Pho 9N9 Vietnamese Cuisine
2945 S Miami Blvd, Durham, NC 27703
(919) 544-4496
It’s no secret now that I’ve been staying in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area for the past several weeks, traveling back and forth between my home in New Jersey on a four month project. The RDU/Triangle area, while not as ethnically diverse as say, San Jose and the Silicon Valley, is of equal importance to our nation’s high tech industry, due to the presence of many large technology companies in the Research Triangle and surrounding areas. And as we all know, you can’t feed computer geeks without having decent Asian food around.
The weather is just starting to turn warm here, so I’ve been in the mood for light cuisine. I was pointed towards Pho 9N9, a small Vietnamese pho shop that is on the outskirts of Durham, by my old friend, fellow foodblogger and native Triangle resident Varmint.
Pho 9N9 is located in a rather non-descript and rather industrial looking strip mall, which houses mostly commercial businesses. That’s just fine with me.
Serious Pho in the Triangle. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
Nice and sunny inside.
The usual array of Vietnamese condiments. They’ve also got a “Chunky” Sambal Oelek sauce thats got more peppers and garlic in it, in addition to the ubiquitous “Rooster” sauce from Huy Fong.
Apparently the reason why they call the place “9N9” is that it is open from 9am to 9PM. However as I understand they are expanding the hours.
Beef Pho. Nice meaty, beefy flavor, with rare beef. I sucked down the broth and left most of the noodles over. Gotta low carb it, ya know.
Pho herbs.
This is a saute of squid with vegetables and pineapple in a sweet and sour type of sauce with chili. I liked it, although its probably more sweet than I would like.
This mussel dish with lemongrass is a real winner, I’ve ordered it on each occasion I’ve been here.
This lotus root salad with shrimp and pork is very refreshing, healthy, and its a huge portion. I had to take more than half of it home for a midnight snack,
Off The Broiler 
Jason,
That Pho looks awesome. Looks exactly like the one I get at “Noodles of the World” in the Borgata casino. Fresh jalapeno, lime wedges, basil, & bean sprouts on the side…..so good!!!!!!!! Do you know of any places in the Northern NJ/NYC area that produces a similar type of Pho as that? I have been to a few such Pho restaurants…one in Chinatown and one in Fort Lee that were not up to snuff. Please Help!!!! Thanks.
Eric
Eric theres a very good place in JC:
https://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/08/20/nj-dining-nha-trang/
Also Binh Duong in Bloomfield:
https://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/nj-dining-binh-duong/
Did you go to Mo Pho in Fort Lee? Or Saigon R, its sister restaurant in Englewood? I happen to like the style they do, although it is not as authentic as the other two.
Jason,
I have been to Mo Pho in Fort Lee. I didn’t care for their take on Pho. The beef slices were very thick and they used some untraditional toppings. Never been to Saigon R but being the sister restaurant I will assume it is a similar rendition. I am not saying it was at all a “bad” pho (Is it possible to make a BAD pho???), just not what I am used to. Also, been to Binh Duong in Boomfield….that was getting closer to what I am looking for but htey didn’t serve freshly sliced jalapenos with the soup (Darn! How I like that fiery kick!) Alas, I will definitely try the Jersey City place as soon as possible and continue my quest for the perfect bowl of Pho. Thanks for your help in this matter.
P.S.: Do you mish China 46 as much as I do? I cannot find a place that does Salt & Pepper Pork Chops as good as theirs. Any luck in that arena? I know you are on a health kick and all but you hear any comments about a place n our region that can make this dish close to hte way China 46 did?
Regards,
Eric
i like nha trang. i like saigon cafe as well (also on newark ave in JC), although i have to admit i’ve never tried their pho.
There’s a restaurant in Jersey City called Thanh Huong (533 West Side Ave, JC) that, in my opinion, is one of the most authentic Vietnamese restaurant in NYC area. They used to operate under the name ‘Com Pho Thanh Huong’ in Canal St. for years but had to relocate to where they are now because of the rent. Unfortunately they were disconnected with a lot of old customers when they moved and are still struggling to be discovered. I’ve stopped going to Nha Trang eversince I’ve found this place again. Give it a try and see how you like it.
I went to Nha Trang today. The Pho was good, but again, it was missing the sliced jalapenos and fresh lime(they supplied a lemon wedge instead). I asked for the lime and fresh jalapeno but never received it(Hmmm…They MUST have some in the kitchen, right? ). Oh well, overall I was very satisfied with their food. Very, very, good. Next time I will just bring my own lime and sliced peppers in a ziploc bag.
P.S.: The service is rushed and gruff. The atmosphere is blah. But who cares when you can get a decent bowl of Pho. Phogedduaboutit!!!!!!!!! Will definitely return!
*Parking lot on side of restaurant a big plus!