Awesome Spring Rolls at Pho'licious, Ottawa

I find it is hard to write about pho houses - they are either good, average or bad. Every place pretty much offers the same dishes and unless you spend the time to analyze the most minute details, it's really hard to comment on how good a pho dish is without repeating yourself. Yes, there are times when a restaurant does something phenomenally or offers something that others don't, but that doesn't happen often.

B20 - Grilled Homemade Pork Meatball and Pho'licious Special Spring Rolls Vermicelli

The most recent place that I went to that was noteworthy is Pho'licious in Ottawa. They have decent pho but what I love is their Pho'licious special spring rolls: crispy spring rolls wrapped in rice paper and stuffed with shrimp, crabmeat, pork, egg, transparent noodle and bean sprouts. I love the texture of the deep fried rice paper, which is crispy on the outside and slightly gelatinous when you chew it. Although it doesn't say on the menu, you can ask them to substitute regular spring rolls in any dish with their Pho'licious special spring rolls.

Their homemade pork meatballs aren't bad but nothing like how my mom makes them. I'm used to the meatballs being more meatier with a ton more garlic.

They also offer banh mi sandwiches for $3, which is marked for take-out only.

The decor of the place kind of made me chuckle. It's like one of the owner's kids decided to step in and help with the design, which resulted in a boudoir nightclub feel filled with tacky Asian restaurant furniture. At least they tried.

Pho'licious
300 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Telephone: 613-680-5230