Pho Oi

"Pho" is often mispronounced. People tend to say Fo instead of Fuh. Out of nowhere, Pho places started popping up around Laredo and have become increasingly popular, quite like the ramen trend--although, that one never quite made it to town.

We went out to Pho Oi (located off Monarch Dr. behind HEB Plus) and noticed that they only had one waitress on staff. This can usually be a sign of bad service but maybe because we went around 8 p.m. it wasn't a hindrance of any kind. Our waitress was extremely kind and attentive, even going so far as to carry conversation with us and this is something that will really stick on future visits there.

Dim Sum 

In Laredo Dim Sum is often had fried as opposed to steamed, though steamed is traditional. The dish was brought to our table promptly and came with five steamed pork dumplings with a side of shredded lettuce and carrots. The dumpling had a soft yet chewy bite and was steamed to perfection. Sauce was a tangy ponzu chili flake sauce that was served warm and complemented the dumpling. By far this dish offered a great start to our meal.

Seafood Pho

The Seafood Pho consisted of crab, quail egg, shrimp, squid and fishball as well as rice noodles, cilantro, green onions and roasted garlic with a side of bean sprouts, basil, fresh sliced jalapeños and lime. The pho arrived to our table hot. A key component to all soups or pho is a flavorful broth. The broth is what really makes this dish shine. Most pho broths contain a lot of fat to give you a rich and velvety mouthfeel. Since the pho we ordered was a seafood pho, the broth lacked that mouthfeel but the roasted garlic and splash of sesame oil really gave this broth the "umph" it needed. The bean sprouts, raw jalapeño, and basil leaves gave this pho a nice crunch but also gave the broth a unique flavor as these components steep and marry adding to the overall complexity of the dish. Rice noodles are always exciting because of their translucency and these were cooked al dente. The different textures each seafood component gives adds to different mouthfeels and the quail eggs were a nice surprise as that's something you don't expect in a seafood dish.

Banh Mi

This was the least favorite dish we ordered. Considering that this sandwich is a Vietnamese sandwich (and we were at a Vietnamese restaurant) you'd think they could create a more signature sandwich. This sandwich consisted of sliced overcooked gritty pork on a dry submarine roll that lacked a base such as liver paté or mayonnaise and was reluctantly garnished with cilantro and carrots. This was an overall disappointment because of the omission of ingredients that are in a traditional Banh Mi. The missing components that made this sandwich amiss was the Asian slaw which consists of daikon radish, carrots and cucumber which add to the acidity and freshness of the pork and chicken liver paté. It also adds a slight crunch and texture that other components don't give. This dish could've used jalapeños and a little more cilantro.

Shrimp Fried Rice

The shrimp were juicy and succulent but that was the only upside to this dish. The rice was the same as the pork: it had this gritty, sandy burnt or charred texture that felt like I was chewing on sand. Maybe their flattop was dirty or had been used to cook another meat and had not been properly cleaned prior to making this dish. The rice consisted of fried egg, peas, carrots, red onions and bean sprouts. The bean sprouts added a nice crunch and the red onions gave a good color but were cut too large for this dish and when bitten into it was just too much onion that burned the nostrils. Overall, I would not order this dish again.


Prices were moderate, not too strenuous on the wallet and good if you're on a budget. If you go to this pho place, it's probably best to stick with pho. The Dim Sum potstickers were amazing and a must-try. As a strange side-note they do offer Lousiana crawfish boil though we didn't try any of that this time around. The dining room was brightly lit and had a massive LED chandelier which was off-setting. The wall colors were pleasant and neutral but lacked decor besides two TVs which displayed the menu and two others on opposite sides of the dining room which showed the news. While our experience with service was good, we were told there is usually only one waitress serving at any given shift which can lead to bad service if dining during peak hours.

Tasting Spoon Grade for this experience: C

Other Reviews:
Posh Sushi
Loncheria El Popo
El Puesto Food Truck
Cosmos Bar and Grill