Diners at Tam Nguyen’s Pho King will immediately notice that the use of fresh herbs and dipping sauces distinguishes this Vietnamese cuisine.

Both characteristics appeared in the appetizers that my husband Laurent and I ordered: Vietnamese shrimp and pork crêpes for me ($5.75), and shrimp and pork spring rolls ($4.50) for Laurent.

Crêpes entered the Vietnamese culinary repertoire when the country was a French colony. The Vietnamese have transformed the crêpe into a tropical dish by making the batter with coconut milk, rice flour, turmeric, and scallions. At Pho King they add beer to the mix as well, making the crêpes crispy. Steamed bean sprouts and sautéed shrimp and pork make up the filling. The dish tasted bland without the dipping sauce made of salty nuoc mam fish sauce, lime juice, grated carrots, and water along with the accompanying herbs.

Traditionally, to eat the crêpe you tear off a piece, wrap it in lettuce and herbs and dip it in the sauce. Anise-flavored Asian basil, cilantro, mint, and romaine lettuce came with my order and gave the omelet a refreshing taste.

Spring rolls are like rice paper-wrapped salad rolls. The silky, sheer rice paper revealed boiled shrimp and thin slices of pork, bean sprouts, cold vermicelli noodles, and mint leaves. The bean dipping sauce made from fermented soy beans, coconut milk, rice vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and chopped roasted peanuts gave the spring roll the savory flavor it needed to be delicious.  

For my main dish I ordered a bowl of beef noodle pho soup ($5/small), Vietnam’s national dish. Eating beef in Vietnam dates from the French occupation in the late 1800s. Prior to that time the Vietnamese used cows as work animals only. Mai Pham relates in The Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table that the French or Chinese may have provided inspiration for the soup: the French with their pots-au-feu, the Chinese with their noodle soups, including ancient ones like chao pho and lac pho.

Whatever the inspiration, pho made its debut in its present form in northern Hanoi. Nguyen says that the Hanoi version of the soup uses more meat and does not come with all the side seasonings like Asian basil, bean sprouts, lime, and chilies as in the southern Saigon version.

The sirloin slices that come with the soup get cooked by having broiling broth poured over them, making the edges curl up and leaving the centers pink. Pho is one of those soups that you must eat with chopsticks. First you put in lime juice, pepper and pieces of the herbs (a little at a time). The herbs include the flower on the Asian basil for the perfume it gives the soup, bean sprouts and chilies. You then mix your soup and begin picking out the beef and noodles. The beef you dip in hoisin sauce made from soybeans, sugar and five-spice powder.

Flavors remained distinct in my soup. Each mouthful tasted different depending on what I was eating at the moment. The beef flavor was always present, but sometimes it was citrusy from lime, anise-tinged from basil, hot from chilies, or starchy when I ate the noodles. It is best to eat the soup when it is very hot, so that the broth can enhance the flavor of the ingredients.

While I was eating, the appetizing aroma of lemongrass chicken ($8.95) tickled my nose. This stir-fried dish, made with citrus-flavored lemongrass, thinly-sliced onions and green chilies, is a great introduction to Vietnamese cuisine for those who may not want to try the soups.

Nguyen also provides for those who like Chinese food by offering dishes such as Mongolian Beef ($8.95) and beef broccoli ($8.95). Laurent chose a delicious Chinese dish of garlic prawns ($8.95). The plump, juicy shrimp would please any seafood lover.

I drank a Vietnamese iced coffee ($2). A love for strong, filtered coffee is another legacy of the French occupation. Condensed milk is added to the coffee along with sugar and served over ice in this drink with zing.

Nguyen has some interesting drink choices on his menu like grass jelly ($1.50) and aloe vera ($2). Leery customers can ask for a free sample to decide whether or not they would like to order these drinks. Laurent and I both liked the refreshing aloe vera better than the grass jelly.

Nguyen notes that Pho King offers a Buddha Delight entrée of stir-fried tofu for vegetarians and can make dishes like the crêpes for vegetarians upon request.

Pho King’s tasty food and reasonable prices merit trying one of Asia’s lesser known cuisines.