Phongsavan

Grilled Pork Belly & Sticky Rice: You can’t get any better than this. Seasoned pork belly cooked to a crisp. Chop it up and serve it with a side of Hmong pepper (dried chili pepper with fish sauce) and sticky rice and you have a meal reminiscant of my childhood days followed by my teen years when I played in Hmong volleyball tournaments.
Phở Special (Small): The phở wass very refreshing, especially after a long day of craft beers and an occasional shot or two. The special is served with beef flank, meatballs, shrimp, tripe, pork rind, and imitation crab. It looks cheap but the broth was very good.

The phở and pork belly here are really good. It is a good place to order takeout. However, the place is a little dirty. If you are germaphobic and are planning to dine in, you might want to bring some Clorox wipe.

This place is so cool! Friendly staff! Lots of cool things! I picked up lots of goods for cooking but didn’t eat there! Would love to next time! Kinda hidden but it’s worth the trip.

Beware when you buying veggie from those women at the veggie stand. They will jack the price up!

So my fellow Hmong were telling me about this place and I didn’t not know that it was a replica of Hmong Village in Minnesota. Though it is not nearly equivalent at all with its size and variety of vendors and food, it is… umm… comparable, I guess. Not bad for Milwaukee. They do need a place like this. The food court was packed when I got there but the place looked very unsanitary and I’m not your typical phở and Hmong sausage kind of gal. Banh mi’s were totally not fresh. And the produce was way overpriced. They did have a grocery store in there so that was nice. I would say this is the cultural center for the Hmong in this area. Just… ignore the curb appeal and surrounding area.

This place is a hidden gem in north Milwaukee. I’ve had some serious Thai/​Laotian/​Cambodian food in my day — especially my days in the Navy. This place has it all: shops in the front, a market in the back, and most importantly the restaurants. I must say — the banh mi and the ice Thai tea with tapioca reminded me back in Phuket and Pattaya Beach. As for the hot food, the menu is static with phở, sticky rice, deep fried pork chops, and other delicacies … all of it is scrumptious! GO THERE. EAT THERE.

I was turned on to Phongsavan about four months ago. I think I’m nearing double digits in visits. I’m thoroughly addicted.
I lean towards getting their phở which, is in my opinion, the best in the city. Flavorful broth, traditional meats/​noodles, and a wide assortment of condiments if you choose.
Really cheap too. I’ve done the special phở with tripe and tendon. A bit too much for me.
You best get there early on the weekends if you want their specials. The thai beef, stuffed wings, and an assortment of roasted meats are available. Wings and beef are gone by 1pm. They are EXCEPTIONAL.
The best thing about Phong aside from the food is the atmosphere. I’m not kidding. Walking through the vendor stalls into the dining area is like a trip through SE Asia. The sights and smells are intoxicating. The people are warm and welcoming. Phongsavan is a special place!

Maybe it was the day that I went (Tuesday afternoon), but there wasn’t much of a selection when it came to the stocked shelves of drinks and foods.
I was specifically looking for certain things but didn’t find any. BUT, they do have a pretty great fresh market there, I would go back to buy some fresh produce. This place seems to be big to the Hmong community, I’m Chinese and it’s very different. I guess I went in with too much of a high expectation, thought I’d be finding all this Chinese product then to walk out kind of disappointed.
I’ll go back for another try, once my daughter gets older, I’ll take her to buy some toys since they sell toys that I grew up with. I still have yet to find an Asian market that has all the things I’m looking for, even the simple coconut juice with pulp kind of stuff.

What an awesome place. I ventured here after accidentally finding it at an inopportune time. I went over my lunch hour, and entered through the front door of the giant warehouse. The sign out front makes it seem like a business that is «coming soon», however once you enter through the heavy metal «portal» you feel as if you’ve been transported to another world.
I adventured through the winding aisles of tapestries, herbal supplements, fresh produce and foreign DVDs to the back section. There were mothers with their infants, young children running around like it was home, and most importantly, the comforting smell of barbeque and phở broth. I waited in line while taking in the smells and sights of bubbling meat. I ordered the stuffed chicken wing, egg rolls, and ‘regular’ (as opposed to special) phở.
While waiting for lunch, I wandered over to the vendor across the way, who appeared to specialize in bubble tea. As most do not speak English, I was really thrown in and left to swim. I love trying new things, and find it more fun when I don’t know what I’m always trying first. I bought five little cakes that were the brightest most beautiful colors — honestly looked like play-​doh. Unfortunately the consistency was so heavy and thick that it made them unpleasant to eat. Still fun!
The egg roll and chicken wing came out first. The egg roll was typical and tasty. The chicken wing took the thunder. The meat was cooked perfectly, leaving a juicy yet smokey meat flavor. The inside was stuffed with shredded pork, rice noodles and veggies. While it wasn’t the most aesthetically beautiful food item, it was palate-​pleasing to the MAX. I would order 50.
The phở was good. The original included tripe, ‘sausage”, noodles, green onion… maybe chicken? I remember picking most of the ‘meat’ out and enjoying the broth. The phở itself was not my favorite. It was absolutely authentic and they offered it with the plate of fresh jalapenos, bean sprouts, lime and thai basil — a necessity — but it just wasn’t quite up to the par of Phở Hai Tyuet in my mind.
I want to come back here with plenty of time to poke through all the different vendors and booths, I think it would be a blast!

Ohhhh nooooooo I was scared parking at the parking lot afraid of being robed or leave my car there… Scary and not much Asian produce at all. They don’t even have bar code on a lot things so you just go check out the cashier will literally type in how much on the spot!

This place is really hard to find. There are no signs that tell you there is an Asian market with Asian food inside. There is a sign that tells you one is going to be built, though.
Kelsey P. was the first to tell me about this place. I went looking for it one day and couldn’t find it. I Googled it for more info and found some dirty dining alerts. Normally, those don’t scare me away.
These had me think a bit. While I was thinking, a van pulled up next to me, the driver opened the door, the wind took the door, the door slammed into my car — HARD!
My whole car shook. The driver was not excited to see me get out of the car. To make a long story short, I have a large ding in my rear fender. The driver worked out a mutually beneficial deal since he did not have insurance. Then I left and gave up on Phongsavan.
A month later, I’m having dinner with a new foodie friend. She tells me about Phongsavan. I told her my story. She told me to give it another shot, so I did.
I double checked my directions and looked at the address on the Google map and realized I was on the wrong block the day my car was hit, which made me mad all over again. I could have avoided the incident if I was in the RIGHT place.
Anyway, I looked at the food case and say some cooked ribs, chicken and spring rolls. I was told the phở is awesome, so I ordered the «small» bowl for $ 7.95 and one of the stuffed chicken wings.
The phở was amazing, definitely one of the top 3 I’ve had in Milwaukee. I say that because I didn’t have to add any sauces to the broth for optimal flavor. The beef broth had a delicious rich flavor on its own.
I ordered the combo, so every meat variety you would find in phở was there as well as shrimp and imitation crab meat.
I loved it!
The stuffed chicken wing was stuffed with rice noodles, pork, and a few bits of veggies. The chicken was moist and tender and the fillings were tasty.
On my way out, I grabbed a spring roll. I couldn’t resist. It was also one of the best I’ve had. It was light, flaky, moist, and full of flavor.
I went back earlier this week to the food spot directly across from the guy with the phở because I saw Banh Mi photos there on my last visit.
It turns out the Banh Mi’s are pre-​made and refrigerated for you to take with you and eat code or heat up. That’s not what I was looking for. It seemed most of the pictured menu items were also refrigerated instead of made-​to-​order. No need for me to go back there, but I will go to their neighbor for phở in the future.
Dirty Dining be d@mn3d! The food I had was great and I didn’t get sick!

When we stepped inside, I thought we had been transported to an authentic Asian market. I am clearly not their usual clientele. But that’s ok. I just really wanted to try phở for the first time and the people I was with said that this was the place to do it.
The market is divided into 3 sections. Restaurant, food, and random asian market things. We started with the restaurant part and said if we had time, we’d browse.
I got the «special» phở. I think that might have been a bit much for this phở virgin. The broth was extremely flavorful but the meats threw me off. There was beef, chicken, pork, sausage, tendon, tripe, krab and shrimp in it. The beef was chewy, the chicken was delish, the pork was not really pork… more like fat, the sausage had questionable chewy bits in it, the krab was krab, the shrimp was the standard precooked cocktail shrimp (still cold), and I couldn’t bring myself to try the tripe. I was told it was flavorless but it looked like fuzzy tape and I guess I’m just not that adventurous of an eater yet.
That being said, i gobbled up the noodle parts of the phở and sipped the broth so I think I’d come back and just get the «regular» phở which I think just has chicken and beef.
The market aspect was super fun and interesting. I discovered some new food (shrimp chips anyone?) and browsed through the endless tables of random stuff people were selling. it was a fun little break from the usual work lunch.

While I didn’t really care for the location, in general I do care that the Hmong communities around many states are showing growth in the business sector. It’s always great to see my «people» grow and be a part of the mainstream business communities.
This place is more of a flea market than it is a department store or mall. It’s got different little shops that range from clothing to food to groceries. Pricing overall is not bad however I honestly would only return to this place to get Hmong food that I crave for due to me living in California and not having much access to it.
Sure I’ll visit this place again if I’m ever in WI. Party on Hmong-​ers!

Pros: The biggest Hmong store in the Milwaukee area. Also has basically everything you need in Asian products. And has a kitchen area in back that caters to your southeast Asian cuisines.
Cons: Hot & Humid. Sort of like an indoor swap meet.

A few days ago, I read a review on Unilocal about this place, then somehow it disappeared. Thankfully I remembered the name and a snapshot of a steaming bowl of phở, and with the help of a few Hmong websites and Google Maps, had an awesome adventure at Phongsavan, «Milwaukee’s Asian Market» today.
Located in a nondescript pink and white cement-​block square warehouse in a dingy strip of Milwaukee’s north side, this Asian market is there for you in your time of bubble tea, phở, and kung fu DVD need. Like the fabled wardrobe into Narnia, this place is WAY bigger than it looks from outside. About 15 vendors have their own little spaces, or stalls, and you have to travel through tables filled with bundled herbs, violent Thai movies, and bolts of vibrant shiny fabric used in traditional Hmong costumes before you start smelling cooked food. Two food stands face each other with a super-​fresh produce area between. The phở comes in small or large, in «regular» or «special». The regular has well-​done beef slices, tripe, and meatballs, while the «special» adds tail-​on shrimp, crab stix and chewy, gross cartilage-​y chunks, and very delicious pork belly slices with a weird little bone bit. I usually prefer a thicker rice noodle, but the thinner ones here are fine. The broth was darker in color than I am used to, but extremely beefy and helpful to one’s general malaise. On each of the 4 tables is a large selection of sauces, including the usual hoisin, sriracha, fish sauce and oily chile paste, along with a green spicy pickle, chopped roasted peanuts, and thick, sweet, black soy sauce. Thai basil, mung bean sprouts, VERY spicy sliced jalapenos and lemon (instead of he more expected lime) wedges came alongside.
So, it was great. I had the small combo, which was $ 6.99 and I couldn’t finish it. Mostly because I was carefully working around the tripe and other odd items. Maybe I am a wuss, judge me not. Across the way is «Sister Café», which offers $ 4 banh mi, BBQ pork spring rolls with great peanut sauce (although the meat had a gamier taste than I was expecting). I also got two fried sesame balls, which I have had elsewhere and are usually filled with a sweet bean paste. These however, were stuffed with an extremely terrific gingery ground pork mixture that I am eating right now. I strongly urge you to eat about one million of these, in addition to the same amount of the crispy, greasy-​good fried strips of taro and/​or banana. OH YES PLEASE.
There is also a vendor that sells plants, a dry-​goods grocery, a cellphone nook, and a very pleasant, very short lady doing intricate embroidery in the aisle, but she is not in your way. At all.