Huong Que Cafe

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I had heard Huong Que Cafe's Chicken Pho was better than Turtle Tower in San Francisco.  I had to see for myself.  The menu for Huong Que Cafe is set up very similar to Turtle Tower - simple with mostly chicken items on the menu.

Huong Que Cafe gives you a sauce made from ginger, and green onions to dip your chicken in.  It's probably one of the things they are known for here.  Honestly, I didn't find anything fascinating about it.  I grew up with a similar sauce for chicken dishes.  The ginger-scallion sauce does give you a nice option to dip the chicken in.  The salty flavor of the sauce gives the lightly tasting chicken some spice.  You can make this at home by finely mincing up ginger and green onions, a little salt, and then pouring hot oil on top.

House made jalapenos!  I thought these lightly pickled jalapenos were so delicious.   Even though they were stored in their own juices, each piece remained crunchy and spicy.

I ordered the same style pho ga (without the bone) that I do at Turtle Tower so I could judge both soups fairly.  Huong Que Cafe does offer the pho ga with the meat on the bones, but that is too much work for me.  The broth here doesn't have as much flavor as Turtle Tower.  It seems to be on the watery side.  Also, the noodles are mushy.  The jalapenos and the sauce are probably the only things this place has going for it.  Turtle Tower is still my favorite in the bay area for Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)

Address:                       Pho Ga Huong Que Cafe
                                             1228 7th Ave
                                             Oakland, CA

Type:                               Chinese/Vietnamese/casual

Popular chomps:  Pho Ga
                                               ginger-scallion sauce

Chomp worthy:        housemade jalapenos