{"id":11358,"date":"2026-09-17T16:04:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=11358"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T08:04:58","slug":"visiting-san-pablo-citys-pho-viet-nam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/visiting-san-pablo-citys-pho-viet-nam\/","title":{"rendered":"Visiting San Pablo City\u2019s Pho Viet Nam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>If you\u2019ve been to Vietnam, you\u2019d know that some of the best places to eat at are in those neighborhood eateries; their versions of <em>karinderya<\/em>, in a manner of speaking, where locals prep good <em>lutong-bahay<\/em> Vietnamese offerings sans the classy places of expensive restos. Here, the focus is always the food, never the blings.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So when we came across Facebook posts on Pho Viet Nam, located somewhere in San Pablo City in the Province of Laguna, we sort of expected to encounter what was experienced in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@outragemag\/video\/7686409982211820821\" data-video-id=\"7686409982211820821\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;\" >\n<section> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"@outragemag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@outragemag?refer=embed\">@outragemag<\/a> Looking for <a title=\"vietnam\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/vietnam?refer=embed\">#Vietnam<\/a> food while in <a title=\"sanpablocity\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/sanpablocity?refer=embed\">#SanPabloCity<\/a> in <a title=\"laguna\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/laguna?refer=embed\">#Laguna<\/a>? We <a title=\"lgbt\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/lgbt?refer=embed\">#LGBT<\/a> checked <a title=\"phovietnam\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/phovietnam?refer=embed\">#PhoVietNam<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"\u266c original sound  - Outrage Magazine\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/music\/original-sound-Outrage-Magazine-7686410016964479762?refer=embed\">\u266c original sound  &#8211; Outrage Magazine<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Una<\/em>, this is not the most accessible place even for those with vehicles from Metro Manila. This is because you still have to travel for over an hour (if you\u2019re lucky traffic-wise), and spend on your gas and the toll and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note that when you\u2019re also along Apolinario Mabini Street, the resto isn\u2019t apparent. It is located at the back of another resto (Joy), so it is very easy to miss. There is, BTW, a small entry at the side of the resto, which leads to an outdoor parking space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Ikalawa<\/em>, the actual resto is cheap-looking \u2013 e.g. plastic d\u00e9cor, running lights here and there, and so on. Very <em>karinderya<\/em>; cheap <em>karinderya<\/em>, for that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Ikatlo<\/em>, the servers were okay <em>naman<\/em>; they knew what was on the menu, and \u2013 after making quick recommendations \u2013 kept you undisturbed to enjoy what you ordered. The orders took some time to be prepped, however; I was even able to order bad-tasting fries from the other resto due to the waiting time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Ika-apat<\/em>, how was the food?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the \u20b1245 Beef Noodle Soup and the \u20b1245 Seafood Noodle Soup weren\u2019t bad <em>naman<\/em>; but they weren\u2019t good either. You get enough properly-cooked meats, the noodles are sufficient, and so on. Taste-wise, though, they were bland, and no amount of the prepared condiments helped in changing the flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u20b1190 Rice Paper Roll sufficed even if, by and large, it was tasteless. The saving grace: the satay dip since it was rich and nutty and all that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u20b1160 Meatloaf and Egg Sandwich (the <em>banh mi kep thit va trung<\/em>) had enough meat naman\u2026 and yet was also bland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Considering the asking prices of this place, you sort of expect a lot, too. Add to that the popularity of the place \u2013 e.g. look at all those who dine there, <em>kinukuyog<\/em>. Alas, the realities when already there are harsher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heading to San Pablo to check this place led us to the nearby Dagatan Blvd. surrounding Sampaloc Lake, a must-check place in these parts. So we sort of do not regret heading to San Pablo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But <em>buod<\/em>: No, Pho Viet Nam is not worth the <em>dayo<\/em>; not worth for you to intentionally seek this place out. The food wasn\u2019t bad. But it\u2019s not great, or even good either. It just suffices. And so, particularly for non-locals, the additional expenses for the gas, toll, <em>et cetera<\/em> make going there not worth it\u2026 sorry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But off we go for more LGBTQIA+ <em>rampa<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Pho Viet Nam is located at 130 Apolinario Mabini Street, San Pablo City, 4000 Laguna.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When we came across Facebook posts on Pho Viet Nam in San Pablo City in Laguna, we expected to encounter what was experienced in Vietnam (i.e. good food over so-so venue). We expected too much&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8,7],"tags":[19,1591,650,2596,110,1624],"class_list":["post-11358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-dining-out","category-travel","tag-health","tag-laguna","tag-nutrition","tag-pho-viet-nam","tag-travel-2","tag-travel-laguna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11360,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11358\/revisions\/11360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}