I was trying to figure out what this soup was called since I did not order it, but a person from Vietnam told me that any beef noodle soup is called "pho." This looked a little different from the typical pho, but the differences may have been what made this such an outstanding soup.

The only menu I could find for the restaurant was on the Yelp web site (click on the "Explore the Menu" link). It is called Bo Kho, or "beef stew noodle soup." I am simply calling it Beef Noodle Soup, although I think the name "Bo Kho" is correct.

Some condiments were included, including lime, jalapeno peppers, and a small package of hoisin sauce mixed with chile. These are similar to what I normally get with pho, except that it was missing the usual Thai basil leaves. The soup had a very prominent star anise flavor, though, and along with the other spices they put in it had a very good taste on its own without really needing the basil leaves. I did find the lime and the mixture of hoisin sauce and chile to be a help, though, making an excellent dish even better. It also did not have as much broth as a normal pho, but I thought it had more than enough to give it a good flavor. Like the missing basil leaves, I do not know if the lesser amount of broth was something the restaurant did or whether it happened in transit. My meal was part of a take-out lunch and was not done for the purpose of writing a review about it, but I felt that it was so good I had to write about it.

Not only was I impressed by the flavors in this soup (I think it had more star anise than most versions), but the meat was quite good as well. I am definitely willing to place it among my favorites in the city (which right now are Pho Cuong just up the street on Classen and Pho Hieu in Yukon). It is probably premature to say which of these three is best, but to my taste Pho Kim Long was my favorite.