FUUD: Hale Vietnam in Kaimuki
November 20th, 2009 by CatSometimes I crave noodles — and I don't feel like eating ramen.
Too oily, too salty, too heavy.
My favorite alternative: Vietnamese pho (pronounced "fuh").
This is a traditional beef-based noodle soup that can be eaten anytime of the day. It includes rice noodles and is often served with Thai basil, bean spouts and hot peppers.
The beef-based broth is lighter than ramen dashi and far less salty. It has a cleaner, lighter cadence, too. You don't feel as full afterward.
Named Hawaii's best Vietnamese restaurant in last year's "Hawai'i's Best Restaurant Guide," Hale Vietnam
Last night I was craving something hot and filling. So we headed to Hale Vietnam in Kaimuki to get our pho fix.
Outside the restaurant on 12th Avenue. It has become a fixture on the Kaimuki dining scene.
Inside the restaurant, which is almost always packed with patrons. Even on a Thursday night, we had to wait for a table.
Hale Vietnam is known for its consistently good food. According to The Advertiser, it was among the first to introduce on its menu green papaya salad, summer rolls and sour soup.
Today it serves everything from Vietnamese iced coffee to a spicy chicken with eggplant dish that's out of this world.
It's most popular dish: the pho, of course!
Here's what we ate:
We started with the restaurant's temple rolls ($6.95), a vegetarian summer roll of sorts.
In it, a nice combination of tofu, chop suey yams, potatoes, fresh Thai basil, mint and Romaine lettuce, topped with a sweet sauce.
Next we ordered the stuffed chicken wings ($9.50), which came highly recommended by a friend who's a regular here.
This very tasty dish was unexpected, for sure. These wings and drummettes were stuffed with ground pork, carrots, mushrooms and long rice. Then they're battered and deep fried. Great texture and flavors.
We both ordered pho, the restaurant's specialty. To me, Hale Vietnam's broth — which is made with marrow bones, brisket and flank steak that simmers overnight with fresh herbs — is what sets this eatery apart from others.
The medium bowl is $7.75 — and enough for me — and the large bowl is a dollar more.
The BF had the oxtail version of pho, which comes with your choice of rice noodles or rice. (He chose noodles).
The broth, of course, was excellent — and paired nicely with the oxtail. And the meat was nicely prepared, well seasoned and tender.
The pho is served with a plate of fresh Thai basil, bean spouts, peppers and lemon wedges to add as you like.
Let's put it this way, he barely looked up from his bowl during the entire dinner. It was that good.
I ordered the medium bowl of pho with rare steak. You can pick from a fairly long list of add=ins, such as cooked chicken, beef tendon or tripe.
The broth was hot enough to cook the meat — points! — and the noodles were perfectly cooked.
Despite having lunch at 3:30 p.m. — and two appetizers — I still ate nearly the entire bowl. No complaints!
I can see why this place is so popular — and why patrons keep coming back. I definitely plan to!
Hale Vietnam, 1140 12th Ave. Hours: 10 a.m.-9:45 p.m. daily. Phone: 735-7581.
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Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at cat@thecatdish.com.
Tags: dashi, eat, food, fuud, Hale Vietnam, hawaii, Kaimuki, pho, ramen, restaurant, toth, Vietnamese
November 20th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Good morning Cat!
fuud pixs Friday!
This is one of my favorite places to eat Vietman fuud, everything is guud!
I hope to see you tonight!
November 20th, 2009 at 7:35 am
We were looking for Pho the other night and settled for SuperPho in Kaimuki. Wasn't bad, but I wished I knew about this place... I guess my craving came two days too early!
November 20th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Hale Vietnam is one of our regular eateries. I like the chicken pho and the sliced beef salad...filling with lots of medium-rare slices of tender beef. They also have a nice selection of beer.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:52 am
That bald guy in the second picture knows you're up to no good
November 20th, 2009 at 7:53 am
It's good to know Hale Vietnam is still around. One of my favorite places. I'll be there next week - can't wait!
November 20th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Just ate there last week. The stuffed chicken wings are phenomenal!
November 20th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Agree with E. Used to go there. Glad to hear the fuud is still great. And once again great pics Cat. Thanks for including pics of yourself and ur guy, adds a nice personal touch for ur faithful and not so faithful posters. Someone took a very nice pic of you. Hehehe, did he get it right on the first try?
November 20th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Hale Vietnam was the first Vietnamese restaurant that I remember going to many long years ago(before kids). I remember the summer rolls, stuffed chicken wings and other customers around the restaurant having their faces in this noodle dish that looked so ono. Eventually I had my first ever bowl of pho there.
You're right CT, sometimes you gotta have a steaming bowl of pho over ramen. Check out Tony Bourdain having his pho sitting solo table side on a plastic stool in one of his Vietnam episodes. Classic!
November 20th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Nothing better than chicken pho when you're trying to get over a cold. We ordered those stuffed wings at a Thai restaurant once, and were so full we could hardly eat the main course...
November 20th, 2009 at 9:54 am
"We"? "He"? When are you gonna roll out the new guy for a formal intro to those of us who must be content to worship you from below? I mean; if he's gonna hang with a celeb, he should get the Total Timberlake Treatment. Was that him, looking very John Cusack in a Nike track top, wielding hashi?
As a former pro at analyzing photographic data taken from a great distance for the government of a large and meddlesome country, it is my opinion that since the appearance of "He", you, in your photos have taken on a patina of elegance and sophisticated maturity not seen before.
Noodles or rice? Noddles or rice? I can never make up my mind.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hale Vietnam is one of my favorite comfort food eateries. Their pho is wonderful. I may have to try those wings next time.
We finally get to see who "he" is. Thanks for sharing Cat!
November 20th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
what exactly is "pho?"
November 20th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I so ono for ox tail soup or however I can get it.
BUT I don't care how good that pho is, I rather look at you (and eat same time)
Your BF gotta set his priorities right 
oldshoes. pho (pronounced Fa) is opposite of nea(r)
Nah nah joke. It's Vietnamese Noodle Soup typically with beef (but can have it with chicken) and comes with fresh basil, bean sprouts, lime and peppers that you can add as you wish.
November 20th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Ynaku: What the pho? :razz;
November 20th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
DiO
November 20th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
"Let's put it this way, he barely looked up from his bowl during the entire dinner. It was that good."
If I were eating with Cat, I would be looking up at her all the time, hehe!
November 21st, 2009 at 12:08 am
Fuud pix Friday!
That's the location of the old Radio KOHO studios......(listen to Frank Delima's routine....)
November 21st, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Ron: Thanks for bringing that up. Now I have that routine playing over and over in my head.
November 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Here's a related story to the "restaurant tipping" post Cat did a couple of weeks ago... someone actually got arrested for refusing to tip... YIKES!!!
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/20/couple-arrested-after-refusing-to-pay-tip-at-pennsylvania-pub/?icid=main|netscape|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2F2009%2F11%2F20%2Fcouple-arrested-after-refusing-to-pay-tip-at-pennsylvania-pub%2F
November 21st, 2009 at 2:56 pm
You'll have to select the whole URL above and paste into your browser's URL field.
November 21st, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Hale Vietnam is my fave for pho & bun. If you have a friend who has a gluten allergy, they can eat pho or bun since it's rice noodles! Took my hula sister there when she was in town and we didn't have to worry about what she could or could not eat. Even the imperial rolls are made with rice flour wrappers which was a treat, since she hasn't been able to eat egg rolls in ages because of the wrappers.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:08 am
In my opinion pho is better than ramen, wun tun min or saimin. It's the best. We always gop to Pho & Co. in Kapolei and to me it is better than anywhere else.
November 24th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Hands down our favorite pho place on Oahu. Glad you finally discovered it too.