What the Pho? Chicken or Beef?

By Van Truong

Eating chicken Pho is like eating a chicken burger—it may be good but it’s not typical. But one place you can find a really great bowl of chicken pho, known as pho ga in Vietnamese, is Pho Ga 69 in Oakland (and no, it’s not the 69th Pho restaurant in Oakland). This little place really knows its Vietnamese noodle soup and never skimps on the essentials—mounds of noodles, slices of lime, bean sprouts, onions, cilantro, basil and jalapeno slivers.

Most people who eat pho prefer to order it with beef strips, beef brisket, beef balls, beef and more beef, ignoring beef’s healthier cousin the chicken. But pho ga is as good as pho with beef, maybe even better depending on whom you ask.

Pho with chicken and pho with beef may look alike by outward appearances to the inexperienced pho eater, but they are completely different because of the bones used to make the broth. Pho ga has a light, amber-colored broth and is much sweeter than beef pho. Beef pho has a blander broth that sometimes requires the always-provided hoisin sauce, chili sauce, or pepper to give it some flavor.

Chicken pho at Pho Ga 69 comes with a choice of either rice noodles or chow fun noodles, but beef pho always has rice noodles. But the choices of meat for both are many. For pho ga you can choose what part of the chicken you like best: breasts, wings, legs, thighs, eggs, viscera—even a whole chicken if that’s what you desire.

The owner’s trademark, a very flavorful ginger sauce, accompanies each bowl of chicken pho for dipping. The sauce includes chopped scallions, ginger, salt, and oil. Although the sauce seems very simple it goes very well with the chicken.

Don’t eat pho ga at a regular pho restaurant. Look for one like Pho Ga 69 that shows it specializes in Vietnamese chicken noodle soup. So if you want to try something new, or if you are tired of eating the same pho with beef every time you’ve been hankering for that hearty, delicious Vietnamese soup, visit Pho Ga 69 and treat your pallet to a chicken noodle soup that blows Campbell’s away.

Pho Ga 69
1221 E 12th ST
Oakland, CA 94606
510-533-6690