Yes, there is a fried egg roll on the appetizer menu at this modest (we’re being gentle here) restaurant overlooking an expressway—but it’s nothing like the cardboard creation that sometimes comes with lunch specials. Crackling crisp and filled with vermicelli and ground pork, it may be an egg roll epiphany. Same goes for the soups.

We can recommend two pho, the number 2 with eye round steak and well-done brisket, and number 44 with seafood. The basic, fragrant broth, less aggressively flavored with star anise and clove than some, is similar for both, though additions mellow each out a little differently. Rice noodles are universal. Of the accessory bean sprouts, cilantro, sliced jalapeños, lime wedges…add as much as you can put into the bowl. Start slowly with the potent chili sauce.

It’s not all soup slurping at Pho Ha Long; there are some drier options, including a noodle-based bun tom thit nuong (number 25). Its shrimp are straightforward, but the pork is tender and smoky, helping hoist this dish to a solid bronze in the lineup.

But, what the pho, you really came for the soup. $5 will get you a small bowl of most everything. The large is only fifty cents more. The pawnshop next door won’t be necessary.