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About Our Restaurant
Pho Ga Hai Phong is a cozy, family neighborhood restaurant located in the heart of New Chinatown in Oakland on International Blvd., around the corner from Franklin Elementary School. We open daily from 8:30 am - 8:00 pm and offer Vietnamese, Chinese, and American cuisine, so our home-style noodle and rice plates are perfect for busy families always on the go. Stop in for a quick, delicious snack, like Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup), Vietnamese egg rolls, or fried chicken wings. Or enjoy a more relaxed family meal with appetizers and entrees, such as clam chowder soup, garlic bread, black pepper New York steak with bell peppers, topped off with a refreshing turtle shell jello drink or soy bean milk.
We offer a kids menu featuring child-sized portions of our Pho Ga, and chicken wings with French fries or fried rice. We have a variety of specialty drinks such as fresh lemonade, sour plum soda, papaya drink or Vietnamese ice coffee.
What is the significance of “Pho Ga Hai Phong”?
According to Wikipedia, Pho is a Vietnamese thinly sliced meat and rice noodle soup dish often served with basil, lime, sprouts and peppers that are added to the soup by the customer (as well as any condiments desired). “Ga” means “chicken” in Vietnamese, so Pho Ga is chicken noodle soup served with beansprouts, basil, and lime. Hai Phong, the third most populous city in Vietnam, is located in the center of the Red River in the Northern region. We named our restaurant after our most popular dish and in honor of the city we first learned to cook.
About Our Chefs
Both Chef Wong and Chef “Mommy” Truong formerly worked at Bosco's Bones and Brew Restaurant in Sunol, which specialized in Italian and American cuisine. Chef Truong is so popular with staff and customers, that everyone affectionately calls her “Mommy”. Mommy grew up in Hai Phong, Vietnam, and as the second oldest child, she was assigned the task of preparing the family meals. Since age 9, Mommy had to cook all the meals for her entire family of eight, because her parents were out working hard to catch fish on their boat all day. She learned to make soup broth and other simple meals by wandering around and watching the neighbors cook. When she was 13 years old, she learned to make pho and honed her Vietnamese culinary skills. When she arrived in America, she raised her own family of four children which resulted in her cooking repertoire expanding to include more Chinese and American style dishes.
Since her English is limited, Mommy often worked in various restaurants (such as Le Cheval in Oakland, Cafe Enrico in Alameda, Dino’s in Castro Valley, and others) as a dishwasher or assistant in the kitchen, where she observed the chefs preparing exquisite dishes. She would go home to practice what she learned, and then using her creativity, she would substitute her own ingredients, herbs, and spices to improve upon the flavors. It was Mommy’s dream to be the head chef of a restaurant where she could determine the menu items and share her home-style cooking and serve her family's favorite dishes, such as Pho Ga, Bun Rieu (vermicelli noodles with shrimp, crab, and egg soup), clam chowder, BBQ short ribs, and New York steak with everyone. This is why the Pho Ga Hai Phong menu offers 3 distinct cuisines: Vietnamese, Chinese, and American.
We hope you and your family enjoy this delectable blend of cultural food delights and will visit us and try our regular menu items, our daily specials, or our catering platters!
(510) 261-8008
Open Wed-Mon 10 am-10 pm • Closed Tuesdays
1120 International Blvd. • Oakland, CA 94606
Please browse our site to see how your family can enjoy Pho Ga Hai Phong’s delicious food! |
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