Pho Century Fine Vietnamese Cuisine

The broth, the meats, the noodles, my goodness, I just love this place. Been going here for years and I keep forgetting to drop a review. Definitely a must try joint.

What a great take out that did not disappoint! I happen to be in South Burnaby for appointment and needed to grab lunch. The beef bone pho piqued my interest so I went here for take out. I ordered bun bo hue and spring roll as well, the other must order items for me to try a Viet noodles place. Once home in Coquitlam, the food still held! The noodles didn't fall apart like Pho99 in Pinetree Coquitlam (great dine in but take out noodles just breaks apart). The beef bone noodles was fun to eat and broth was nice and light. The bun bo hue flavor was surprisingly good! It is so hard to find one that tastes good (it should have a seafood/fishy smell taste to it and not just spicy) without having to go to Vancouver or Richmond. The only minus was that the pork hock was just a small slice of hock instead of a piece of hock. The fried spring roll was so good!! It taste more authentic with crab meat in it and the spring roll skin is the right kind. Too bad I live so far away otherwise this will definitively be my go to take out place.

I was intrigued by their special beef rib bone pho for a very long time, and finally had a chance to try them the other day.With one order of the pho, you get two big beef ribs in your bowl. The soup and noodles were great along the slices of raw beef. The beef ribs, while big, was lacking some flavour, I also think they may have pressure cooked the bones which led to the meat being on the dry side but the tendons were still chewy. Would be great if they braised the beef bones slowly for a few hours.The chicken wings were good and flavourful, being crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.A very good neighbourhood restaurant overall and a great place to get a good bowl of pho!

We were worried about the service by reading some reviews that the service is very poor, but we were served very well which was amazing.The spring roll and deep fried rolls were great but nothing extraordinary. I liked how the peanut sauce was thick. I don’t really like it when the sauce is watery.The rib pho was really nice with huge portions. My husband could not finish. We both didn’t like the pho #2. The broth tasted watered down and was mucky. Very different from the beef rib pho. So i ended up eating from my husband’s bowl.And like the reviews, they don’t provide basil or jalapeños even if you ask. You only get bean sprouts and lime.I would go back for the rib pho and to try some rice dishes

Okay, it’s been about 7 years since I last visited Pho Century (geez, I feel old now). Located on the corner of Kingsway and Sperling (and next to Mr. Ho’s Wonton House), I had completely forgotten how the food was like here so I thought I should pay them a revisit.This place seems fairly busy during the lunch hour. The restaurant is divided into a front and back section with tall glass dividers separating the two areas. Unfortunately, this seems to make the back section a bit darker as the divider dims the natural light coming in from the windows.I figured I’d start my revisit by trying their Bun Bo Hue ($10.50) which included large chunks of Vietnamese ham, thinly-shaved beef flank, and a large chunk of pork hock.I actually quite enjoyed the ample amount of paper-thin beef flank as well as the Vietnamese ham, however, it was difficult to get any meat off of the unwieldy piece of pork hock. The broth wasn’t the best but it wasn’t too bad (too bad they give you a lemon wedge instead of a lime wedge).On a subsequent revisit, I opted for the Lemongrass Chicken and Pork Chop on Rice ($11.50) served with a fried egg. The grilled meat arrived with a nice aroma and I was surprised at how thick the piece of chicken was. Both chicken and pork had a nice char to the exterior and the egg had a beautifully runny yolk.The next week, I came back to try their Combo F ($13.80) which includes a deep-fried spring roll, 2 prawn paste on sugar cane sticks, and 2 grilled chicken skewers all served on a healthy serving of rice vermicelli. I really enjoyed this dish… the chicken was moist and the spring roll (which used a rice paper wrapper) had the perfect crunch when you bit into it. Although the vermicelli was served dry (and consequently clumpy), a bit of fish sauce fixed that issue.Having decided that Pho Century actually has some decent eats, I returned for a revisit in May and ordered the Pork with Dry Egg Noodles in House Garlic Sauce ($9.99) or Hu Tieu Mi Kho. This dish contained both bbq pork as well as ground pork and, while this is a “dry” noodle dish, there was plenty of dark soy garlic sauce at the bottom of the bowl. Even the umami-filled bowl of broth was a clear winner here.On a subsequent visit, I ordered their Vietnamese Ham and Pork Sub ($5.25) aka Banh Mi Thit Heo. While there’s not a lot of filling in this banh mi, the bun was crisp and crusty on the outside (something that’s a must for a good banh mi). I wish they used a bit more pickled veggies in this.The Shrimp Salad Roll ($6.15) or Goi Cuon Tom was quite good and served with a thick peanut sauce for dipping.I came back to try their Deep-Fried Garlic Chicken Wings ($8.99) and was presented with 7 pieces of wingettes that had been deep-fried to a crisp golden brown on the outside. Biting into these, I realized that they were hot and meaty on the inside but lacked any garlic flavour. I really wish they served a mix of drumettes and wingettes and/or wing tips.I was in the mood for some noods in late October so I returned and ordered their Pho Dac Biet aka House Special Beef Noodle Soup ($9.76 for large) which comes with rare steak, flank, tripe, and meatballs. Unfortunately, the rare steak was far from rare (usually you can see a bit of pink in the thinly shaved rare beef which you can cook to your desired level of doneness by dipping into the piping hot broth). There were plenty of noodles in this dish but I thought it paled in comparison to their Bun Bo Hue.Food here usually comes out fairly quick but service isn’t exactly the friendliest. While they do accept credit card (over $10), they prefer cash or debit.

Flavour is off the charts! Love that they include an element of spirituality within!

Beef rib pho noodles 3/10: ribs were dry and hard. Which is shocking since it's in a broth. But yes, it was difficult to eat with minimal flavor (maybe had some salt).Regular pho: 6/10 average according to my husband.Will not be back

Tried their bun bo hue twice. The first time was good, even though the take out did not come with garnishes, the meat was fresh. Their salad roll was not good.The second time the meat was too tough to chew, and the soup was not hot enough temperature wise. At least there was garnishes but it wasn't fresh.

Their grilled meats are super tasty!The smoky flavour makes it more flavourful.The portion of rice dish and Pho Bowl are huge, good to share. I can’t finish by myself.Number 3 - BBQ lemongrass chicken & pork chop is my most favourite here. The meats are very juicy. The taste is right on point. I don’t even need the fish sauce.If you order togo, you will get 10% off.

I don’t know why now many Vietnamese spring roll do not use rice paper to wrap. I am delighted to find one here!