pho - dao in naha

This weekend, we went to Dao in Naha to eat pho. I found out about it in OkinawaHai, and since I'm totally in love/craving pho, we went. Actually, I knew about it for awhile, but we never bothered to drive all the way to crowded/not-fun-to-park Kokusai Street. Nacho, one of Mr. P's friends, was leaving soon, and the Southeast Asians really wanted some pho. It's kind of odd, since he was leaving for the states where his mom would make delicious pho for him, but we went anyway.

It was a decent experience. I got the "Vietnam Set" ("betonamu seto"), and it had fried eggrolls (4 half rolls), spring rolls/goi cuon (1 roll, 3 slices), fish sauce for dipping, soy sauce for dipping, 1 bowl of rice, 1 side of veggies stir-fried w/ soy sauce & garlic, 1 small dish of fish, 1 small bowl of pho, 1 Vietnamese coffee (hot/cold) or tea, and 1 small dessert dish. The spring rolls were kind of dry. The veggies were simple but good. There were only 2 small slices of fish, but it was heavily salted so the proportion seemed adequate. The dessert was good. It was basically the 3 bean drink, but as a dessert. Unfortunately, the pho was subpar, but satisfying enough.

What was wrong with it? Well, there was only slices of cooked beef. No tripe, no meatballs, no rare slices of beef. There wasn't any basil, hoison sauce, or Sriracha on the side. They did add bean sprouts in for you though. The broth was fragrant, but not quite it. I'm no pho expert, but it just didn't seem right. How would I know? Because my lip didn't stink when I was finished. Not very scientific, but pho eaters know what I'm talking about!

So, the best part about the Vietnam Set was the fried eggrolls and the Vietnamese super-strong/pry-your-eyes-open coffee. Actually for the set, there was a lot of food for a really decent price. I don't remember how much exactly. My guess is 1250 yen, but it was definitely less than 1500 for a lot of food. Proportion-wise, this was definitely a deal.

So my verdict? I really need to learn how to make pho for real. Dao was good, but I'm not planning on driving 45+ minutes and pay for parking to eat it.

P.S. Sorry, I didn't bring my camera. There are photos of Dao elsewhere plus directions, which were really handy. Basically, get yourself to the Starbucks on Kokusai. You'll notice that Starbucks is on a corner. Situate yourself on the Kokusai side of Starbucks. If your back is to Starbucks, and you're on Kokusai St, cross Kokusai to get to the other side, and go the right a little bit. You'll see OPA (but don't pass it) and right before it is Shijo Hon Dori (I didn't see it written in English, but that's what it's called). It's this covered road that's basically a marketplace, and walk in for a minute or so. You'll see assorted shops and some produce for sale along this "street". Dao will be on your right. You'll see the sign and the window display. You'll climb some stairs to get to the restaurant, and you're there. (Map in Japanese)