Parker Milner is the Food Editor of The Post and Courier. He is a Boston College graduate and former professional hockey player who joined The Post and Courier after leading the Charleston City Paper's food section.
Thai Phi was born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Vietnamese parents, grew up in San Francisco and attended college in Charleston. His Upper King Street restaurant, Pink Bellies, is a modern representation of that winding path to the Lowcountry.
The chef's latest concept points directly back his family's heritage in Vietnam.
Restaurants in cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are often named after the dish they serve and the street where they're located, Phi said. He's honoring that tradition with Phở King, a pop-up that will serve pho and seafood-forward small plates at Pink Bellies (595 King St.) every Wednesday, one of the nights his restaurant does not open.
Where Pink Bellies fuses food from Phi's upbringing in Vietnam and the U.S., "Phở King is a nice contrast that focuses on the recipes directly from Vietnam," he told The Post and Courier.
And the chef got those dish details right from the source during a recent stay in Vietnam.
Pho is a Vietnamese soup whose broth is steeped in herbs, spices, meats and vegetables. The dish is relatively new to the Vietnamese culinary arsenal, having debuted in the early 20th century, but it's become ubiquitous throughout the country of about 100 million. It's a thread that connects members of Phi's family, many of whom still live in Vietnam.
While on a trip in which he traced his family's fraught journey to the U.S., Phi cooked with his cousin and at his aunt's restaurant, which has been serving pho in Southern Vietnam for four decades. Blending those two methods produced the pho he'll serve at Phở King.
The pop-up will offer a signature phở dặc biệt with meatballs, rare flank steak, tendons and brisket bobbing in a meaty broth with rice noodles. Beef for the bowls is being sourced from Brasstown Beef in North Carolina.
Small plates include tamarind blue crab, pork ribs and fish sauce wings. Phi is also looking forward to debuting a cheesy lobster dish named tôm hùm nướng phô mai.
The Wednesday night takeover could eventually lead to a brick-and-mortar restaurant focused on pho, Phi said. The chef also alluded to using his College of Charleston business degree to develop a packaged product that would bring these flavors of Vietnam to those in Charleston and beyond.
"We can make this very accessible to somebody across the nation," Phi said.
Phở King will debut in February. For more information, follow on Instagram @phokingchs.