Pho Ga Hai Phong

**NOT ACTUALLY A REVIEW**
Phở Ga Hai Phong has either closed shop or relocated. In its place is a Chinese restaurant called Yummy Duck. I was going to try this place out… and found that it is no longer there. :(

WTH happen are they closed!!! I dropped by twice no signs of them closing early or coming back. The fishies in the tank is gone too. Anyone !!! =(

I’m glad to see Phở Ga Hai Phong is not a total disaster for many on Unilocal.Clearly these raters know nothing about how phở ga should taste, but I’m glad they enjoyed their food anyway. I’m also glad because this place is clean and service was good, a nice family run business.
However, I gave this place two stars because the name of the restaurant should have been called, «some kind of soup that is suppose to resemble Vietnamese phở ga but really is a chinese rendition of whatever.» Then I would have known to avoid it.
The phở ga broth was bland, chicken ok, noodles were not even the correct phở kind. The mien ga was the same, really blah with the wrong kind of noodles used. The cha gio was Chinese fried rolls and not the Vietnamese version that uses thiner rolls and better stuffings.
Real disappointment for a true Vietnamese food connoisseur. For real delicious phở ga (chicken phở) and phở bo (beef phở), go with the tried and true Phở Ao Sen down the street on E. 14^th and 2^nd Street.

CHICKEN PHUH. Never had it before I came here. Never knew I love it. Now I know.
Soup base was rich, deep, and tasty like it should be. The chicken wasn’t dry and I was surprised that it complemented the noodles so well. I must admit that I never really ate any meat other than beef in phở before. But now I know!
If you’re looking for a just a slightly different kind of phở (or even just the regular kind), come here. Do it.

i love this place.
the phở ga is delicious… they barely use any msg and i love the shredded chicken.
the fried rice plate was also very good.
if you havent been here yet, you are definitely missing out on one of oakland’s finer cleaner restaurants!!! and one last thing, try the fried chicken wings =) not to mention… the service was excellent!!!

Some Phở Ga (chicken phở) competition for Phở Ga Huong Que (
) a few blocks away.
They have one Phở Ga on the menu (#5) as well as a couple other chicken noodle soups (Mien Ga, clear vermicelli noodles, and Mi Ga, egg noodles) a handful of Bun (vermicelli bowls), Phở Bo (beef phở) and some rice plates. Oddly enough they also have steaks, clam chowder, and garlic bread which they say are some of the chefs favorite foods so they included them.
I got the medium #5 (phở ga) with no cilantro and Imperial Rolls which they call Cha Nem here. The only option the waiter gave was shredded or bone-​in chicken and I opt’d for the shredded. I had a hard time communicating with him and ended up just nodding to his response after my «no cilantro» request.
The rolls were interesting, and not just the name. .. Cha Nem. Fried imperial rolls are called Cha Gio in South Vietnam and Nem Ran in the north. This seemed to be a hybrid of the two names which I’d never seen before. These rolls were FAT (Maybe 1.75″ wide and 4″ long) and tasty with a nice mix of veggies, meat, and noodles inside. It seems odd to say about something deep-​fried, but they tasted very fresh. One of the better examples in the area, imo. If only they made them with rice paper wrappers and I would have been in Imperial Roll heaven!
The medium phở comes in a nice size bowl and looked rather nondescript with just a few chicken pieces and the noodles visible. Other herbs like (green) onions may have been omitted with the «no cilantro» request. A plate of sprouts, lime wedge and jalepenos accompanied it. No basil, but Hai Phong (the restaurant’s website says the family is from the city of Hai Phong) is in northern Vietnam near Hanoi so I guess that fewer condiments was to be expected.
The broth was both light and flavorful. .. maybe a step below Huong Que. The wider noodles were perfectly cooked; I’ll have to see how consistent they are because noodle consistency is the one weakness in Huong Que’s armour. The shredded chicken was a mix of white and dark meat and was juicy and tender and tasted like free-​range. There was a lot more chicken meat than I originally thought when I first surveyed the bowl and that was a pleasant surprise as I slurped away. They also provide scallion/​ginger dipping sauce like Huong Que.
I took a look at some of other the pictures and reviews and noticed something. .. where were the innards that Jennifer W has in her pic and mentioned in her review? She also had the #5 so maybe that was the stuff I didn’t understand from the waiter? I’ll have to investigate further. .. oh, the lengths I go to keep the Unilocal audience informed! ;-)

Nice place to go when you need a Phở fix! The noodles are good and the people are super friendly and try to accommodate you the best they can. The Phở broth is light but has really good flavor and they have Bun Rieu. My highlight is that I usually never drink Vietnamese coffee but they made mine to order just the way I like it, with just a little condensed milk.
Free street parking seven days a week in front of the restaurant too!

This place is a pretty good find.
The Phở Ga is delicious.
I’m usually getting the Ho Fun with a whole chicken on the side (to share of course) but this place doesn’t offer it which made me a tad disappointed at first but i ordered the Phở Ga anyways and wasn’t disappointed when i saw it. Pretty complete meal. Lots of fixins and green onions floating on top, just how i like it.
The people that work there are nice. Well, the one guy we had an interaction with.
The only thing is, but this isn’t really a valid complaint, is that there was MSG in the soup. If they can make it without MSG, then i wouldn’t be so thirsty afterwards. Or at least offer an MSG free option? Is that possible? This IS Viet food we’re talking about.

mmmmm chicken noodle!!!
good on a cold rainy day like today!
good amount of tasty chicken!!! dip it in the green onion-​ginger mix and you are good to go!

Get ready. I’m going to say it. Here it comes:
Phở Ga Hai Phong has the best chicken phở in the East Bay.
There. I said it. It’s true. Unless you get your chicken phở from the South Bay, you won’t find any better. Their chicken is so good that I’ve even ordered the chicken over rice plate instead of the phở.

Zee bomb.
Chicken with the side of lemon grassy gingery garlicy green oniony goodness. Expect no lines, quick service, $ only, and bomb potstickers. Oh and the phở is delish. Also expect no conversation as you and your friends slurp away unable to take away your face from that big bowl of phở. And please, get the large. Save the rest for left overs.
I like zee potstickers.
I like zee phở.

I tried this place’s chicken phở and thought to myself «not bad». The broth is light.

Came here again on Sunday to give it a second chance, thinking maybe they just had an off day for their Grand Opening. That definitely wasnt the case. The Phở Ga was disappointing. The broth was plainer than a plain white tee. Usually, I dont add anything to the soup if it has some sort of taste but I resulted to adding every god damn condiment on the table and it still didnt make a difference.
Service was pretty good but it felt like they were too attentive for no reason. I felt rushed with no one else in the restaurant.
The noodles were straight from the packages. It had that plastic «instant» taste to it, if you know what I mean. Also, the large bowl is the same portions as the medium.
The name of the restaurant is Phở Ga, so you would think they specialized in the Chicken Noodle Soup with pictures inside and out the joint. Honestly, the chicken was just alright but it hardly had any chicken in my chicken noodle soup.
Basically, I fell for the big banner outside that said Free Coffee and Soda for 2 weeks.
Im going to have to say «No» to Phở Ga Hai Phong like I say No to drugs.

I came here a few days ago after seeing the big yellow Grand Opening sign. Thinking it was a new Vietnamese Phở Ga (Chicken Noodle Soup) spot but it wasn’t. I think there is a new trend in Oakland with Phở Ga spots being opened by Chinese folks.
For example: Phở Ga 69, Minh Ky, Phở Ga Huong Que Café, Phở #1 (SF) and Phở Ga Khanh Huong in Alameda that just opened. All Chinese places that serve Phở Ga.
Nothing comes close to the best Turtle Tower in SF, everyone trys to make their soup as good as Turtle Tower but no one even comes close. Hai Phong has everything going for them, the service is great the place looks real nice inside. And everything is brand new and very clean. But they are missing one thing, a real good soup.
I ordered the large Phở Ga and it came out with a huge bowl. The chicken was real good, nice and juicy free range chicken. They give you both shredded chicken peices and a couple with bones still attached. It also comes with a few different innards, like liver and heart. The noodle is not fluffy like TT, it has a dehydrated taste to it here. But the soup is too plain, it’s missing alot of things. It definetly needed some MSG, and maybe even some salt because it was way too plain.
I will have to try this place out again in a few weeks, see if they improve on their soup. But as for now im only going to give them 3 stars.
3 Stars for Phở Ga Hai Phong in Oakland

Expected better from this place.
My family and I went here for lunch for their grand opening (free soda and coffee for two weeks!), but were rather disappointed. Phở Ga Hai Phong (although it says Phở and Hai Phong) are run mostly by the Chinese owner and cooks. Although the chicken in the Phở Ga (Chicken Phở) was cooked well, the phở noodles and soup were rather bland. The Phở Xao Thap Cam (Special Stir-​fry Chowfun) was pretty good with a nice mix of shrimp, large scallops, beef flanks, chicken strips, noodles, and bean sprouts, but lacked veges so it wasn’t as good as compared to other places.
Besides the free drinks, the best thing about this place are portion sizes. All our dishes were huge and many customers (including us) left with to-​go boxes. Prices are reasonable and be careful when you order. I suggest talking very slow when you order and double check. (Apparently the waiters/​waitresses are Chinese too and take a while to write down the Vietnamese orders. They missed an entire order of phở at our table, but there was so much food already ordered that people ended up full while sharing dishes). Service lags a lot, but I expected that from their opening week.

does oaktown need another phở shop? the owners of phở ga think so.
besides offering phở, they also have phở ga (chicken noodle soup), chow men, chow fun, and steaks (new york and fillet mignon)
the phở ga (l.6.25) chicken noodle soup
–consisted of fresh pieces of free range chicken in a light chicken flavored broth that was full of fun. fun, the fresh rice noodle used in chow fun. a garlic dipping sauce is provided for the chicken. the broth isn’t as flavorful as other phở ga places. this may be because they use less msg or their chicken derivatives.
they open earlier and stay open later than other phở ga places should one need a phở ga fix.
leftovers
–hours 8:30 a.m.-8.00p.m.
–only phở ga shop open at night
–2 weeks free coffee or soda wiith meal
–street parking may be difficult but there are no meters watch out for street cleaning hours and red zones however.
–cash only