The thing about pho, the highly satisfying, Vietnamese beef broth soup commonly stocked with thin rice noodles, fresh herbs, and a variety of meat, is that it’s pretty much the same all over—at least, that’s the way it is in Las Vegas. We’ve got plenty of pho parlors all over town—not every city can make that claim—but there’s little variation from restaurant to restaurant. District One Kitchen & Bar has become my go-to spot, the hip Mountain View Plaza eatery on Jones Boulevard that serves Maine lobster pho and bone marrow pho, among other versions.
On the advice of a fellow fantastic food hunter, I recently made my way across Jones to try the far-from-flashy Pho Sing Sing, a simple restaurant that specializes in very traditional pho. I went straight for the pho dac biet ($8.95), described on the menu as Sing Sing’s “special combination,” rich with rare steak, beef balls, tender flank steak, well-done brisket, and even a little semi-gelatinous beef tendon. This pho was the epiphany I had hoped for, and somehow, despite all that meat, the clear, beautiful broth maintained its integrity, redolent of ginger and onions and a soft, vegetal sweetness. If you’re the type of eater who tends to pile all those extras into your soup—basil, lime, crunchy sprouts, jalapeño slices, chili paste—you might want to tone it down a bit to fully savor these well-established flavors. Between the firm rice noodles, the wonderful broth and all that meat, this pho wants for nothing.
The secret ingredient in Pho Sing Sing's cha gio rolls? A little crab meat.
I also tried Sing Sing’s fantastic, slightly funky take on cha gio ($5.99), crunchy eggroll-esque creations meant to be wrapped in fresh herbs and lettuce and dunked in sweet-spicy-sour nuoc chom. This kitchen uses a rice-based wrapper—not the more Chinese wheat wrapper you find at many other restaurants—for crisp, bubbly texture, and incorporates a little crab meat into the filling of shrimp, chicken and pork. These appetizers are nothing short of addictive.
Now that this phenomenal pho has been discovered, I’ll be back to try the Cambodian-style seafood over egg noodles ($8.95) and the “broken rice” plates with various meats and toppings ($8.95-$10.50). Or maybe I’ll just keep ordering that pho, over and over again.
Pho Sing Sing 3409 S. Jones Blvd., 702-380-2999. Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
