FARGO - Later this week, Henry Tang hopes you’ll consider stopping by and slurping with your friends and family.

Tang and his sister, Cindy Tang, co-own Pho D’licious, a new downtown restaurant that will put Vietnamese pho soups front and center.

Henry Tang said plans are to open the eatery to the general public Saturday, May 11.

In the meantime, he’s finalizing his menu and inviting family and friends to taste-test to make sure the recipes he’s adapted from his own home cooking - and those he picked up in culinary classes in Vietnam - are truly slurp-tastic.

Tang said friends who’ve enjoyed his cooking told him he should start a restaurant.

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“If you go to Minneapolis, pho is everywhere,” Tang said Tuesday, April 30. “I want to bring that taste to Fargo.”

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Since the start of the year, Tang has completely renovated the restaurant space at 623 Northern Pacific Ave. (the former home of Drunken Noodle, which reopened in December on Broadway).

Tang redid the kitchen, flooring and walls and installed a reverse osmosis water purification system to ensure quality water for his broth.

He also bought his serving dishes in Vietnam, as well as his tables, chairs and lighting fixtures to give the eatery a more authentic Asian feel.

“I handpicked it. I wanted to bring authentic stuff,” Tang said. “I wanted to bring a little East and West together.”

Pho is a mixture of meats, rice noodles, onions, herbs and broth. Hoisin or sriracha sauces can be added for extra flavor.

In addition to a selection of pho soups, Pho D’licious will feature other types of noodle dishes and egg rolls and spring rolls. There are soft drinks, smoothies and a strong, flavorful Vietnamese coffee available. The restaurant has a liquor license and will serve beer, too, Tang said.

Tang will keep the menu small for now, and expand it later to include more exotic dishes.

Hours have not been finalized, but Tang said he’ll probably be closed Mondays, with weekday hours running 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday hours from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. to service late night/early morning diners. The restaurant has seating for 66.

Tang, 46, grew up in Vietnam and came to Fargo in 1989 at age 17, graduating from Fargo South High School. He served eight years in the U.S. Marines, then attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas, earning a degree in business management, before taking a medical support job with the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Later, he and his former spouse started a nail salon in south Fargo. After they divorced, she kept the salon and he started looking for another venture. With his love for food, Tang decided that opening a restaurant would be a good next chapter for his life.

“It is a complete gamble,” Tang said of his adventure as a restauranteur. “I have the passion. I have the will. I’m just shooting for it.”



