EAST PEORIA — It brought about a bit of a double-take driving by early this year. Into the strip mall space next to a garden variety Asian buffet, suddenly there was a new Vietnamese joint — a noodle house.

Jumping off from a limited menu, Pho Noodle House, 206 W. Camp St., has expanded its offerings into a substantial array of choices for the eponymous Vietnamese beef-and-rice-noodle soup as well as some stir fry, fried rice and Southeast Asian stew dishes.

On a recent evening we stopped into the slightly cramped restaurant and got a friendly greeting and invitation to sit wherever we pleased. Decor is fairly standard for an Asian restaurant, and the music that evening came from Asian pop music videos on a few television screens — a bit different, but also not loud enough to disturb conversation.

As the server arrived to take our orders, she brought with her a small plate of complimentary wonton crisps and a sweet chili dipping sauce to take the edge off.

My guest started with the taro milk bubble tea ($3.80), a sweet concoction, light purple in color, that includes flavoring from the starchy southeast Asian taro root alongside the tapioca pearls that make up bubble tea. I opted for a glass of sweet and tropical mango juice ($2.80) over ice.

We started our meal with an order of the pork summer rolls ($3.95). Unlike a spring roll or an egg roll, these aren't fried. The fresh rice paper wrapping contains cucumbers, lettuce, rice noodles, sprouts, cilantro, egg and long strips of grilled pork. The latter provides a nice counterbalance to the crispness of the veggies. The cold treat can be dipped in the accompanying hoisin sauce sprinkled with peanuts. (That sauce also goes nicely with those wonton crisps.)

My guest had an order of flat rice noodles with beef ($8.88), a heaping serving that also provided a future lunch or two of leftovers. The beef and wide noodles are mixed with onions, scallions, sprouts and Chinese broccoli.

Meanwhile, I went with the signature dish ($8.88) in its simplest iteration. There are different versions of pho — different cuts of beef, with meatballs, with chicken in chicken broth instead — on the menu for the same price. But they recommended sliced brisket for beginners.

The savory beef broth with noodles, onion, scallion and meat comes with a side tray bearing cilantro, sprouts, jalapeno and lime to add to suit your own palate. Together the combination of flavors is incredibly savory and soothing. With a wide spoon and chopsticks, it's still a bit messy to eat — slurping may have been involved — but that's all part of the adventure.

There are many more choices for me to sample, especially as the weather turns cooler.

Chris Kaergard can be reached at ckaergard@pjstar.com or 686-3255. Follow him on Twitter@ChrisKaergard.