Vietnamese food contains a startling amount of vegetables. At least to one who never willingly finished her vegetables and grew up on the All-American diet of pizza, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, and fish sticks. As a member of Worcester Foodies, I have the opportunity to try a wide variety of cuisine at excellent local restaurants, and I am grabbing this opportunity with both hands! At Pho Dakao, the dish to order is obviously the Pho. Of course I must go against the grain, so I ordered something I had never seen before. The dish is called Bun with beef tenderloin. I was presented with a large bowl full of ingredients separated from each other that I could mix together to create a perfect balance according to my taste. The ingredients included vermicelli, bean sprouts, shredded lettuce, mint leaves, and basil. Sitting atop this were delicious pieces of beef tenderloin sprinkled with roasted peanuts. The beef was tender and delicious, and it was tough to not eat it all first! There was a side of their house sauce, which I highly recommend! It was pink, and I am unsure what is in it, but it went great with the spring rolls (they are phenomenal and not too big) so I poured it all over. Being able to mix the ingredients for each bite kept each element fresh and the flavors strong-the vegetables did not get soggy and I could choose the amount of herbs I wanted with each bite. Being able to mix and match with the ingredients was great for me as I had some control and was not overwhelmed by the sweet flavors of Vietnamese cuisine. My first time with Pho Dakao was positive-fresh ingredients, well-cooked, great presentation, and good sized portions. Although Pho is their signature dish, it’s good to know that if you are not in the mood for soup, the other dishes are excellent as well!
