Food & Drink

Pho Mi 99 Mississauga - Would You Go Back If This Happened To You?

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  • Apr 24th, 2009 9:34 pm
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Nov 11, 2006
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don't these PHO places get audited by the food/health inspections? good thing i dont eat out at these pho shops in ages... im suprised no one DELIVERS PHO?
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Dec 11, 2008
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evanx wrote: +1 for Golden Turtle.
+2 for Golden Turtle, the best I found so far in Sauga, and I even converted my family to go there too
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Mar 11, 2007
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51 upvotes
At this same Pho Mi, I was about to pay for my bill without properly looking over it when I realized the can of Ice Tea I ordered was charged 5$. I asked the waiter how much a can was, and told only 1.25$. The waiter went back and corrected my bill.

Honest Mistake...more or less?
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Nov 10, 2008
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YoungDr3amer wrote: Being a business student and restaurant manager for the past 2 years.

I have even worked at a Vietnamese restaurant for one summer (4 months), both kitchen and dining room service. Therefore, I know a thing or two about the Pho franchises and independently owned restaurants.

I had already written a report during one of my operations research projects and in one paragraph, I thoroughly discussed the major/minor problems concerning the general Pho restaurants.

Believe me, in order to finalize my statements, I had to personally set out and experience 12 different Vietnamese-based restaurants.

In summary, I would like to begin by stating the major problem that hinders the majority of Vietnamese Pho restaurants are its general customer service. By providing pre-placed essential items (menus, utensils, sauces, etc.) on every table, you are eliminating that initial greet that is vital to all kinds of restaurants. It is poor judgment and an unthoughtful decision for all guests who arrive, to complete their orders on their own with a piece of paper and pen already placed on their table. I find it a mockery that this standard of restaurant operation is considered an authentic procedure.

I absolutely understand that the majority of Vietnamese restaurant owners are relatively inexperienced in modern restaurant functions and have favoured their general setup based on their experiences from their homeland of Vietnam. Currently, franchises of 88, 99, dau bo, etc have continued to maintain this form of layout and will not likely change within the near future.

Inventory management still continues to be an issue, they are sitting around 36% in food cost. Profits are steady, however, inconsistent in periodic inventory processing. Discussing their inventory control and management would be extensive in detail, therefore I will save you the boredom and move on.

Presently, the majority of workers who run the food and clean up the dining room are mainly made of Vietnamese people. Although I will not state the obvious communication problems, many new citizens to Canada, are not trained properly with clear and concise instructions on performing service duties. Owners lack a strong guideline to what is necessary in accommodating guests with proper attention and verbal communication.

Example, upon entering the door, you are briefly welcomed with a hello and shown a hand gesture suggesting your table. Then you are brought tea and cups for your delight while you look over the already table-set menus. Upon deciding, you solely complete your order on small piece of paper and eventually wait until your meal comes. Upon finishing up your meals, you ask politely for the cheque and you're way out the door. Sound like your typical Pho dining experience? Well it should, because this is the standard experience that all people expect and have grown accustomed to.

For profits rates to increase, i strongly recommend an order to reinvent and redefine the Vietnamese Pho industry (VPI). There are several aspects in today's VPI that needs to immediately change in order to survive the coming years to compete with growing chain of South Eastern based fushion restaurants that too offers Pho, at a slightly more higher price due to its standard quality service. Ex. Spring Rolls.

I have only paraphrased in order to keep everything short and sweet. There is a lot left out, I might expand on further details in the coming days or weeks. In conclusion, I have decided to progress to ownership around 2011 with my own Viet/Thai restaurant. I have absorbed a lot in the last 2 years under two owners who are great business developers. I'm still studying in university, so there is still time to absorb as much information as possible before I ascend upon owning my own restaurant. Expect a host position, stronger customer service and an open kitchen concept.
This definitely applies to the majority of Pho franchises. :D
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May 9, 2006
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flip114 wrote: At this same Pho Mi, I was about to pay for my bill without properly looking over it when I realized the can of Ice Tea I ordered was charged 5$. I asked the waiter how much a can was, and told only 1.25$. The waiter went back and corrected my bill.

Honest Mistake...more or less?
Not when is favors them all the time.
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Jun 28, 2003
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kleptodathief wrote: don't these PHO places get audited by the food/health inspections? good thing i dont eat out at these pho shops in ages... im suprised no one DELIVERS PHO?
It's tough to deliver Pho and make the customer truly enjoy the experience...just because there are so many ingredients that will make a good bowl of Pho. For starters, it needs to be hot and you need to have different types of sauces and herbs to make it worthwhile...I don't know if the restaurants can make profits (taking into account drivers' wages) the way a pizza joint does.
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Aug 1, 2008
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YoungDr3amer wrote: This definitely applies to the majority of Pho franchises. :D
Yeah, it's pretty much spot on.

But the ironic thing is that all those restaurants that have poor service (by conventional North American standards at least) are fairly successful. On the contrary, the ones that deliver the standard of service expected of a modern dining establishment (and higher prices to go with) are the ones that have subpar food. Typically, a diner experienced with the cuisine would be able to pick out the unauthentic-ness of the dishes at these kinds of restaurants.

Also..
It is poor judgment and an unthoughtful decision for all guests who arrive, to complete their orders on their own with a piece of paper and pen already placed on their table. I find it a mockery that this standard of restaurant operation is considered an authentic procedure.
So the majority of dim sum establishments are also mockeries? What about AYCE sushi?
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May 19, 2003
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Jucius Maximus wrote: 1. Insect in my soup. They replaced the soup and apologised but I still had to pay for it.
Hm you realize that if the insect was in the master stock, your "replacement soup" will still be contaminated as it too comes from the master stock.

Bottom line for me is...if you find insects in your food and you are suspect of their hygiene, leave. Don't go for replacements, don't eat their food. Don't pay for your uneaten food. Leave. It may be different for you <shrug>

Of course, you have less of a chair to stand on if you've eaten most of your food by the time you found the contaminant...then it's a bit up to debate.
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dasaylay wrote: The Pho is slightly above average, considering they don't use MSG in their soup. Other restaurants throw in mounds of MSG to get the flavour, here they actually use beef bones and cook it for a long time. It's family owned and pretty much family operated, except me along with the Thai chef and other Vietnamese chefs in the back, but Mrs. Duong makes a lot of the food herself, often when I go in during prep hrs (4-5pm) she's in the back handrolling the spring rolls herself.

Other Vietnamese dishes are the Grilled Chicken or Pork on Rice or Vermicelli served with an optional spring roll and Nuac Mam (fish sauce).
Hey...how's their pad thai? I had it and it tasted like it had real tamarind in it. I went on the recommendation from a friend but frankly, I have no idea what "real" pad thai tastes like as I haven't been told by an authoritative source that what I'm eating is "real"!

But next time I'll try their pho. I've tried "real" pho before (home-cooked by a vietnamese) and it was oh-so-delicious! :cheesygri
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Nov 10, 2008
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zyphere wrote: Yeah, it's pretty much spot on.

But the ironic thing is that all those restaurants that have poor service (by conventional North American standards at least) are fairly successful. On the contrary, the ones that deliver the standard of service expected of a modern dining establishment (and higher prices to go with) are the ones that have subpar food. Typically, a diner experienced with the cuisine would be able to pick out the unauthentic-ness of the dishes at these kinds of restaurants.

Also..

So the majority of dim sum establishments are also mockeries? What about AYCE sushi?
Dim Sum and AYCE sushi does not apply to my post. They're completely different. If Pho was made into a buffet or dim-sum style, then I wouldn't be stating the majority of my comments.
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Dale Carneigie's How to win Friends & Influence People, Seth Godin's Purple Cow, Sun Tze's Art of War, Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince, Charles Darwin's The Orgin of Species, Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full, Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End and Eugene Kelly's Chasing Daylight.
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May 21, 2006
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Mississauga
speedyforme wrote: +2 for Golden Turtle, the best I found so far in Sauga, and I even converted my family to go there too
I love Golden Turtle...When i was still living in Mississauga, we'd definitely stop by there. Whenever i go back home to visit my family, I never leave without eating there.
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Jul 1, 2005
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canabiz wrote: It's tough to deliver Pho and make the customer truly enjoy the experience...just because there are so many ingredients that will make a good bowl of Pho. For starters, it needs to be hot and you need to have different types of sauces and herbs to make it worthwhile...I don't know if the restaurants can make profits (taking into account drivers' wages) the way a pizza joint does.
saigon palace offers delivery of pho.
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Aug 18, 2005
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Given the number of positive reviews of the Golden Turtle, I'll have to try it again.

I only went once and it seemed like the ingredients were much less fresh versus Pho Mi 99.
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Feb 26, 2009
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Here's another +1 for Golden Turtle.

Also Bamboo Legend ;)
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applecheeks wrote: Here's another +1 for Golden Turtle.

Also Bamboo Legend ;)
Bamboo Legend seems to have changed their Pad Thai ingredients though, it's not as good as it used to be. I think it's the paste that's in it now it's like tomato paste from a can?

Its my favourite place to take someone on a first date, it's cozy and usually not too busy which is good for conversations. But only with girls from outside Mississauga only though, haha ;)
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YoungDr3amer wrote: Dim Sum and AYCE sushi does not apply to my post. They're completely different. If Pho was made into a buffet or dim-sum style, then I wouldn't be stating the majority of my comments.
Hmm can you elaborate a bit on how they are different? Because you state that the issue is:
It is poor judgment and an unthoughtful decision for all guests who arrive, to complete their orders on their own with a piece of paper and pen already placed on their table. I find it a mockery that this standard of restaurant operation is considered an authentic procedure.
What is it about dim sum and AYCE sushi, where customers complete their own order with a piece of paper, that makes them get away from being 'unthoughtful'? Why is it an authentic procedure for these restaurants and not pho?

So having written a paper on the issue now and being an expert in the field, share some insight. :razz:
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pho 88's are always the best.
but yeah, time for you to settle in at a new pho place. theres like a bajillion out there. especially in mississauga
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dasaylay wrote: Aw man...all the way at the other end of sauga :( I live way by Winston Churchill and Eglington.
There's another Pho Mi 99 located at Meadowvale Town Centre. It's close to The Source at the south end of the Mall. It's one of the outside stores, not inside the Mall.
I've tried it a couple of times and it's good, IMO.
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