MEG HERE AND THERE
- Jun 18, 2018
- 3 min read

MOFU Shoppe is Pho King Pho Nomenal

A stop into MOFU Shoppe, in downtown Raleigh is always an overall excellent experience. I first became aware of these ladies/business owners and their food truck a few years back when they started their food truck business. It was called “Dump Pho King Truck”. Cute hu? My friend Laura enticed me to check them out at a food truck rodeo in Durham. I’m glad I did. Since then, the food truck competed in Food Network’s reality TV show, -a food truck competition called, “The Great Food Truck Race”. They competed under the name “Pho Nomenal Dumpling Truck”. They won the race! With their winnings they decided to open a brick and mortar business and so, MOFU Shoppe was born. I’m so happy about that! As much as I love food trucks, I don’t always love standing around and eating. Plus, weather can be an issue.... but I digress. So... on this visit to MOFU I started with a cocktail called “Pretty in Pink”. I’d like to rename that to “Perfect Pretty in Pink”, because it was... perfect. A perfect cocktail to me is one where I can taste the liquor, and whatever else is mixed in there must compliment the booze, and it’s gotta taste good overall.

For dinner I went with the Curry Chicken Pasta. Wow this was delicious! I dug right into it, immediately appreciating the flavor of the sauce. You know when food tastes so good that it seems like the ingredients are bursting? Yes, it was like that. I appreciated how each ingredient was cooked to its own perfect limit. The green beans tasted fresh as if from the Farmers Market and were steamed just enough but not so much that there was no crispness left. Btw, I don’t actually know if the green beans came from the Farmers Market or some other source but they tasted garden-fresh! I enjoyed the tastiness of each ingredient, the chicken, the pineapple, the tofu, the baby corn and the pasta. Worth noting here is that it wasn’t a giant dish of pasta topped with the above mentioned ingredients. It was a a pretty even split. As I was finishing I decided to ask for a soup spoon because I just didn't want any of that sauce to get left behind. So yummy!

MOFU display cool art too. This month they are featuring paitings by Christopher Evans (www.goodtrip.ink).

MOFU Shoppe is great for lunch, dinner or just drinks & small plates. The thing I mostly appreciate about this place and really any place that I consider to be a worthy spot, is that it’s consistent. Every time I’ve been in, the hosts are friendly & professional and quick to seat you. The decor and cleanliness is the next thing I always notice. They’ve got a big bar right at the center of the restaurant which is pretty eye-catching.

The ambiance of the restaurant is always relaxing and calm, even when it’s busy in there and it does get busy. Worth noting is how ultra clean this place is too. I really appreciate that. Next is the service. -Always well informed about the dishes, friendly & attentive. Lastly, but not least importantly, is the food & drinks. Always excellent.

I like that MOFU doesn't have a huge menu of choices. I’d like to think that’s intentional so that they can focus on perfecting the limited amount of selections they do offer, and always turning out consistently yummy dishes & drinks. I'm cool with that!