Hoa Bien Restaurant
1105 University Avenue West
Saint Paul, MN 55104
651-647-1011
(No website yet, but you can check out their menu here)
Like every time I go to a new Vietnamese restaurant, I start off with an order of egg rolls. The egg rolls here were perfect - crispy and delicious without being too greasy or salty. Yum.
I ordered the Pho Tai Nam (beef noodle soup with brisket) for lunch. Immediately I noticed that there were a lot of red onions on top of the broth, and also the bottom parts of a couple of green onions. I'm an onion lover so this was a plus for me, but if you're not an onion fanatic like myself you could easily order without onion.
The broth was very tasty. It was steaming hot and full of the nice beefy flavor with hints of coriander and anise. Heck, I could eat this soup without adding any hoisin or sriracha sauce - the broth is that delicious!
The chunks of brisket were large, plentiful, and very tender! The ratio of rice noodles to broth was nice as well - not too much, not too little.
The restaurant itself was very clean and modern in design. The wait staff was courteous and prompt. In fact, I placed my order and received everything within 5 minutes - a great place to head for lunch.
I'm serious when I state that this has been the best pho I have found in Saint Paul so far! I give this place 5 out of 5 stars, and would definitely return!
