Johnnie Excel recently blew through the 4 lb Pho Challenge at the original Pho Garden location in a record 13 minutes. The challenge is offered at the various Pho Garden locations in the Bay Area. I had the pleasure of mastering this massive dish in March 2010 at the Mountain View location.
The bowl comes out boiling. You have one hour to wade through the hot, salty beef-base Vietnamese soup known as "pho." The challenge bowl comes packed: 2lbs of various cuts of meat, and 2 lbs of semi-transparent noodles. Luckily you don't need to drink the broth to win. Winners receive their meal free and get to keep the monumental bowl. It remains on my coffee table as a testament to my digestive system.
My thoughts on this challenge? It's one of the more interesting ones I've taken on, but more and more restaurants are trotting out their own versions of the pho challenge. At least it wasn't another burger or burrito.
The cuts of meat involved are not typical fare for the Western consumer. You'll find flank, tendon, cartilage pieces, meatballs, sirloin strips, and other chunks I can't readily describe. The noodles are straightforward. There's just too damn many of them. Imagine cooking two packs of spaghetti and downing them in one shot.
How did I feel afterward? Not full. These pho challenges have never pushed me to the limit. But, since they're loaded with 2 lbs of pasta, I'm in carb city and I know better than to slam a quart of ice cream in celebration. I remember sweating profusely after the challenge was done.
Just let it settle. The bowl is probably the "coolest" part of this challenge.
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