Pho Bac: Four Seasons Noodle, Duck Soup, and more

Pho Bac Vietnamese Specialties and Noodle Soup

Strolling around the newly-renovated Glorietta 2, we found out that there were only a few restaurants here that we haven't dined yet. One of which is Pho Bac. If I remember it right, this used to be in Glorietta 3, beside Subway. They were on soft opening when we visited the place.

Pho Bac ambiance

The place is quite small and crowded, and can fit around 24 people provided all the seats are taken. I like the design of the chairs and how it blended with the wooden accents of the interior.

Pho Bac condiments

On our table are these condiments. We weren't able to ask what exactly they are, but you can just go try on your own.

Serving was fast, not much of wait time. Staring with our appetizer...

Goi Cuon Tom Thit (97Php)

Fresh roll with shrimp and pork

Pho Bac Goi Cuon Tom Thit with peanut sauce

These are 6 small pieces, more or less an inch in diameter, but I like the freshness and crunchiness. The peanut sauce added more flavor and goodness to it. I also enjoyed having it in between eating my noodle soup as it cleanses the palate. Definitely, I'll have this again!

Pho Bac Goi Cuon Tom Thit

Our noodle soup was served with these: mint leaves, bean sprouts, and calamansi in "kulambo" (net). It was the first time that I saw calamansi being served like this. Genius. No more calamansi seeds in your soup!


Pho Bac Calamansi inside a net	Pho Bac Mint Leaves, Bean Sprouts, Calamansi

Four Seasons Noodle Soup (180Php)

Long thin slices of pork, chicken, sausage, and egg, rice noodles

Pho Bac Four Seasons Noodle Soup top

This is a huge bowl and really made me stuffed. Even though there are four main ingredients, their taste harmoniously blended together resulting to tasty warm soup. The rice noodles seemed heavy to eat but they're not boring. I opted to add chili paste and a bit of the hoisin sauce (I also loved dipping my chicken in it) half way finishing my meal just to add a different kick. Mint leaves, bean sprouts, and calamansi can also be added as desired.

Pho Bac Four Seasons Noodle Soup

Duck Soup (250Php)

Pho Bac Duck Soup top

A new addition in their menu, this Duck Soup is of big serving not only in terms of soup volume but also in the amount of duck slices. It did not make use of rice noodles, but the yellow thin noodles matched the overall taste. The soup had more things going on compared to that of Four Seasons'. It was my first time to eat duck meat and it actually tastes like chicken, just a bit different.

Pandan Pudding (45Php)

Pho Bac Pandan Pudding topped with coconut cream milk and sesame seeds

One of the reasons why we dined at Pho Bac is when we saw the enticing picture of Pandan Pudding. Unfortunately, it looked different when it was served. Well, it still looked good but it isn't how it was presented in the picture. The taste is also different from our expectations, but mind you, it wasn't bad. From the picture, we're somehow eyeing for a "buko pandan" type of dessert. But this appeared to be similar to rice cake in texture. The coconut cream milk has the right amount of sweetness and matches the pandan flavor. The pudding has three layers of which the first and the last are of the same consistency. The middle part is sweeter and less sticky in texture. The overall feeling is like eating bilo-bilo (rice flour balls) in ginataang bilo-bilo.

Pho Bac Pandan Pudding

I have tried Vietnamese dishes before but it's only now that I've realized I love them! The fresh healthy feeling when you eat them, the balance between herbs and meat, and how it tries to incorporate the elements of spicy, salty, sweet, bitter, and sour depending on the person's choice. All these made my short dinner stay at Pho Bac worthwhile.

Pho Bac
2F Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Makati City