There are so many fun pho puns out there. Pho-n puns. Ha. They’re all terrible, and I’ll try to spare you them. 

What I don’t want to spare you is the recommendation to visit Chao Village. If you like hidden gems, which why would you not, then you’re gonna love this place. Let’s par-tea :D

When I think of pho...well, first I think of the time that I was super sick for 5 days and dragged myself out of bed solely to drive to Garden Grove and pick up pho to go, and then spilled it all over my bare feet. I don’t swear, but uh, in that instance I definitely did. Woops, sorry cat, who was the only one there to witness my misfortune.

ANYWAY, otherwise when I think of pho I think of tiny joints in strip malls, where I’m definitely going to have planned a trip to the ATM in advance or hope that my friend I’m going with is one of those beautiful cash carrying souls. Because I definitely am not, and they’re almost always cash only. And they’re almost always hit or miss.

I’ve never had a truly terrible pho, because noodles and broth is always pretty good if you want comfort food. Who isn’t looking for comfort in the warm arms of a bowl of pho? I have encountered some VERY mediocre bowls though. I make my own pho, and it’s not amazing. But I’d give myself higher stars than some of these places.

Nestled right in the heart of Anaheim, you’ve got Chao Village. Right off the bat, you know you’ve got something a little different on your hands because it’s not located in a strip mall. It’s in its very own standalone parking lot. How VIP, of them, right? It reminds me of the setup from Green China or Chin’s Kitchen in the city of Orange (where my locals at???)

The interior is spacious and carefully decorated. Later on in our dinner we would come to learn that it was all lovingly renovated by the Nick, the owner himself. That was a theme that you can’t help but notice right when you walk in. This place is full of heart. 

It’s also full of deliciousness. On recommendation, we ordered the rocket shrimp. I like rockets and I like shrimp, so it was a given. I REALLY liked these rockets and these shrimp. Basically, they’re like a big expertly fried egg roll with a bunch of juicy shrimp inside. My boyfriend doesn’t really like shrimp so I kind of sort of ate six of them. No regrets.

He got garlic noods and I got tri tip pho, because who in the world passes up tri tip pho? Not this food eater, that’s for sure.

Give me a cup of Folgers coffee, and then give me the most meticulously grown and brewed cup of coffee in the world. I wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference. Give me a cheap bowl of pho and then give me one that’s been seasoned and slow cooking for days, and I can TELL, baby. And I could tell with Chao Village. This was a darn tooting good bowl of pho. I have a soft spot in my heart for the hole in the wall in Garden Grove where I had my first ever bowl of pho, but I will somewhat begrudgingly admit that this was better. Best bowl of pho I’ve ever had.

I’ve already posted this expertly executed noodle pull on Instagram, and one of the comments stuck out to me. “Food made with love is always the best.”

So true. I’m not talking about just because I love you if I fed you a janky grilled cheese sandwich made with one of those cheese slices and Wonderbread it would be the best in the world. 

I’m talking about if someone makes their broth for days and then throws it out because they don’t think it’s quite good enough. Or if they visit the store at least twice a day because they want to make sure they’re getting the freshest ingredients. Or if they used to be a chemical engineer and now use that knowledge to make the most dank of foods. 

Yeah, all those things are things they do at Chao Village. When we chatted with the owner he talked about how he uses ingredients four times more expensive than the other guys because they’re just so much better. If that doesn’t say something about that bowl of pho, nothing will. Except you, going to eat it. 

Bonus! It’s so close to Disneyland. After a long day of Disneylanding, a big bowl of pho sounds like the perfect way to finish off a day.

Food made with love. I think that’s what I’m always looking for. I’ve never loved places like BJs or McDonald’s as much as a good mom and pop shop. Because their food is made with love. Isn’t that food that you’d much rather eat?