“If the food at a place called Yummy Yummy isn’t yummy, I’m gonna be pissed!”
I wasn’t and I’ll tell you why.
It would be difficult to leave the place without cracking a smile. First, there’s the friendly proprietor, who seems to remember every face and genuinely enjoy serving every customer, and who also yells “THANK YOU!!!!!!!” to you as you depart regardless of what he’s doing.
Then there’s the hilarious décor around the cashier counter: Random paperweights, ranging from dogs to a tin of breath mints to a faux fountain that bemused a few customers? Check. Football-shaped flat-screen TV? Check. Gigantic Lucky Cat? Check.
And all that was before the food came out.
While amateurs easily screw up fried squid, Yummy Yummy’s cooks are pros. Served in a large heap, large pieces of the cephalopod were spicy and unexpectedly, delightfully, wonderfully tender. Perfect on its own, they were also yummy yummy with Sriracha.
But the reason we came here was my hankering for pho. The extra-large serving of the House Special filled this diner to the brim with a generous amount of meat and all the trimmings (tripe and the like) . Less peppery than most I’ve tried, the pho broth was nevertheless flavorful and yummy yummy indeed.
Two bowls of noodles and one appetizer to stuff two big eaters for a very pocket-friendly $23? Not a bad deal at all, I’d say. And if you need a picker-upper, the Vietnamese coffee for under $4 will grow hair on your chest. Just ask for a little bit less condensed milk, if you can.
THE VERDICT:
In the Asian-rich Inner Sunset, the unassuming Yummy Yummy restaurant is a stand-out choice for good pho. Generous with serving size and charm, and easy on the wallet?
Check, check, and check.
Words by Jenna 