Tucked away in a college plaza just a mile away from Fullerton College, PhoReal Kitchen offers a variety of Asian and Vietnamese inspired dishes and does so with patience and care in its cooking.
PhoReal Kitchen features the Chef’s Special, which is a beef pho. It contains prime brisket, tendon and ground beef meatballs, filet mignon and oxtail with cilantro and green and white onions. Their beef broth is made from beef bones that are simmered for over 24 hours until they are white. They do this in order to extract every bit of flavor from the bones. The result of these ingredients is something truly special, especially for meat-lovers. Every bowl of pho is served with a side of bean sprouts, basil and jalapeños, which allows you to play with the flavor at your leisure. Priced at $15, this beef pho is worth every penny and will leave you with more than enough to take home for seconds.
Unfortunately for the vegetarians and vegans out there, PhoReal no longer offers vegetarian or vegan options for their entrees. This is due to the fact that not enough people were ordering those types of meals, so the owner decided to remove those options entirely.
If you’re looking for something to go along with your entree, the garlic truffle fries are a great side dish at $8. Thin-cut potatoes are fried until golden brown and then topped with garlic and truffle seasoning. The fries are served with your choice of ketchup or spicy mayo.
Speaking of spicy, PhoReal also offers a bowl of edamame as a side dish. The edamame is young soybean sautéed with garlic and chile oil. The chile oil really stands out in this item. If you like some spice in your food, the edamame is a perfect option at only $5 and is enough to serve two people.
Need something to wash down all that food? Well, luckily, PhoReal has a wide variety of teas to choose from as well as soda and alcoholic beverages.
The passion fruit chiller is an excellent drink to go along with any meal. It’s got a sweet citrus taste with a slight tanginess to it and is quite refreshing. This beverage will run you $5, which is a bit overpriced for the size you get, and there are no refills.
Although PhoReals menu items are a bit pricey, they put a lot of time and care into preparing their food, and that really shows with every bite and sip you take. Plus, they are very generous with their serving sizes, so you’ll have more than enough to share or to take home for leftovers.
PhoReal Kitchen offers take out and dine in as well as outside patio seating. If you dine in, the restaurant has more than decent COVID-19 accommodations such as an all-digital menu through a barcode scan, glass window dividers at every booth, as well as consistent table cleanings after each guest leaves.
PhoReal Kitchen is located at 2466 E Chapman Ave. in Fullerton. They are open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and are closed Mondays. You can call them at 714-770-0970 or visit their website http://www.phorealkitchen.com/ for more information.
