I recently learned about a new Vietnamese restaurant in Austin called Pho King. It sounds way too close to a conjugated form of the f-word. As of this writing, their website still has Lorem ipsum text placeholders and some stock photos. See screenshot below:
The place does exist: here’s the Yelp link. So… is the name an accident? Or a stroke of viral-marketing genius? I’m happy to hear your opinions and reviews in the comments.
As a card-carrying Vietnamese, I would have to say that this name is no coincidence. Most phở shops traditionally are named after someone or some place (Phở Hoang, Phở Saigon) or are followed by a number that is significant to the owners (Phở 33). Austin’s Vietnamese population isn’t very fobby, and I’m sure that the owners knew what they were doing with the name. “King” isn’t a Vietnamese word, and there are several Phở Shizzle shops throughout the country. Hopefully this pun of a business name will get gringo pronunciation of phở (it’s like the “fu” in the “F” word…not “fo” or “fow” like I often hear) correct.
Wow, I sure had a lot to say about that!
Crystal I have to ask — is anyone in your family named Holy or Dontava?
Holy Cao or Dontava Cao? 🙂 No.