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Song Huong
Categories: Restaurants Vietnamese Restaurants Chinese Vietnamese, Chinese [Edit]
1613 Nanaimo StreetVancouver, BC V5L 4T9
Neighbourhoods: Grandview-Woodlands, Hastings-Sunrise
(604) 568-1196
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
16 reviews for Song Huong
16 reviews in English
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Review from John W.
Richmond, BC
8/9/2011
very legitimate viet food.
Pho was not the best i've had in Vancouver, the best pho is in surrey city central.
Their make your own rice roll is very yummy, so is their barbequed lemon grass stuff. will come back again. -
Review from Rick C.
For Sunday lunch, we hit up this Vietnamese eatery deep in East Van. I rarely eat my native food out as I get it at home.
I ordered my usual of lemongrass rice with pork chop aka cm tm bì sn. It usually get this because it's often pretty safe and easy to get right. The meat portion was on the small side, but it was satisfying nonetheless. I was super disappointed in the service during the Sunday rush. It was pretty terrible.
I really hate it when a waiter takes my order without writing it down and inevitably gets it wrong. We ordered two chè à Lt dessert drinks, a coffee, and Coke. They brought one red bean drink and nothing else. When I asked, they said it wasn't on the order sheet. It was delicious nonetheless
The bún tht nng (vermicelli noodles with chicken and spring rolls) or looked pretty good as did the h tiu khô (dry noodles).
The food was fair and adequate. However, it was hard to shake the awful service. I heard it's usually fine and much better. -
Review from Florence C.
Vancouver, BC
4/29/2012
It's one of my low Vietnamese food experiences.. Came here with my colleagues for lunch. My soup tasted so artificially sweet (too much MSG?), and there's pork knuckle and pork blood. Too unsightly. Some people enjoy organs but for sure you can't serve these to every customer. The beef quality was also very poor.
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Review from Nat P.
Vancouver, BC
4/17/2011
Lets just say I've had Pho 's in different area codes, and I have yet to find a place better than this.
I have not had any of their other menu items other than the spring rolls (which were great) so can't comment on the rest of what they offer.
I'm just so in love with that steamy salty broth I can't even look at anything else...even after all these years. I don't even mind that the place has let itself go, and is a tacky dresser. (yes, the place could use some renovations, and there are plastic fruit dangling from the ceiling)
If you're into basil ripping, housin sauce squirting, and noodle slurping - Song Huong is where its at, Pho shizzle. -
Review from Johnson C.
Vancouver, BC
9/12/2010
Thanks to my recent trip to Vietnam, I was able decipher the meaning of "Sông Huong" - which is the "Perfume River" that runs through the imperial capital of Vietnam, Hue. Hue cuisine is very distinct being considered the "royal cuisine" and is replicated throughout Vietnam. Unfortunately, I was only in Hue for a few days and didn't get to sample as much of the famous Hue cuisine as I would have liked to.
Thankfully, Song Huong specializes in Hue cuisine - the most famous of which being 'bún bò Hue' - Hue-style beef noodle soup. Bun bo Hue is similar to the ubiquitous pho, expect using thicker noodles (similar to spaghetti), the spicier broth seasoned with chili oil, and the addition of ingredients like pig knuckles, congealed pig blood, etc. If you watch Anthony Bourdain - this is what he was chowing down to when he was visiting the famous 'Lunch Lady' in Saigon.
While Vietnamese foodies rave about bun bo Hue, I either haven't had good ones or my taste is far too pedestrian and should just stick with pho.
Joining my friends late, I found parking in the small gravel lot beside the big restaurant. As other have mentioned - the decor was pretty tacky and tropical. I think it was converted from a Hunky Bill's used to stand near this corner of Nanaimo and 1st Ave. My friends were seated in the backroom which is filled with diner-style booths. Seeing bun bo Hue as the highlighted specialty on the menu (large - $7), I quickly ordered it in my butchered Vietnamese as my friend had ordered long before I arrived.
I literally took one sip of my tea after ordering before a steaming bowl was brought to us by another waitress declaring "Number one large". My friends and I exchanged confused looks and we thought she brought us the wrong order until another waitress came by and told us it was the bun bo Hue.
I was a bit skeptical at first seeing that it was brought out so quickly - then again, I suppose it makes sense if it's their specialty. My bun bo Hue was loaded up with pig knuckles, dumpling, Vietnamese ham, beef shanks, congealed pig blood and was topped off with purple cabbage. The broth was well-spiced and flavourful, so I didn't need to add any Srichacha and I ended up drinking most of it. The noodles were cooked well as I know how easily they can be overcooked. I'm still not a fan of bun bo Hue, but it was probably the best example I've had. The gelatinous texture of the pig knuckle and congealed pig blood is probably still too much for me.
Some of my friends had to wait quite a while for their food but service was otherwise prompt. Overall, the prices are pretty inexpensive and the food was solid. Will be back to sample their pho and other Hue dishes.Listed in: East Van Eateries, Nam-couver
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Review from Joshua N.
2/16/2011
The selling point for this place is that they have the "make your own rice rolls" thing on the menu. It works like this: you get a plate of fillers (lettuce, mint, basil, bean sprouts, ginger, lemongrass, peanuts, tomato, plantains, cucumber and some Vietnamese herb that you might like but that to me tastes like wet dog), a bowl of dipping sauce and optional hot sauce (be forewarned, it's pretty hot), and a plate of rice noodles. Then you get a serving plate full of either slices of meat or whole sausage (there are varieties on the menu that you have to specify). Then you get a package of dry rice paper, which you dip one by one in a bowl of hot water until they get sticky. Then you put the whole thing together and roll it up (there's a technique to it but it's a little hard to describe without hand gestures).
The rice rolling process is a lot of fun, and the food tastes great. My friends who are Vietnamese (hey Thu, 'sup) rave about this place and especially about how authentic it is. It's also affordable: the rice rolling plus a single order of spring rolls came to $13 each (incl tax and tip) and all 3 of us were so stuffed we could hardly move.
I only wish it were a little more clean. The tables are stained and the surface is peeling on some of them. The vinyl-covered benches on the booths have been repaired with duct tape one too many times. The plastic chopsticks are mangled and pitted from 1,000,000+ uses. I'm sure this adds to the atmosphere... but I'm afraid that for me, this is the difference between 3 stars and 4. -
Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
2/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Feast of Beef!!! Beef in 7 different ways!
What does it come with? Beef w/ hot pot, beef salad, beef sausagey thingy, beef congee, beef ball, rice paper wraps, lettuce, basil, pickled daikon & carrots, vermicelli, and dipping sauce. Enough to feed 2 people. I love this style of food where you can cook the beef yourself and make rice paper or lettuce wraps yourself. The dipping sauce is killer! Great meal for 2 only $27 and taxes are included already!Listed in: Pho 'eva!
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Review from Thu N.
11/25/2010
This is my go to place for 7 courses of beef and Bun Bo Hue. 1 order of the 7 courses is perfect for 2 people - you get a beef salad with cabbage and a beef congee. The rest is just a fun interactive exercise of dipping rice paper into water, piling a ton of veggies, vermicelli and meat and make rolls. When you're tired of making rolls, I just put in some lettuce and vermicelli and sauce and meat in a bowl and eat that instead. A fun $27 night out.
I'm originally from Hue which is the food this restaurant serves and it is a good alternative for missing home cooked food. I haven't found other Hue places in town. I'd recommend this place for the authentic food. Ambiance of Vietnamese restaurants and service is just alright....but really come here for the food. -
Review from TOMICA D.
Vancouver, BC
9/23/2010
Sunday afternoons can be depressing. Weekends are so short - and it usually feels like you just have one day cause you spend half of Sunday feeling anxious about the work week ahead. Well I've found the perfect recipe to make your dark, rainy, depressing Sunday afternoons better. Pho. And this place has the best in town. It's such an easy, yummy, nourishing dish - and so cheap! Great for nights when you don't feel like cooking. Grab your pho and spring rolls to go, get into bed and catch up on your Mad Men, Top Chef or Jersey Shore (come on, you know you watch it).
Anyone else feel like a complete idiot when they say the word Pho? If I say f-oh (like fo sho!) I know I'm saying it wrong but if I say f-uh I feel pretentious. Anyone, anyone, Bueller?
PS I'm giving it 4 stars cause it's not the prettiest place to sit down but the pho is 5 star. -
Review from Andrea L.
Vancouver, BC
5/10/2011
The first time I ever went here was when my bf brought me. The times I have gone after have always been busy and sometimes I wish they had more people working instead of the 2/3 trying to cover 2 different dining areas & SO many tables.
I was amazed at the food, I was eager to try new things aside from the usual pho. There was something called shrimp & pork tapioca dumplings. It was weird at first because its much chewier than expected, but then its addicting with a little bit of hot sauce. Theres 3 t.v's available, the larger one at the outer dining area usually has Vietnamese shows/a hockey game, the smaller ones will have UFC or something else random.
If they re-vamped the place, I think this would be a definite go to place for anyone who wants great Vietnamese food!!!
Get out of the box and try something new! There is SOOO much more to Vietnamese food than what is offered at most places! -
Review from Jessie J.
3/30/2009
I have been living across the lane from this place since December, and kept meaning to pop over for some pho, but just never managed until last night.
The food was lovely and fresh, but NOT at all vegetarian friendly--I suspected as much from the "Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine" sign outside ("authentic" so often means "full of meat"!). Now, I eat seafood, so I can usually manage to find SOMEthing to eat, even at restaurants that authentically put some kind of meat or fish in every dish.
It was pretty hard here. I ordered the seafood pho, specifying that it should not include the pork slices listed on the menu. There was pretty much one other main course I could have had, the baby clams and rice noodles, which my mother ordered.
While there was very little selection for me, there was PLENTY for anyone inclined towards combinations of lots of different meats. My dad had the house specialty (number 1 on the menu) which contained all kinds of difficult to identify flesh, and he loved every bite.
All of our dishes were accompanied by mounds of fresh and flavourful basil, bean sprouts, lime, chilis, as they should be. And cheap! I think the "small" bowls of pho (all big enough to more than fill all of us at the table) maxed out at 7 bucks.
Just one more note before I drop the veg-unfriendly line: even the shrimp salad rolls (usually pretty reliably just shrimp, rice noodles and lettuce wrapped in rice pancake) had meat in them. I will go back because it's right next door, but if you're not a meat eater, this joint's not for you.
When I do go back, I'm excited to try one of the many Vietnamese drinks on the menu: I had such a hard time choosing between lemonade, coconut water, lichi juice, and drinks combining various sweet beans and coconut, I ended up opting out entirely. Next time though... -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
11/30/2008
This is a huge restaurant with a very mixed decor. The first room feels kind of like a tropical tiki bar from the 1980's combined with a Vietnamese beach bar. The back room feels like a renovated east coast diner. I don't know what was in this space before, but they certainly have "interesting" sense of style with what they have done with it.
They have a very large menu as well, with a good selection of the typical pho and bun, as well as bo 7 mon (beef 7 ways) and oxtail soup. They seem to have a lot of Hue style food on the menu as well including bun bo hue (which they highlight at the top of the menu) and the various tapioca based dumplings.
I just sampled their pho tai gan (rare beef and tendon). The rare beef was a bit more cooked than I like it. (I like it to come pretty raw and then cook to taste in the broth.) But the beef was flavourful. It wasn't quite as good as the beef at Pho Trang An. But it is better than most other pho places in Vancouver. There was a generous amount of tendon, and they were the type with good texture and bite to them. The condiments were fresh (bean sprouts, basil, lime, chili). The pho did have one addition which I have not seen at any other Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver - daikon. There was a large chunk of daikon on the top of the soup. It provided a really nice flavour and added depth to the broth. I think they used this instead of the sugar that some other places put into the broth, and it was a nice touch to serve it as well.
The shrimp and pork tapioca dumplings were very flavourful, as they were filled with fried onions as well. The ham that comes on the side with them was the typical Vietnamese mystery meat ham you find at Vietnamese bakeries. I'm not a huge fan of mystery meat ham to be honest. But I liked the dumplings.
I was amused that on the bottom of the menu it says, "All pho include bean sprouts, basil, lime, and chili)." That is the first time I've seen that written out and not just understood. It was kind of like how the quick Chinese take-outs offer lunch specials with soup and rice included (and listed on the menu).
Service was extremely friendly and efficient even though this huge restaurant was fairly crowded.
Overall if I am in the area I would certainly stop by again, and I'm looking forward to bringing a group and trying the bo 7 mon. I haven't had that for a long time, and this is the first place I've seen it on offer in Vancouver. -
Review from beki L.
Vancouver, BC
11/29/2010 1 photo
How come I have never heard of this place before?!
Bless my friend Mark & Dennis (my eating buddies!) for taking me here! They claim they have the best pho in vancouver! and did i test that? uhm...no...LOL!
i already had pho noodles a couple days at another place (yes..there will be a review on that later) so my palate was craving a rice dish this time.
i ordered the lemongrass chicken on rice with overeasy egg. we all started with an order of their spring rolls.
as great as my dish was, i kinda feel like i shouldve ordered the pho! chicken was good..but the lemongrass wasn't the best ive had. LOVED the spring roll. the soup they served with my dish was yummy with the rice.
Yah--gotta come back for the pho....judging by all the tables slurping the oversized bowls of brothy yumminess. -
Review from Simon K.
You want good pho and vietnamese cuisine at an affordable price, come to this joint, located on Nanaimo street, right off 1st Avenue, North bound.
Once you enter, you wonder what you just got yourself into, as it is very spacious and a little dim, and probably in need of a little updating. The things you notice are the bamboo looking tables and decor, the plastic tropical plants, the big fish tank in the front, the big tv playing Vietnamese concerts, and the tacky shale green floor!
The menu is full of choices of pho, rice dishes, and some very authentic Vietnamese food. I have to admit, sometimes the service is lacking, where it's hard to flag down one of the servers there, but this place is really about the food, and the price. Just remember when you are looking at the menu, the price includes tax already, what you see, is what you pay, and I think (if memory serves me right) a small bowl of pho is $5.85! One of the best prices in town, without having to sit at a food court.
Also, if you don't finish, as I just came here today, it's $1 charge for take out containers here, as they never charged before! -
Review from Daphne H.
7/4/2009
So we came here for the Bo 7 Mon and boy did I roll out of the restaurant. Apparently, its the only place that does this dish...
Like Marc D reviewed, this place feels like a cheap, tropical tiki bar with fake flowers and fake bamboo.
The spring rolls and salad rolls were yummy. But I've never had Bo 7 Mon (beef 7 ways) - its kind of a mix between hot pot and "popiah" ala Singapore style. Its tasty and very filling, best to go in a big group to maximize on this large meal. -
Review from teranika t.
Vancouver, BC
1/31/2010
I've lived in Vancouver for more than three years now, and at last, I'm no longer a Pho virgin. I now know what all the fuss is about - Pho Pho, Way to Go Pho! I'm a pho fan.This place was just as weird as everyone else has described with plastic fruit and Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling and diner booths in the Pho Annex. Loved it. Of special interest for my two-year-old was the ginormous fish tank in the front room - which saved us the trouble of entertaining her but made it rather difficult to feed her - had to peel her away from the glass. Oh, and Pho + 2-yr-old = mess. I wonder how Vietnamese children (and their parents) do this. The servers were very friendly and understanding. The only things less than spectacular were the appetizers (spring rolls and shrimp and pork dumplings - not bad, but not a repeat). Oh, and Vietnamese ham strangely resembles bologna.... All in all - loved it. Will definitely go back.
