(Almost) No Bones About It: Thanh Son

For our routine pho lunch, Dickson and I headed west to Thanh Son this time, away from Chinatown. We had attempted a visit once before, but unfortunately it was closed (as many Asian eateries are on Tuesdays). This time, we planned for a Wednesday, and found the restaurant empty on arrival. Only four other parties joined us during our hour long stay.

The decor was basic, but it was clean, and I did like the wooden booth that had been erected around the cash register.

Interior

The menu, appealingly enough, offered some unique options when it came to Vietnamese/Chinese cuisine – namely, they didn’t offer green onion cakes, which forced me to search out a different appetizer. We settled on a pork and shrimp pancake ($5.50). It was a tasty combination of starch, meat and seafood, but we both found it a bit oily and were left wishing for more filling.

Pork and shrimp pancake

The pho bowls, with the usual range of meat options, were more inexpensive than any other restaurant I’ve been to, starting at just $5.50. Unfortunately, the cheap price point shone through in our order. The beef slices became tough and chewy in the soup before long, and though the broth smelled great, wasn’t actually that flavourful.

House special beef combo noodle soup ($6.95)

Medium rare beef and beef tendon noodle soup ($5.95)

Service was all right, and the food was delivered in a timely manner, but we agreed that next time, we’d venture back into Chinatown to satisfy our pho craving. Dickson’s rating: 3 soup bones out of 5 (I convinced Dickson he needed a ratings scale, so devised a “soup bones” measure with a maximum score of five).

Thanh Son
11012 107 Ave
(780) 425-8912