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February ushered in both the Year of the Fire Horse and the long-delayed grand opening of Phở Nhà restaurant on Feb. 22, which had been on hold since the soft opening last July. With the grand opening comes several new dishes showcasing the varied cuisine of Vietnam.
Although owners Angie Nguyen and Kenny Tran brought eight years of experience from their popular Noodle Palace in Carmel’s Barnyard Shopping Village, opening in Hollister involved a few unexpected challenges that delayed perfecting the restaurant and its menu.
“We were busy getting new staff in,” Tran said. “Some commuted from far away, which didn’t work out. And we had more items on the menu than we had space for in the refrigerator and freezer, so we had to narrow it down.”
The menu retains the signature dishes of Phở Nhà, of course, like one of the truly inescapable dishes in Vietnam: phở, made with noodles, a choice of meats and a bounty of fresh herbs like Thai basil, lemongrass and cilantro, served in beef broth.
Since opening, Tran has been tweaking the broth recipe passed down from his grandmother, which serves as the base for this dish and many others on the menu. Traditionally made with beef knuckle bones, Tran has increased the simmer time from the typical eight hours to 12 hours, to a now-standard full two days.
“You can taste the difference in clarity and flavor,” he said. “At the grand opening, aunts and uncles I hadn’t seen in a while were amazed. Now they say I have to be the one to cook at the next family gathering.”
The broth also serves as the base for Bún bò Huế, a variation of phở that adds beef flank and tendon along with a serious shot of chili oil, which turns the dish brick-red. It is the favorite of customer Joe Medina, who has a taste for heat so insatiable that he always adds jalapenos and sriracha at the table.
“I’m a spicy guy,” he said. “It’s one of those acquired tastes. I’ve had phở all over the place, and Kenny and Angie’s recipe is the best around. It’s out of this world. If you’re in the mood for Vietnamese, this is the place to go.”
For those who want a more intense beef flavor in their phở, or just something to dip their bread in, the restaurant has also started offering side orders of bone marrow, a byproduct of the two-day broth-making process.
One recent addition to the menu, after months of teasing, is the other famous staple of Vietnamese cuisine, the bánh mì sandwich. Tran only recently found a reliable source for the distinctive bánh mì bread, developed in Vietnam by adding rice flour to a traditional French baguette recipe, resulting in a razor-sharp crust.
“There are baguettes out there,” Tran said, “but we need one that’s close to Vietnam. It’s the dough inside. The Vietnamese, they don’t really like it doughy. It has to be fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.”
The bánh mì sandwiches at Phở Nhà follow the classic formula: a choice of protein, including beef, pork and chicken, along with cilantro and a mix of marinated carrots, daikon and jalapenos. An extra note of authenticity can be added with an optional slathering of freshly made pâté.
“Bánh mì shops are everywhere in Vietnam,” Tran said. “You can just pull off on your scooter, get a bánh mì real quick and jump back on to go to work. On any given block, there’s probably five bánh mì shops.”
With such simple ingredients, the key to a great bánh mì sandwich lies in the meat’s savory richness and the veggies’ freshness, which need that vinegary tang and absolute crispness. It helps that Tran is a stickler for using only the finest produce, inspecting everything going into the kitchen and refusing anything that does not meet the highest standard.
Nguyen was responsible for another new menu item with a long tradition: a distinctive yellow chicken curry made with tomatoes, potatoes, onions and carrots. Another recipe passed down through the generations, this dish is usually prepared for special occasions, particularly at gatherings honoring loved ones who have passed on.
“Everybody cooks it differently,” she said, “but this is how my grandma and my mom and I cook it. So it became our own dish. At home, you just cook a big pot and get a lot of bread, and everybody eats it together.”
The curry was a hit at their former restaurant, Carmel’s Noodle Palace and customers who had dined there begged Nguyen to bring it back. It is very easy to see the attraction of this must-try dish.
It’s a thin and mild curry, almost soup-like, with occasional hints of heat. It’s packed with large pieces of vegetables and chicken and served with a choice of rice or bread—though you are missing a bet if you don’t opt for the bread, which is perfect for dipping.
There are also a couple of new ways to start or finish your meal on the menu, joining the excellent egg rolls, popular enough that the restaurant employs a dedicated “egg roll lady” to make them.
Rocket Shrimp is the newest appetizer: shrimp seasoned with a mix of salt, pepper, and spices, wrapped in a wonton wrapper to resemble a firework, then deep-fried. The newest dessert is deep-fried wonton-wrapped bananas, topped with vanilla ice cream, coconut, and peanuts.
Nguyen is particularly proud of the expanded drinks menu. The fruit teas bring all the flavors of the country, including passion fruit, mango, lychee, guava, honeydew and dragon fruit. The coffee menu, a beverage that might be even more of an addiction in Vietnam than here, now includes specialties like salted sea cream, ube cream and egg coffee, but the straight drip coffee is a must-try for connoisseurs.
There is also a menu of blended drinks, with variations on avocado, taro and even one with Oreos—the cookies are another Vietnamese addiction, with shops stocking dozens of filling flavors that the US is sadly deprived of.
Tran’s favorite, for good reason, is the Double Fruit Yogurt Smoothie, with mango and strawberry. An essential in a country known for its daunting heat and humidity, it is a cool, sweet and refreshing drink, hitting all the notes of creaminess and rich flavor.
One smoothie brings back childhood memories for Nguyen, of summertime when the avocado tree in her family’s yard was in season.
“Every single house would make this,” she said. “We would get the avocados and blend them with coconut and coconut cream. It was kind of a home drink that everyone liked, very refreshing and healthy.”
The slow build-up to the grand opening allowed Phở Nhà to also develop a strong and loyal customer base, to the point where they can become concerned if a guest misses their regular day.
“We are seeing more families here than we saw in Carmel,” Tran said. “It’s a small community, and we feel we have a certain bond with the people who eat here. Everybody’s happy, and it feels good to know that they can count on us.”
Phở Nhà
1709 Airline Hwy, Hollister
(831) 637-2888
Hours:
Sunday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Phở Nhà on Instagram, Facebook, DoorDash and Uber Eats.
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