Qing Mu

After a brief absence and reorganization, Qing Mu is back! And this casual Southeast Asian Fusion restaurant is serving delicious food!Ain't gonna lie, I truly miss the Oxtail pho that used to be served here. I will still be back for their Qing Mu pho or other combination. And today my happy hour partner and I had bbq chicken bun bowls, their memorable mango papaya salad, and a sampling of their crab rolls and spring rolls.Thank you Manager Antoine for entertaining us with your fun stories and delicious food. Thank you also for the exemplary service, even opening the secret door to Narnia (1938 Indochine) at 4pm, so we could continue our happy times... part two with alcohol. ;-D

Honestly I can't stop raving about this place! My friend and I visited and we ordered the pho special, banh mi sandwich, and bao buns and all I can say is DELICIOUS the pho had a lot of meat and the lemon grass chicken was so flavorful! Honestly they all tasted delicious and I can't stop recommending it to my friends

Executive chef is very humble and kind. He personally came out to ask us about our meal. The chef was happy to hear that I was Vietnamese and asked if I had any critiques. I gave him a suggestion for the phở broth and he was very grateful to learn. My friend and I both got the chef special with your choice of phở and bánh mì. The pork belly bánh mì was a nice twist on the original bánh mì with pate and perfectly pickled veggies. Overall a lovely experience with good food. Excited to come back to try the phở broth again to see the changes!

10/10 Amazing!! This place had been in my bookmarks for quite a while and only recently I had realized how close it is to where I work! I went in for their happy hour special which is any banh mi + iced coffee for $13, Totally worth it in my opinion! I appreciate that their happy hour is a good time window for anyone on a lunch break in the area it's from 1-3pm. Both items exceeded my expectations, The Vietnamese ice coffee was one of the best I've had in a while! You could definitely taste the condensed milk but not extremely sweet or bitter & very smooth yet strong. The lemongrass chicken banh mi was classic, roll had a crusty exterior but soft on the inside and packed with flavor. Will be coming back again :)

This is a cute little place in the Kakaako district across from Salt. I really like the décor of the place and the easy going atmosphere. Staff seem really nice as well. They have a rather limited menu with nothing unique, just the classics.I ordered the Qing Mu Pho, but unfortunately was given the Ribeye & Meatball. Not sure if it was miscommunication on my part, but I did point to the Qing Mu Pho on the menu. Not a big deal as the the soup was still enjoyable despite not having all the meats that I had originally ordered. Their pho broth is good, but nothing unique from what I could tell. I did love the presentation of the Pho coming in an extra large bowl as well as the ladle style spoon over the typical Chinese style.With my pho, I got the Vietnamese coffee. It was nice and robust with just the right amount of sweetened condensed milk to balance it out. However, I ordered it iced and it came in such a small glass. Usually it is served with a tall glass of ice, but it came ready made and rather small.All in all, it was a good lunch and I'd give them another go if in the area.

Bahn mi for me: the hunt continued.The rave reviews from fellow Yelpers Lyla D and Paul C and office mates brought me here. The big bowls used to serve the pho made our eyes go wide open. How big you ask? Well we had to stand up and take our photos, lol! Have ordered the lemongrass chicken banh mi, spring roll, combination pho, lemongrass tofu vermicelli (bun), Saigon beef noodle. Was jonesing for more spring roll (6 pcs/order, not 6 rolls), although this did leave more room to try more dishes.Staff and service are A+! During day, free covered parking in building. Valet parking in evening.Already made a return visit and planning more visits: Because I need banh mi for me, lol.

We've passed by here a few times and decided to try it. It's very small inside but there's also some seating outside. It wasn't crowded when we went so had no problem. We ordered at the register but then sat down inside to wait for our food. The soups came out in huge bowls. My boyfriend got the combination pho and said it was good. I got the Saigon beef noodle soup since I've never tried anything like that. It tasted like a watery beef stew. It bad at all but not my favorite. If I came again though, I would probably order pho. We also ordered summer rolls which were good. I love when people are nice too and they were. The bowls were huge and we ended up taking some of the summer rolls home. Very filling. It wasn't really anything super amazing but I would come again to try something else.

Hands down -- these folks know what they are doing in town! My brother and I stopped by for lunch. We ordered a Qing Mu Pho (Oxtail, Ribeye, and Meatballs), a Seafood Mekong Noodles (Squid, Shrimp, and Fishballs), an order of Summer Rolls, Dripped Iced Coffee, and a Coconut Juice. The broth was fantastic and tasted very pure -- as in, MSG was absent in the chef's preparation. Noodles were cooked just right -- not too soggy and with the appropriate texture. The Summer Rolls were really tasty also. Everything was fresh and made to order.As of November 15, 2020 -- there are indoor and outdoor seating options available in addition to takeout.Had a great experience at Qing Mu. Would not hesitate to recommend.#SupportLocalSmallBusinesses

I am being generous with the 2 stars (my bf really wanted me to give 1 star.) A few nights ago, we finally tried this place in our neighborhood. Growing up in a Vietnamese family, I was hesitant. In a nutshell: Food was OK, but take-out service was TERRIBLE.FOODWe got the grilled chicken salad and combo of house special banh mi + meatball pho for $27 total. *Banh mi- I liked that the bread was lightly toasted (so not too hard on the gums) but it barely had any pate and it was missing moisture like from some Mayo and/or sauce. They were pretty generous with the cha lua. The pickled veggies (predominantly carrots) were not as pickled as I'd like.*meatball pho- The pho broth was a bit bland (we used all the Siracha and oyster sauce provided), but there was a decent amount of meatballs (6). They were super skimpy on the toppings (more like a garnish), and surprisingly didn't use the typical wide flat noodle. *Grilled chicken salad- The grilled chicken was tasty with that nuoc mam sauce, but there was barely any "salad" (aka just shredded cabbage and carrots). SERVICEStaff was friendly at greeting and taking our order. My bf waited 7 ft from the cashier in plain view the whole time while I walked our dogs outside. 15 min passed when the customer that ordered 2 min after us got his order first. (I texted my bf when I saw that guy walk out). My bf waited 5 mins and then followed up with the staff on our order. They apparently were doing orders out of sequence and skipped our order. Even after we followed up, they did not then prioritize it. Even one of the workers (who we saw were giving a liquor tasting at a table) came over and started raising his voice to the other staff (it's an open kitchen right behind the cashier) at least 2x to tell them to, "Get this done", as they are supposed to do our order first and ignore all the other orders (which confirmed to us that they weren't prioritizing us even after we followed up).We waited 30+ minutes total for 3 food items without any real apology or effort from the staff to make up for the inconvenience. Instead, after my bf (who is not confrontational) received the food and asked them why it took so long, they gave some lame excuse about the orders printing on individual tickets?! Never coming back.

Lunch in Kakaako, Honolulu, Hawaii...I should be a Secret Shopper for restaurants. I would identify a concern, present it, and report on the outcome. That's what I did at Qing Mu.I didn't know what kind of cuisine was served here until my friend, Lyla, pointed out the restaurant and suggested that I try it. After we had dinner next door at 1938 Indochine, I stepped inside Qing Mu, took a look at the menu, and made a note to return for some healthy Viet cuisine.!I found some time on the weekend and parked in the FREE parking lot. The entrance is on Keawe Street, between Qing Mu and Bluetree.Ordering was easy, especially since the gal ai the cash register was friendly efficient. I noticed the tables and chairs to the left of her and said that I wished I had known that dining in was available. She warmly invited me back!I took my order of Seafood Spring Rolls, Shrimp and Grilled Pork Vermicelli, Summer Rolls, and Pork Belly and Pate Bahn Mi home.Mmm hmmm! The packaging was very impressive for takeout. The container for the vermicelli kept the veggies separated! There was a stackable try inside of the container! The summer rolls container was sturdy enough to keep and use again! Everything was beautiful and tasty - especially the shrimp on the vermicelli! It's more than just garlic... something I can't figure out...There was only one concern that bothered me, so I went back the next day and asked some questions. The young man at the cash register wasn't sure about the answer, so he called the manager - which is the proper thing to do. The manager was able to resolve the issue. I ordered the Mekong Seafood Noodles and dined in.This experience was better because my food was the correct temperature and the veggies were fresh! The bowl was gigantic! The manager was attentive (refilled my glass of iced water without my asking) and suggested that I put my bean sprouts and jalapenos in my bowl - ohhh! I had forgotten! At the end of the meal, I decided to bring home an order of the House Special Bahn Mi. I told the cashier that I could warm up the bread and meat in the oven at home, so he packed the pickled veggies separately. It turned out great! My bread was warm, toasty, and crunchy at home!The owner was called to the front while i was at the restaurant. I happily reported to Mr. Aoki that he has great staff who listen to the customer. I would be glad to bring my mom to this clean, safe, and elegant environment for Vietnamese cuisine. It's better than Chinatown! The service and food quality are outstanding! I highly recommend Qing Mu! I'll be back soon!