Delicious & Affordable Vietnamese Food in Dunhua
Pho越南美味 is a smallish Vietnamese restaurant in Zhongxiao Dunhua that mainly caters to nearby locals who are grabbing a quick, cheap and satisfying meal before heading home. It’s not fancy, but it’s clean and has a reasonable menu.
The first thing we ordered was cold noodles with spicy pork ($100). We’re huge fans of Vietnamese cold noodles, having enjoyed them on multiple occasions at Than-Ky on Yongkang Street and a place in our neighbourhood, so we’re always curious to see how they measure up. They were awesome: just the right amount of sweet and sour, and meat that was tender and flavourful. The lady working there kindly offered to cut it up into even smaller pieces once she saw us struggling with the big strips, which we appreciated. We would definitely order this again, and at only $100 we felt that it was a bargain.
The next thing we ordered was the seafood salad ($160), which was arguably not as great a deal as the cold noodles. Although $160 isn’t really breaking the bank, for the (relatively) higher price we didn’t feel like there was much seafood. Other than that, though, it was absolutely fantastic — the seafood was pretty fresh, and the sauce was tangy with a little kick of spice. We enjoyed every bite and would absolutely order it again, but we do wish there had been more.
The last thing we ordered was another cold noodle dish, which was a mistake on our end. On the menu, we thought we read that it was bun cha, a delicious dish that we have been craving ever since we left Vietnam. We’ve found it once here, but it wasn’t very good, and we’ve been actively searching for a better one for months. (If you know of a place that serves it, please let us know!) Anyway, it turned out it wasn’t bun cha — it was fried spring rolls with cold noodles ($90). Whatever, it was still great, although very similar to the first cold noodle dish that we had. The spring rolls were fantastic and the sauce was just as tasty, so we would also recommend ordering this, though the first dish was, in our opinion, ever so slightly better.
To wash everything down, we got some lemon juice (left, $40) and some lemon tea (right, $60). They were both really good, although they were definitely on the sweeter side. If you prefer your drinks to be less sugary, you might want to ask them in advance if the sugar level can be changed. If not, stick with water.
Check out their full menu right here. It’s all in Chinese, but it’s pretty self-explanatory with the pictures. Almost all main dishes are between $100-$150.
Overall, we really enjoyed the food here, although we were disappointed that the last dish didn’t turn out to be bun cha. Everything we ate was cheap and delicious, and we liked the bright, clean space. There are a great number of wonderful Vietnamese places in Taipei, and this is one to add to the list.
What’s the vibe?
Small neighbourhood eatery serving up some great Vietnamese food. Customers were mostly locals stopping off for a quick bite.
Worth it?
We think so! Most items on the menu were pretty cheap, and the quality of the food was good.
Would you go back?
Definitely! We really loved that seafood salad, and the noodles were great too.
Last updated September 2019
| Pho越南美味 |
| Hours: 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm |
| Phone: 0974 391 441 |
| English Address: No. 14, Alley 40, Lane 216, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 台北市大安區忠孝東路四段216巷40弄14號 |
