Oh you fancy, Ha: Vietnamese noodle shuffle

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Oh you fancy, Ha: Vietnamese noodle shuffle

POSTED: Monday, January 24, 2011, 3:52 PM

Filed Under: Openings

Photo | Drew Lazor

Chef/restaurateur Ha Diep started slangin' vermicelli noodles at Pho Ha (610 Washington Ave.), and built up quite a following before she decided to sell that location for digs further south. They moved to the shopping center at 1100 Columbus Boulevard to open Pho Saigon in November 2009, but there, GM Dan La says, "We worked as employees, not the boss." So they're decided to uproot their operation once more â kitchen staff, front-of-house staff, managers, everyone â and last week took over what used to be Kavei at 320 W. Oregon Avenue (215-389-1002) to open Ha Saigon. They've overhauled the interior; La says they're starting off as a pho parlor for now, but have plans to expand their menu to full-on dinner proportions as business picks up. UPDATE: Just to clarify (sorry!): Pho Saigon on Columbus is still open, just under new management.

barryg

Posted 2011-01-24 17:57:00

Weird, that Kavei space was a Chinese spot for a hot minute. Actually pretty good.

Tweets that mention Oh you fancy, Ha: Vietnamese noodle shuffle :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2011-01-24 12:05:00

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Poster Nutbag, Felicia D'Ambrosio and Gumppette, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: If we may borrow a technique from fans of the band Phish: Pho Ha > Pho Saigon > Ha Saigon: http://ow.ly/3J8ks [...]

Posted 2011-01-24 12:05:39

That explains a lot. When I first moved to Philly I stumbled upon Pho Ha and found it to be some of the best of my life. But in subsequent trips it wasn't quite as awe-inducing...seems like the fact that its leadership changed may have been part of the problem. Can't wait to try the newest incarnation!

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Jan. 24-28 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-01-31 12:37:23

[...] Ha Saigon is a new South Philly Viet joint with a great pedigree. [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 3:52 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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