So, the rumor has it that you will either vomit or shit your pants right after eating a bowl of their self proclaimed "Best chicken pho in history". They have also claimed that it is "so dericious that you'll cry"... Is that before or after you have destroyed the toilet? Or will it make you cry yourself to sleep? Wait, that's what I do on a nightly basis. Ok, calm down people, I'm just fucking with y'all sensitive triggered mofos. There was a lot of social media hype over this place a couple of months ago about them opening a location in "Atlanta" because their original location in NE Philly has been very popular with lines out the door on a consistent basis... But they failed to mention that the original location, Pho Ga Thanh Thanh, is in a very ethnic area with as many nail shops as they do noodle shops. The low rent space is also very tiny inside (hence the lines), but they do have a shower in the bathroom... I'm wondering if that is there to warsh up after you shit yourself. I don't doubt that their Philly location is good because of their clientele and demographics but will it translate just as well down in Atlanta? Let's go check it out...
I haven't been to the Hong Kong Supermarket mall on Jimmy Carter in a long long time... The market has gone to the darkside (I think City Farmers Market owns them now) and the old ass ethnic restos around there are just ok and since, Happy Valley's dim sum doesn't do it for me anymore there was no reason to really come up here... Until now. I'm guessing that they scored a great lease deal to bring something fresh into this raggedy ass mall... Something shiny and new to bring in the millennials. Pho Ga Tony Tony is very clean and modern with a country store vibe inside... Nothing visually says Vietnamese or any indication that it's a pho joint except for the words "Pho Ga". If I didn't know any better (which is the case most of the time), I would have thought this was some gimmicky Asian fusion chain resto in the same league as Tin Drum just opened by martial arts expert and celebrity, Tony Jaa. I heard they had some growing pains in the opening weeks with bad service, dirty utensils, bowls, plates and floors with people puking and shitting all over themselves... Maybe that's why it didn't garner the crazy hyped lines out the door like most new places do in Atlanta... Which sadly reminds me of my ex-lover, Lan Zhou Ramen, which is now a giant goat rodeo. Pho Ga barely got any attention on Yelp which reveals even more about the grub at this joint...
When you hear the word pho, people associate it with one thing, beef noodle soup... Especially, in this one horse town. No one is really interested in chicken pho unless the masses say so. This may be the perfect time for this fat fuck to make a visit... I hope it's worth the drive to this shanty mall, once again...
Cute round menus... Hope this shit delivers... No pun intended...
The menu looks like there are a lot of options but it's really just noodle, broth and chicken. The silly drinks don't count. There's 3 types of noodles- rice, egg and fat rice noodles. There's only one broth- their "world famous" chicken broth. I was really looking forward to the chicken over rice platter with a side of pho broth and ginger fish sauce but fuck you, Pouch, no cheekan wice for you! They originally had it on their official menu released to the media but somehow took it off quietly and no one even questioned them... Of course, this fat fuck questioned them about it. The server look at me as if I had four heads, no FOB, I have four stomachs like a cow... But this guy didn't even know what the fuck I was talking about... He was like "rice?". Yeah, motherfucker, rice, have you never heard of rice before? This guy was probably thinking he has been eating maggots all this time, he must be a big fan of The Lost Boys. This kinda bummed me out because I was totally craving chicken and rice. Oh well, this ain't the first time and it certainly won't be the last time I will be disappointed in my measly life. Let's just move on and order some vittles, shall we...
Their famous dipping sauce of citrus, salt, black pepper, habanero peppers and vinegar/fish sauce... It was pretty good but it was way too black peppery.
The standard issued accoutrements... Fresh and vibrant.
Assortment of chili sauces/pastes and black pepper... Seriously, more black pepper? I rather have white pepper instead. The 3 Crabs fish sauce was a plus... Best fish sauce on the market.
Quarter Chicken, $8. Eight bucks for a leg and thigh was kinda pricey but c'mon, Pouch, they did throw in a liver and part of a gizzard... But they don't give you any blood cake like the one in Philly. The chicken was pretty tender and tasty, but the leg was a bit tough and chewy. There was also a couple of hidden pieces of white meat under there. I can't tell if they steamed or poached the chicken that they served to the customers but either way, it tasted more or less the same. Dip it in the peppery citrus sauce and it does give it a nice flavor to the one note chicken. The only way to truly eat it is to throw it in the bowl and let it soak up the hot chicken broth.
Egg Noodle Pho, $5.95. First thing I noticed was that they forgot the thinly sliced onions like at their Philly location, but they didn't skimp on the green onions, tho. Before I take a sip of the broth, I wanted to try the egg noodle first... And it was spot on, toothy with a springy texture and bite. Now, for the broth... Slurp slurp... It's not bad but it didn't wow me, either. It had decent flavor but the generous amount of umami aka MSG kinda over powered the chicken essence. The more I drink the broth, the more I'm on the fence about it... And the more bloated I'm getting. I fucking love MSG but there is a point that the Pouch can't even take. And don't give me that shit about whities are allergic to MSG, you motherfuckers love Doritos which is basically all MSG... I've seen y'all destroy bags and bags of them at parties with zero side effects... That is until the crackers start to dance. The best part of this bowl of pho ga was the egg noodles and that isn't even really the right noodle for it.
Rice Noodle Pho, $5.95. They also offer a fat rice noodle for another dollar (which is a total rip) but the standard thin rice noodle is the way to go for any pho. Once again, they nailed the rice vermicelli, it was toothy with a nice bite as well and it wasn't all clumped together in a ball at the bottom of the bowl like you'll find at a lot of other pho joints because they portioned it all out beforehand and the noodles start to dry up and stick together. The rice noodles soaked up the flavor of the broth a lot better than the egg noodles. The broth was the same but after awhile you will start to think that it needed more ginger, cloves, star anise, coriander, onions, rock sugar, fish sauce... Maybe they were hoping the MSG could replace all of those spices. Well, let's doctor up the bowl with as much shit as possible...
The assembled product. This pic is of the egg noodles, both the egg and rice noodle bowls got the same exact treatment. Once, you put all that shit in there and let it sit for a couple minzies, the broth start to develop a different flavor and for the better. Believe it or not, I didn't even use any chili oil/paste/sauce in there because I didn't want to ruin the purity of the broth... Yeah yeah, sounds like bullshit to me, stop being such a little pussy, Pouch... But I did add some more fish sauce, just don't over do it or else the broth will taste like shit.
Was it worth the drive, Pouch? Was all the hype behind the "best chicken pho in history" make all your wildest dreams come true? Well, I didn't jizz in my pants but it wasn't a total disappointment, either. So, that's a good sign I guess... Their world famous pho ga broth did not make me cry but it might make me slap yo mama, though... Because a true mama-san would be using more herbs and spices in the delicate chicken broth. Even if the broth was as dericious as they claimed to be like in Philly, the only crying I would be doing is crying myself to sleep in my tiny studio apartment, alone once again. There's no fucking way you can (or want to) eat this more than once a week, the ultra high dosage of the umami additive is so powerful that it will make you bloated and thirsty... The good thing is that I didn't vomit nor shit my pants afterwards... But I did poo later that day, yay!
Splash.
5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd
Suite A2
Norcross, GA 30093
https://www.phogatonytony.com/
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