Pho, pho everywhere, but not a drop is interesting. Houston has so many pho restaurants that try to cut their costs with watered-down broths, meats that could be mistaken for rubber, and clumpy noodles, that you’re wont to lose your pho faith before finding a good, hot, steaming bowl of this Vietnamese standby. You’d think that Pho Danh II—buried in the side of Hong Kong Mall 4, which houses several of these offenders—would be no different. But The Deuce shatters all expectations.

Wait, can this even be in Hong Kong Mall? The transition from walking on floors caked with dirt to this sparkling restaurant will send you into shock. If the pho here weren’t in mostly liquid form, you could probably eat it off the floor. Even the kitchen looks like it’s swept and buffed hourly. The pots hanging on the wall don’t even have that burnt-carbon look to them, and floors are stark white.

Whereas most pho places have rice plates, spring rolls, and egg rolls, the Danh doesn’t deviate much from its eponymous achievement. You can actually distinguish each flavor in this broth. It has a strong beefiness, with a base built on onions, yet a licoricey, bright anise shows up, too. Meats often come freshly sliced, and only slightly cooked before broth immersion, such that they begin their journey to your table rare to medium-rare. The accompanying vegetables are impossibly fresh; each leaf looks like it was hand-picked. Chefs kill for freshness like this. There are heaps of bitter lettuce, fragrant Thai basil leaves, and crunchy bean sprouts.

As if this weren’t enough, Pho Danh II also does a wonderful bun bo Hue, whose broth is every bit as soul-warming as pho’s, but flavored instead with lemongrass and shrimp paste. Here, it’s made in the traditional manner, with pigs’ feet and cooked blood clots (there is no way to put that delicately). The latter has the texture of tofu and a mildly meaty flavor. It’s much tastier than it sounds…or looks. But the broth will send you into fits of ecstasy, transporting you with each bite from the garden to the sea and back again, getting funky with shrimp paste and tangy with lime.

Paired with a bull-strength Vietnamese iced coffee, a meal here is just…dare we say it? Pho-nomenal! (Sorry.)

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