Pho Thai Binh Duong

11528 Bellaire Blvd.

This pho restuarant is a bit hard to find and is further West than Hong Kong Supermarket outside the Beltway. Located in a run-down shopping center, this pho shop specializes in something most other pho shops don't even attempt: dry pho.

The specialty here is "pho ga kho," that translates into "pho chicken dry." The general concept is to take the pho ingredients, chicken, rice noodles, scallions, fish sauce, pepper, etc., and place those in a bowl separate from the pho broth. But it's not that simple. They also top the dry ingredients with things you don't see in a normal bowl of pho, like fried bits of garlic and vinegared onions. The taste is really qutie different from a normal bowl of pho.

The way to eat this monster is to eat the dry ingredients (that are quite moist) and follow that mouthful of dry ingredients with a scoop of the broth. If the dry ingredients are too dry, add a few spoons of the broth to wet it up a bit. Add fish sauce and pepper as required to the dry ingredients. Every now and then munch on the optional chicken gizzards and hearts in the broth. Thank me later for this recommendation.