on a stretch of street jam-packed with other food options.
I tell you this because I am trying to come clean about my predisposition towards Pho Spot, the new occupant of the old KK BBQ House space. As much as I love pho (in my top five dishes of the globe’s culinary offerings), somewhere in my subconscious I didn’t want to like this new addition to the scene; they would forever be the place that took over from my preferred Cantonese restaurant.
Objectivity is key, however, to an honest review and so it was with grudging resolve that I recently went to try Pho Spot, a brighter, more spacious and, loath as I am to admit it, a simply more dynamic business than its predecessor.
Pho Spot is bustling and I’ve noticed it has been since it opened in the spring of this year. I actually find this heartening. I would gladly see independent businesses like this, with quick, well-made, reasonably priced fare, take over from the pre-fab, salt and preservative-laden big box fast-food empires that still seem to find favour among time-pressed diners.
My son, The Boy, accompanied me on two back-to-back visits to Pho Spot. It is a source of no small pride for me that he relishes meals like this and understands “fast food” to be any meal that doesn’t require an hour-and-a-half of your time.
On our first visit, we opted for the eponymous dish, The Boy selecting a small portion of the soup with meatballs. I chose a large order of pho with flank steak, tripe, beef tendon, and fatty brisket. I’ve said this before: tendon is a great addition to a bowl of pho and, despite a texture that is not typically familiar to the Western diner, the flavour is rich and complex. The large pho is a substantial portion of food, especially by the time you load the soup up with basil and bean sprouts.
It is a matter of habit for me to augment pho broth with additional hoisin and sriracha, but I remembered this time to first try the stock without these additions to get a sense for Pho Spot’s take on this essential component of the dish.
Pho Spot’s broth has detectable notes of cinnamon, star anise and cloves, all wrapped in a warm cloak of roasted beef bone and fragrant herb flavours. I would describe this broth as subtle and delicate, a distinct style that contrasts some of the other versions I’ve had in town that are marked by tremendous depth of flavour. For a tenner, the full-sized pho is a great deal, packed with meat and enough broth to meet your liquid intake requirements for the day. We also sampled an appetizer of deep-fried squid that came with a great tangy and spicy dipping sauce.
Keen to try a bit more of Spot’s large menu, The Boy and I embarked on a lunchtime visit to grab a couple of banh mi, Vietnam’s stellar contribution to the sandwich sphere. Here is where I got excited. The grilled meats in the sandwiches were steeped in a deep and flavourful marinade.
The grilled pork version had lovely, heady round notes of garlic and soy, the beef option more fragrant herbaceous flavours. The sandwiches both featured the traditional garnishes of daikon, cilantro, cucumber and carrot, all on lightly toasted, still-warm mini baguettes. I might ask for the addition of chillies next time, but this is purely a subjective preference and the sandwich was in no way lacking without.
An accompanying mango-flavoured bubble tea was highly floral, suggesting it was made with alphonso mango. Other bubble tea flavours include honeydew, taro, strawberry, watermelon, coconut and papaya. Service is friendly and chatty, and a set of small speakers behind the till pump out incongruous, but nevertheless inoffensive and oddly endearing electronica, clearly the staff preference.
Our pho meal with a deep-fried squid appetizer and bubble tea was $32, our banh mi were $14. It is worth noting that the restaurant is open until midnight seven days a week. Pho Spot is located at 1442 Lonsdale Ave. 778 -952-6368
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. North Shore News dining reviews are conducted anonymously and all meals are paid for by the newspaper.
