Pho A&A: It's Pho Sure Good

Restaurant: Pho A&A
Address: 6700 Denton Highway, Watauga, Texas
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 10/2/19

Background:

Salam/hey guys! Today I will be writing about my first time trying a popular Vietnamese dish: Pho. Pho is basically Vietnamese beef noodle soup. It is really popular in Houston and, but there's no spot in Houston that has halal beef pho even though it's one thing that so many people want. In fact, there are only three Vietnamese spots in the entire country that have halal pho. One is Pho Ellie in Fullerton, California (Orange County), Simply Banh Mi in Washington DC, and the place I went and I am writing about now: Pho A&A in Watauga, which is about 11 miles northeast of Fort Worth. I first heard about it after one of my Instagram followers from the DFW area tried it and loved it. I immediately put it in my list of places to try. The only issue is that whenever I visit the DFW area, I usually go to the Dallas side since I have relatives in Allen (near Plano). Pho A&A is about an hour from there.

So how was I able to go and try it? Well, I went on a business trip to Fort Worth, and I happened to have time to try it. After checking in at the hotel, I went and tried it.



Let The Experience Begin!
Pho A&A is located at the intersection of Denton Highway (US 377) and Chapman Road. It was empty, so I helped myself to the table. After looking through the menu, I was ready to order.



Let's Eat!
I ordered a large pho bowl, which costed $11.99 + tax. Along with the bowl came bean sprouts, jalapenos, basil, and lime. The waiting time was 12 minutes and 21 seconds.



Menu: Menu (click to view)

It's amazing how much variety of pho they have, AND they're fully halal. They have a whomping 5 varieteies of halal pho to choose from. Along with the regular steak pho, they have one which has steak along with tendons and tenderloins, a chicken pho, a shrimp pho, and a vegetarian pho. Another menu item that looks really promising is the Korean Short Ribs, another thing not available in Houston. They also have a Thai menu to choose from.

Large Steak Pho

How it's presented. You Mix the bowl before eating

Bean Sprouts, Basil, Lime, and Jalapenos (aka the condiments of the Pho Bowl)

The Verdict:
For someone having it for the first time, it was legit! The way it works is that you add as much of the condiments as possible to give the bowl its flavor. The bowl was very flavorful, and it was also really big. Great value for how much it costs. The meat was nice and tender, and the noodles were cooked perfectly. They pho sure feel you well. No issues with the service.



Conclusion:
If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, take the drive there. Halal pho is a rare thing in this country, and this is the only spot in all of Texas to have halal pho. The people are friendly, and they feed you well. I hope there will be one in Houston in the future.



Grading:
Food: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Total: 17/20 = 80% (B)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Pho A&A
6700 Denton Highway, Watauga, Texas
Phone: (817) 656-4878
Website: None
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phoAandA
Timings: Tue - Thu & Sun: 11:30 AM - 9 PM; Fri - Sat: 11:30 AM - 10 PM
Caters: yes

Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Jade Ly Asian Bistro: Another Spot for Halal Chinese Food in Sugar Land

Restaurant: Jade Ly Asian Bistro

Address: 5022 Highway 90A, Sugar Land, Texas

Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte

Date of visit: 8/15/17

Update 1/13/19: This place no longer serves pork. And the food is still very delicious!

Background:

Salam/hey guys! Today I will be writing about a trip that I have been anticipating all year. This place is called Jade Ly Bistro. For the past 5 years there had only been one halal Chinese restaurant in Sugar Land: China King. Overall, it has been decent, but it would be really nice to see some competition. Another halal Chinese option would mean people being able to choose which one to choose from. After Hunan Chef closed, there had been a shortage of halal conventional Chinese places since Uyghur Bistro is more focused on food from Northwest China. By conventional, I mean food such as Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Beef, or Sesame Chicken. The only other options were Jamillah Garden (which has downgraded since my review) and Halal Wok (which I didn't even like). That all changed when I was surfing through Facebook and then someone announced that Uyghur Bistro in Sugar Land switched their chicken and beef to halal. From that point on, I made it a point to visit them and try their food to see if they are better than China King or not. There was some doubt of their halal status since they still served pork, but then the owner on Facebook as well as some other people stated that they cook the halal stuff and the pork separately. I finally set up an event between me and my friends where we convene there after we all get off work and give the place a try.



Let The Experience Begin!
Jade Ly is located at the small strip mall at the intersection of Grand Parkway (SH 99) and 90 Alt. The inside was not the biggest, but it looked really nice. There were only a handful of tables inside the restaurant. The lighting and ambiance of the restaurant were definitely better than China King. We were welcomed in, and then were handed menus. The guys and I decided that we try each popular dish they have so that we can determine how they compare to China King. After deciding among ourselves what we'll have, it was time to order.


Let's Eat!
Since there were 4 people in total, we ordered 4 separate dishes. Like China King, Jade Ly has all day combo specials, where we can get a main dish with various sides. The dishes that we ordered were: Mongolian beef with fried rice and crab puffs, kung pao chicken with seamed rice and chicken egg roll, Hunan beef with steamed rice and crab puffs, and General Tso's Chicken with fried rice and vegetable spring rolls. Soups came as well, but we couldn't share (I got the wonton soup).


Menu: http://jadelysugarland.com/menu.html
Most of the food items here are Chinese, but they have Spicy Korean Beef and Chicken, and small Vietnamese section as well. What's particularly interesting is that there is a section of the menu that is completely in Mandarin. Based on Google Translate, the translation for it is the non-conventional Chinese food with the prices. Honestly, it should be ok to have the entire menu in English and Mandarin.

Mongolian Beef wih Fried Rice and Crab Puffs

Kung Pao Chicken with Steamed Rice and Chicken Egg Roll

Hunan Beef With Steamed Rice and Crab Puffs

General Tso's Chicken with Fried Rice and Vegetable Spring Rolls

Wonton Soup

The Verdict:
As soon as we got out soups, we all agreed that the soups here were far better than the ones at China King. The wonton soup had much more flavor and taste than the one at China King. Then the food came. The first things we all noticed were that the food was very fresh and that the presentation was really good as well (this is coming from a guy who doesn't usually care for presentation). The plates added a nice touch. One bite in, and we realized that the trip was well worth it. The crab puff was really full of flavor, and it wasn't too crispy as well. The fried rice was great, and so was the Mongolian Beef (which was what I had ordered). My friend couldn't stop praising the kung pao chicken that he was having. I had a piece of it (and so did the others), and I thought it was excellent as well. Definitely better than the same thing I had from Jamillah last month. The food was washed down with a few glasses of water. Overall, two thumbs up.

Service was great as well. The lady serving us was very friendly and attentive.

Conclusion:
After 5 years of eating China King whenever the feeling of having halal Chinese in Sugar Land came, I think it's time to make the switch to Jade Ly. Sure, the Mongolian Beef I had there was delicious, but this one was much better. The service was also much better here. If you guys want to have the best halal conventional Chinese food in Sugar Land, then this is the place to be.


Grading:
Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Total: 18/20 = 90% (A)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Jade Ly Asian Bisro

5022 Highway 90A, Sugar Land, Texas

Phone: (281) 313-3300
Website: http://www.jadelysugarland.com/index.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JadeLyAsianBistro/
Timings: Tue-Sun: 11 AM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or email me!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed 

Saigon Subs: New Cuisine, Good Food

Restaurant: Saigon Subs
Address: 1809 Eldridge Parkway #109, Houston, Texas 77077
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 10/15/15

Photo Credit: https://d.zmtcdn.com/data/pictures/6/16893036/55176b697b7b2a546869f8f4020f2518_160_thumb.jpg

Background:
Salam/hey guys! Sorry I am running behind on writing the reviews. I have been really busy with school and because of school I have to constantly push back publishing dates for my reviews. Anyways, today's review is of a sandwich shop. It's not your usual Subway or a deli with vegetarian/seafood items. It's actually a Vietnamese sandwich shop. Yup another halal cuisine in Houston! It is obvious that it's Vietnamese because the restaurant name, Saigon Subs, has the former name of Ho Chi Minh City which is Saigon. I actually have never been to a Vietnamese sandwich shop, though I have tried vegetarian egg rolls and vegetarian spring rolls (the ones that are white and can see the fillings. I had a ray of belief that there would be some Vietnamese place that would be halal, but it's a challenge because of the extremely wide consumption of pork in Vietnamese cuisine. That was until I discovered that in Fullerton, California, there was a place that had halal pho! Pho (pronounced "fa") is a really popular Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of meat, noodles, and broth. It is a really popular street food item in Vietnam. I saw that it serves pho the exact same way as popular pho places serve here in Houston. A year and a half later, I discovered that this place had halal beef! I had been wanting to go ever since. The time for me came to try after I finished for the week at Prairie View A&M University. Our childhood friends and their mom, who is good friends with my mom, were visiting from Boston. I had time before going to pick them up, so I decided to give this place a try.



Let The Experience Begin!
Saigon Subs is located in the same strip mall as the relocated Crespo Pizza (I got a cheese pizza and Pepsi because I hadn't eaten anything since morning and was extremely hungry since it was around 3 PM) The ambiance was dark. The radio was playing, and there was a friendly lady ready to take my order. After confirming the halal status, I was ready to order.



Let's Eat!
I ordered the grilled beef banh mi. Banh Mi is basically Vietnamese bread, similar to a French baguette. It's a very popular snack in Vietnam. The banh mi sandwich comes with cilantro, pickled shredded carrots, and cucumbers. I also got a bottle of water. The waiting time was 7 minutes and 13 seconds.



Menu: Banh Mi, Subs, Smoothies, Coffee, Tea
This place, like the vast majority of Vietnamese places, serve pork. Pate is pork liver, so be careful. I saw them go inside the kitchen to cook the meat. They then came and put the remaining things in.

Beef Banh Mi

The Verdict:

The Banh Mi was actually pretty good! The grilled beef was really flavorful. The vegetables were fresh and the bread wasn't stale at all! The food was washed down with a bottle of water. Good job Saigon Subs!

The service was good too. The person was really friendly. I had no problems.

Conclusion:

I would definitely give this place another try, and you guys should give this place a try. It's the only Vietnamese restaurant that has halal meat here in Houston. You won't be disappointed. Now the countdown for a halal Vietnamese place with both banh mi and pho begins!

Grading:

Service: 8/10

Food: 8/10

Total: 16/20 = 80% (B)

Pricing: $ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information: 

Saigon Subs
1809 Eldridge Parkway #109, Houston, Texas 77077
Phone: (281) 759-5429
Website: http://www.saigonsubs.net/index.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Saigon-Subs-659477844148045/
Timings: Mon-Sat: 10:30 AM - 8 PM; Sun: closed
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below, message me on Facebook, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed