Tacoma’s newest Vietnamese restaurant stands out from the crowd, dessert included
Deep-red, compliments of chilis and congealed blood, the beef and pork broth bristles on the stove. To the small pot, Du Dang adds pungent shrimp paste, pig’s feet, beef shank and homemade pork sausage. It all goes into a bowl with thick, round rice noodles, the plate then decorated with jalapeno, bean sprouts, basil and delicate coils of banana flower.
Bún bò Hue exists despite pho’s insistence on outnumbering its more complex competitor. Let not the name of the newest Vietnamese restaurant in Tacoma’s Lincoln District fool you: Lunar’s Pho is the place to order this “spicy noodle soup.”
Originating in Central Vietnam, it translates simply to beef noodle and the city of Hue (pronounced “hway”). Unlike pho, most often a clarifying beef-only broth, this soup benefits from the viscosity of pork fat and the esters of lemongrass. It’s rich and mysterious, spicy but balanced. Above all, it is deeply satisfying.
“You have to eat it hot,” advised Dang.
He ran a successful banh mi and bubble tea food truck in Oahu before moving back to Washington state, opening Lunar’s Pho with his sister, Khanh Dang, in December. On most weekdays, her daughter, Priscilla Truong, greets guests with warm hospitality, and on weekends you might meet her son, Danny. They live in Seattle, but high rents expanded the search for their first restaurant to Tacoma.
“We saw a listing for this restaurant,” said Truong, noting the perk of its existing kitchen, “and we really like the area.”
They entered a stretch of 38th Street already a destination for Vietnamese food — from Cafe La Vie’s strangely inexpensive banh mi to Vien Dong’s 30 years of service, Bambu’s multitude of che and newcomers such as VK Viet Kitchen. Lunar stands out, for several reasons.
The menu is more concise, with just seven distinct protein choices for pho, its broth simmering with bones and alliums day and night in a vat tucked into the corner of the modest galley kitchen. Prepare to use your hands to tear the tender meat off the suon bo (back ribs), layered into the bowl and finished with slivers of pickled onions, scallions and cilantro.
Outside of soups, vermicelli bowls (bún) also feature seven proteins, including lemongrass beef or tofu and Hanoi-style pork sausage, while rice plates add grilled short ribs and curry shrimp.
Encouraged by Truong, explore the house specials over the familiar. Her mother and uncle, inspired by the many restaurant kitchens they’ve passed through, have developed recipes unrestrained by borders.
The honey walnut shrimp embraces the sweet-and-tangy Hong Kong favorite, common on Chinese American menus; Lunar batters the crustacean in-house, and post-fry, tosses in a house sauce. Scoop a few slices from the cabbage bed with a candied walnut for an optimal bite, tempting your chopsticks’ return. Alternatively, get messy with the stir-fried whole shrimp, basted in a sauce of salted duck eggs mashed with sugar and spices, garlic and scallions added for depth and color. Take a moment with the shell, the earthy umami reminiscent of savory peanut butter.
Whether visiting for lunch or dinner, pull up a seat in front of the street-facing windows, or on the side of the dining room where you can peek Truong picking up your order from the pass-through. The space is unassuming but contemporary, with geometric walls of violet, navy blue and mint green offsetting a ceiling of slim, light-wood panels.
Start with a fresh-brewed coffee, dark and dangerous (in caffeine), or housemade mung bean milk tea, sweetened with cream and sugar, its vibrant neon shade matching one of those paint colors. End with Khanh Dang’s magical cakes, both served cold: of banana studded with the fruit’s miniature seeds and spooned with coconut cream, and of cassava, its nuttiness complemented by candied pineapple.
In a region with no shortage of noodle bowls, Lunar’s will beckon you back for more blood, and you’ll learn to bring friends so there’s always room for dessert.
LUNAR’S PHO
▪ 757 S. 38th St., Tacoma, 253-472-6153, lunarspho.com
▪ Monday & Wednesday-Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (closed Tuesdays)
▪ Details: focused Vietnamese with house specials; apps and banh mi $5.50-$12.50, mains $10.50-$12.50, desserts and housemade drinks $5; party trays available
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 10:00 AM.