If you are craving for Thai papaya salad, Som Tam, and you are in the Philippines and you are tired of Filipino Thai restaurants what do you do then? I went to Phat Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant instead. Yes, I know there seems to be no logic in that at all, I know. But before you cry out loud, please read this review to the end!

Phat Pho had a nice interior and when I was there it was not crowded. My impression was a modern style mixed with warm ambience and quality. I got my table on the upper deck with a nice overlooking view.

So what can you expect of Phat Pho á vietnamese kitchen? Since Pho in Vietnamese means noodle soup you obviously can expect they will serve noodle soups. Actually I would say, that's their specialty. Most of the guests when I was there ate different kinds of noodle soups. But they had other things on the menu as well.

Since I was craving for Thai papaya salad, Som Tam, I was obviously looking for something similar. So what couldn't be better than try the Shrimp & sour mango salad with rice. At least it looked a bit similar to the Thai papaya salad. So I did! I got a big portion of salad rich in flavour and spiciness. Not same as Som Tam but that was of course not expected. The Shrimp & Mango salad was unique in its own way and it felt as an excellent choice!

Phat Poh lighted up my appetite for Vietnamese food and I will certainly come back. Everything was fresh and clean and the staff was nice and friendly. Next time for sure, I will try the their Poh, aka noodle soup.

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