DINING FEATURE
TT Pho owner Thao Vo said she spends a lot of her time at TT Pho assisting with food preparation in the restaurant’s kitchen. “I like to createmy own things. Every time I cooked andmy food come[s] out, people liked it [and were] happy to eat. That’s what I enjoy.” —Thao Vo, TT Pho owner
THREE DISHES TO TRY
1 Stir-fry plate ($12.99) The combination plate includes a variety of vegetables prepared with beef and shrimp, and is served on a bed of egg noodles.
2 Combination pho bowl ($10.99) This soup contains filet mignon and meatballs in a meat-and- vegetable broth.
BY BEN THOMPSON TT Pho Riley Fuzzel Road restaurant serves south Vietnam-inspired eats
such as lemongrass beef, banh mi sandwiches and egg noodle stir-fry plates on the menu as well as salads, chicken wings and smoothies. The name- sake pho noodle soup, which Vo highlighted as her favorite dish to prepare and eat, is the restaurant’s most popular entree, she said. Some of the food has a sweeter taste inspired by Vo’s southern Vietnamese heritage, and it is all made from scratch according to traditional Viet- namese preparation methods that do not use frozen foods. Vo said her meticulous side is also on display in TT Pho’s kitchen. Despite her responsibilities as owner, she said she also has a hand in preparing most of the dishes that are served at the restaurant every day. “I carefully do everything. I’m really picky. Food, every time before they bring it out to the customer, I have to check,” she said. “I don’t want to step away when they’re doing my stu .” Vo said she appreciates the support TT Pho has received from its local customers since opening, and she has adjusted the taste of some of her dishes based on community feedback. While Vo said she is happy with her current menu and the restaurant is consistently packed on weekends, she hopes to o er more dining options and attract more business throughout the week as TT Pho’s presence grows in the future. “Later on, I want to do an update, [add] more dishes on my menu, to do more food, more di erent tradition from our country to American people to let them know more about Vietnam,” Vo said.
T T Pho, located o the Grand Parkway in the Birnham Woods Marketplace, o ers a slate of cuisine inspired by the food of south Vietnam and owner Thao Vo’s years of home cooking. Vo said she rst learned to cook by baking for her family as a child. From there she said she worked through simple recipes before experimenting with di erent ingredients and preparations that devel- oped her love for cooking. “I like to create my own things,” Vo said. “Every time I cooked and my food come[s] out, people liked it—[and were] happy to eat. That’s what I enjoy.” Vo said she maintained her enthusiasm for cooking and considered opening a restaurant as she grew older. Although she managed her own beauty spa in Amarillo for years, she continued to sharpen her cooking skills by preparing food for her children and salon employees. Vo and her family moved to Spring in , where she said the idea of opening a restaurant resurfaced. “Everybody [said,] ‘Oh, you cook so good, why don’t you open your restaurant for your own?’” Vo said. “In I [was] thinking about that. I said, ‘We’ve been doing the beauty stu for a while, so I might make my dream come true.’” Opening a business serving the still-developing area around the Birnham Woods Marketplace ini- tially proved challenging. Vo said she worked many -hour days aer TT Pho’s launch in June , but the restaurant has since caught on with regulars and new customers alike. Diners can nd traditional Vietnamese items,
3 Lemongrass garlic beef vermicelli special ($11.99) The dish is served in a bowl of noodles with lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, peanuts and fish sauce.
TT Pho 4057 Riley Fuzzel Road, Ste. 900, Spring 281-771-3983 www.tt-pho-vietnamese-restaurant.business.site Hours: Sun.,
FULLER BLUFF DR.
99 TOLL
Mon., Wed., Thu. 11 a.m.-8:30 pm.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.; closed Tue.
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The Woodlands edition • December 2019
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