Pho Xe Lua 24 - Vancouver, BC

lemon grass chicken on noodle

First day in Vancouver ! We just arrived and checked into our new apartment. A friend stopped by and took us out to lunch. The destination was Pho Xelua. I was imagining a typical Vietnamese noodle place with white tile, cafeteria seating and white walls. So when we arrived at the location I was surprised to see the restaurant was kinda tiny and more like café style with dark wood floor and a lot of décor. It feels homely and expensive. Though I found the price was not overly expensive and the quality of the food was great.

It was a sunny but cold day. So I selected noodle soup with beef and meat balls. Our friend liked the lemon grass grilled chicken there. So that’s what he ordered. Hubby ordered seafood noodle soup. We all shared an order of spring roll (goi cuon) and an order of egg roll (cha gio).



The restaurant was pretty busy when we got there. A big group took up the table by the window which I considered the best table due to the natural light. It’s always good to have natural light when taking pictures. The appetizer came out first and the egg roll was hot. When I took a bite the garlicky smell filled my mouth. Wow..I was amazed.

egg roll (cha gio) with the dipping sauce

Interior of the restaurant - feels cozy

The noodle soup was good and very decent portion. The broth was a bit dark but not a hint smell of star anise or garlic. It was still pretty good. Hubby's noodle soup had some fish ball and quail egg. He liked it. We tried the chicken from our friend lemon grass chicken and it was awesome. The amount of chicken was pretty generous and so was the fried shallot. I love fried shallot ! It adds a bit of crunch to the dish and a hint of spice.

Pho Xe Lua 24
3346 Cambie St, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2W5, Canada
604-876-6618