Pho 11

Located on N Atherton Street, Pho 11 is a Vietnamese restaurant next to the Greyhound bus stop. I have been here twice during my time at Penn State, and I have enjoyed it both times. When I went to Pho 11 for the first time, I got “bun tau hu chay,” also known as fried tofu vermicelli.

This dish has a base of vermicelli noodles, as stated in its name, and contains carrots, cucumbers, carrots, scallions, ground peanuts and fried tofu. It comes with an option of veg or fish sauce, and I obviously chose veg sauce to keep it vegetarian. I really liked this dish! The noodles were cooked nicely, and the combination of vegetables was well put together. They gave a substantial quantity of tofu that was well-proportioned with the vegetables and noodles. The veg sauce added a nice flavor to the whole dish, and without it, the dish might have been a bit bland.

After trying the fried tofu vermicelli last semester, I wanted to try something else, so this semester I decided to go back and try “dau hu tai chan,” or lemon tofu.

This fried tofu dish is prepared with carrot, cucumber, fried red onions, radish, celery and crushed peanuts. It comes with rice, which is in the bowl on the left, and once again, I chose veg sauce between the choice of veg and fish sauce. It was pretty similar in terms of ingredients to the fried tofu vermicelli, but had a slightly different taste. The tofu was flavored with lemon, and I could clearly taste this flavor. I liked it, as the lemon flavor was not too strong, but there was enough of it to make sure that I could taste it. They gave the perfect quantity of veg sauce and rice for the vegetables and tofu, and everything blended well together.

Overall, the food was delicious both times I have been there, and I would definitely go back to try some more of the food! They also provide sriracha sauce in case you want to add some more spice to your dish. There was no wait to get a table, which was really nice, and the food came out pretty fast after ordering. The pricing of their food is not too expensive, and I would consider it to be about average. The tables are spread out, which gives the restaurant a very spacious look, and I really liked this aspect of it. In general, the restaurant had a very relaxed and calm setting with some light music in the background, and I enjoyed both meals here. An added bonus from dining here is a 15% off coupon at Kung Fu Tea if you keep your receipt. So just make sure to save your receipt from Pho 11, and you can get a nice meal here as well as a treat afterwards!