It isn’t easy to find a healthy restaurant in Oklahoma, or really in any place in the United States. Usually the food is greasy and can most likely lead to a heart attack if you eat too much of it. It’s easy to overlook the fact that there are many healthy Vietnamese restaurants scattered around the OKC area offering a much lighter fare: the ubiquitous noodle soup known as pho.

After the Vietnam War, Vietnamese refugees flooded the OKC area for a fresh start at life and started businesses around the Asian District. Among these businesses is  the healthy and convenient Pho Lien Hoa Vietnamese restaurant located at 901 NW 23rd St, Oklahoma City. This restaurant has a neat orientation with marble floors, organized tables and a large fish tank sitting in the back for everyone who walks in to see. They specialize in making Pho, a type of Vietnamese soup typically made from beef stock and spices with noodles and thinly sliced beef or chicken added to it.

My first thought when I walked inside was “Why does it smell so weird in here?” Coming from someone who has never eaten at a Vietnamese restaurant before, I feared for whatever it was that I was going to eat. One look at the menu, and I have never been so confused in my life. Everything seemed so weird and I really didn’t know what to expect. Spanish teacher Michael Kraus came along for the meal and, having eaten there before, had to explain to us all what it was that we were planning on eating.

When he heard that we were going to get pho, Kraus jumped at the opportunity because it is one of his favorite places to eat. Already sure about what he wanted, he ordered a P14, which he described as delicious.

“I like to add ingredients to the Pho as I’m eating it to see how different ingredients change the flavor.  I recommend not eating the jalapeños first, because afterwards it’s hard to taste subtle differences,” Kraus said.

I decided to choose the plate that seemed less strange. I ordered the C11 option which contained chicken, a bowl of fish sauce, and white rice. The chicken was a bit dry, so I dipped it in the fish sauce to make it taste less bland. This did the trick, however I poured it over my rice and let’s just say, I’m not a very big fish person. I tried to cover the taste with soy sauce, which worked at first but when I ate more of it, it became too salty and I basically just ruined my rice. The vegetables were decent, I wasn’t too fond of the cabbage but the cucumbers were nice. Even though my food wasn’t the best, I still had my delicious strawberry smoothie to wash out the taste.

Stephanie Emerson was also nervous and indecisive on what she wanted to order. “I am a picky eater to begin with so I was a little nervous to try it,” she said. She had the Pho tai Chi which had brisket and steak with noodles. “I thought it tasted bland, but it was not terrible, if I were to have it again, I would add more flavor to the broth,” Emerson said. She also had the strawberry smoothie, which she said was amazing.

“It was not too thick or thin,” she said.

The others’ experience wasn’t as nerve-wracking as mine and Emerson’s, thankfully.

Marionette adviser Kelli Taylor said, “I was so ready for my soup I forgot to put in the basil!”

Taylor ordered the P11 and she loved it. “The broth was delicious,” Taylor said.  She added a dose of Sriracha and soy sauce to even out the taste. The brisket added to the broth gave just enough fat to make it more filling. She was satisfied and ranked it a 4.5/5.

Gabriel di Gregorio ordered the pho with steamed buckwheat noodles, barbecue pork, and a shrimp crisp and paid under $10. He added tangy and spicy Sriracha sauce which turned the broth a red color.

“I really enjoyed the pho, eating all but the remaining broth. I would definitely go again,” di Gregorio said.

Isis Frazier shared my opinion with the blandness, she had to add other sauces in her broth to give it more taste. She ordered the P11 which was pho with beef broth, rare steak and flank steak and a mango smoothie to wash it all down.

“I enjoyed it overall and they also had really good smoothies!” Frazier said.

Camila Gonzalez ordered the M5 which had a mixture of crab meat, shrimp, noodles, and a variety of vegetables and with egg-rolls on the side. She described the egg-rolls to be delicious and she overall really enjoyed her food. To drink she had the sweet and sugary coconut smoothie.

“I liked how the cold and sweetness of it contrasted with the hot and salty food,” Gonzalez said.

“Tip to future customers: You should either know how to use chopsticks or be loud and proud with your slurping!” Gonzalez said.

Even though my experience wasn’t the greatest, I still would recommend others to come try the food. Hey, maybe you’ll learn how to use chopsticks! (I attempted many times but failed… but I managed to scoop up the rice with it). I would go again, but I would definitely choose something different to order. I’ll probably actually taste the pho instead of going for the less “strange” order. Try something new. Who knows, you might actually enjoy it!