Red Pagoda

The décor is pleasant and the ambience is nice. Greeted immediately by the friendly hostess. I ordered the Phở Tuan which is a thicker and far richer flavour soup than the standard Phở. It has slices of tender beef, tripe, tendon, thick broth, onions, garlic and omg a poached egg so good. It’s a couple dollars more than the regular Phở but so damn worth it. The size of this bowl of Phở is deceivingly huge. I’m so glad that they didn’t skimp on quality here. The broth is so tasty. It should be part of the lineup of any comfort foods list. For a strip mall restaurant they didn’t disappoint. Whatever that means. Oh forgot to mention the tea tastes so different. It isn’t like the typical oolong black tea. I think the lady said its a mix of Tetley and Jasmine tea! Cool whatever works. I’ll be back to try their wings which looks good. I wish I could’ve had some. Oh and yeah I ordered an avocado shake, which was creamy, sweet and delicious. Hey I need to feed the dessert belly too you know ;p.

DOWNWARD TAILSPIN!
I noticed this place is now CASH ONLY with a 10% off Mondays.
Translation — we are going to compensate poor service by offering you even poorer service. :(
Sorry but I avoid CASH ONLY places.

One of the better phở places in Richmond. Only downside is that when someone orders one of those blended drinks, everyone can hear it really well, but other than that they’re great. I normally get their rice dishes, and their proportions are great for the price!

I liked the Red Pagoda. New fast friendly and tasty. Had the curry which was a bit runny but it was tasty. Yum! My friend had one of the combo meals with pork and spring rolls and it was pretty big. Would I come back again? Yes please.

In all the sense of the world: service, décor, ambience, food, and of course, the ice coffee. I say top 3 for sure from the dozens out there. But i digress…
I kinda didn’t expect too much more, after all, their DT and Commercial Drive are already not your typical holes in the wall, but the outstanding centrepiece for me are the booth seating, comfortable for 4 easily, and its light-​grey tiles throughout, almost like a stone-​like theme with a high def, prob. 33″ flat screen in the back.
Ordered the sampler for 2, though it’s listed in the appy section, believe me, it is more than enough, for $ 16.95 you get:
2 spring rolls
1 pork brochette sugarcane
beef short ribs
1 skewer pork
1 skewer chicken
1 salad roll
salad
and vermicelli!
Best part? the nicely grilled shallots, green onions, and not too overpowering either. or maybe the peanut sauce, probably the best ever too, very thick. perhaps better w/​some chopped peanuts, but now i’m being greedy.
Also ordered the deep fried chicken wings, more of the sauce than actually deep fried, and chose the tamarind sauce, more of a sour/​sweet, over the teriyaki or the fish sauce. It’s good too, and wouldn’t hesitate to order this again, but for sure, the sampler’s a winner.
Good service too, regularly filled the tea, and speak fluent English, if you know what i mean.

Another Phở joint has opened up in this part of Richmond (Ironwood Plaza to be exact). The place is small and narrow with the décor being quite modern and very clean.
I went ahead to order my bowl of Bun Bo Hue. Unfortunately, it didn’t blow me away. I actually found it a bit too oily and salty for my liking. Their spring rolls were tasty, but for 5.95, I wish they were slightly bigger (or included a few more pieces per order). The service was a bit slow when we were there. They didn’t give us any bean sprouts until we requested for them after our hot bowls of Phở arrived.
Would I come back? I think so. I wouldn’t mind trying some of their other items. Maybe they would have worked out some of their kinks by then.