Forget the fact that Kanye West injured his head while going into 9021PHO on a sign outside the restaurant as well as creating quite a scene inside the restaurant with the pursuing pack of Paparazzi. This is a very good example of Vietnamese food in a Beverly Hills environment. The small restaurant is the brainchild of Vietnamese and Indo-Chine Master Chef Kimmy Tang from Saigon, and there are now four locations to choose from with locations in Glendale, Sherman Oaks and Westlake Village.

Without going into too many details, this woman has had a rough ride to get where she is today. Her family took ten years to get out of Vietnam and she ended up in Bakersfield as a teenager where she started working in restaurants almost seven days a week. No fat is used in her cooking, and Kimmy can be seen scurrying backwards and forwards from the kitchen to the customers-basically the ultimate in customer service.

We tried some of the basic menu items including the PHO, where you have a choice of beef, chicken or seafood. I went for the Spicy & Sour seafood version, very spicy and not for wimps. There are a lot of inexpensive add-on’s for the PHO, and most of them are priced at $8.95, just a couple of dollars more than you would expect to pay in places like Gardena.

Prior to that, she came up with a couple of real interesting appetizers that are not on the menu. Neptune’s Bubbles are Lychee stuffed with pine nuts and shrimp and are served piping hot. Ask for these when you go in, and also go for the rather amazing Poseidon’s Flutes, an egg roll filled with shrimp and taro. What really made this goodie stand out was the pineapple and mint sauce dip.

Next up, she came through with a whole cooked Red Snapper stuffed with glass noodles and black mushrooms, served with a spectacular coconut rice. She followed with a curry shrimp dish with snap peas, yam and tofu, which was served with Vietnamese curry sauce.

All Vietnamese salads are served with Bun (rice noodles) and for strict vegetarians, there are a choice of six entrees, and all entrees here fall into the $14-16 category. The wine list is small but functional, and beers from all over Asia are listed on the menu.

9021PHO is an excellent alternative to the overpriced and over-hyped Crustacean Restaurant which is located nearby at a fraction of the cost. If you are in the area for lunch then try the lunch specials, most of which are priced around $9.95

9021PHO
490 N Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Tel: (310) 275-5277

Street and Garage parking-plenty of it and inexpensive
Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.