Amazing Pho opened in early February in the Center at Lenox, near Marshall's.
LENOX, Mass. — A local couple is bringing their love of Vietnamese food to the Berkshires.
Xiaoqing "Iris" Pan and Kang Chen, husband and wife, opened the Amazing Pho last month in the Center at Lenox on Route 7.
Though both are from China, they fell in love with Vietnamese cuisine and Pan would often travel far for some pho and three hours to Boston or New York to get a taste of milk tea, now something she sells at Amazing Pho.
"Everytime I go there I will bring six milk teas back here," Pan said. "I will drink one when I'm there and drink one in my car and drink one when I get home, and save another three for the next day because you're not going to drive three hours just for a drink."
In addition to milk tea and pho (noodles), the restaurant offers rice dishes, sandwiches (bahn mi), dumplings and salads. It also offers vegan and gluten-free options. Prices range from about $10 to $20 plus add-ons.
Pan's parents ran the former Amazing Pavilion Chinese restaurant in Pittsfield. They asked her to take over but she wanted to branch out on her own into Vietnamese food.
"We didn't want to continue the old restaurant, we want something new, we didn't want to be stuck there our whole entire life," she said.
But she was nervous opening a new restaurant because people here might not understand Vietnamese food and wouldn't like the change.
"So I was kind of worried people don't even know and they don't want to try new stuff you know because new stuff sounds scary to them, something they don't know," Pan said. "So I quite worried about it but until I opened, I underestimated people's passion to the little place."
But once Amazing Pho opened and people started to get curious, Pan felt supported and excited.
"People were really nice and they want to learn the new stuff like more than what I expected," said Pan.
Pan said she and her husband grew up going to Vietnamese restaurants but she can see people questioning their opening one.
"As you can see, I'm Chinese and this place is Vietnamese and people will question, 'your Chinese and making Vietnamese noodles, you're not professional you're not the one who know how to make it' so the answer from me is honestly I don't know how to make it," she smiled. "he's the one who knows how to make it."
Pan motioned to Chen, who worked part time at a Vietnamese restaurant and took notes from the chef to never forget a recipe.
"He followed the chef at the back kitchen during all of his high school part-time work and he really into it and he liked the smell and everything and the chef was quite nice and he taught everything to him," she said.
Pan and Chen hope that people like their food and are always looking for feedback. Pan wants her restaurant to feel inviting and welcoming for patrons and for those looking to try something new.
"No matter you know Vietnamese or don't know Vietnamese food you can always stop by you're welcome, even if you just take a look you don't order anything I'm totally OK with that," she said. "I like people sitting here, chat with friends, or get some drink."
Amazing Pho is open seven days a week, Monday through Thursday from 11 to 9, Friday and Saturday 11 to 9:30, and Sunday from 1 to 8:30. The menu has a range of Vietnamese food and others to choose from.
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Pittsfield Celebrates 'Twinning' With Irish Sister City
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Last week, the city celebrated St. Patrick's Day early with officials from Sister City Ballina, Ireland.
There was music, dancing, gift exchanges, and a lot of green.
"If you're wondering, what does a Sister City do?" Pittsfield Sister City Committee Chair Francis Curley said.
"We've had art exchanges, we had a female basketball team from Ballina come over and play here, we had a semi-pro basketball team from Ballina come here. So it's not just sports; it's like cultural exchanges. Every time I speak with someone from Ireland, I learn something new."
Pittsfield and Ballina have been "twinning" for 27 years, fostering cultural, educational, economic, and recreation exchanges.
"It's really special that we have that connection and I just feel that we have to keep it up," Ballina's Mayor Michael Loftus said.
Ballina is a community of about 10,000 people and, similar to Pittsfield, has a vibrant art scene and natural scenery. Even though the two cities are almost 3,000 miles away, Loftus displayed a photo of a local pothole to show that both places deal with the same everyday struggles.
"We also have potholes in Ireland and that's a diver, actually, in our potholes in Ireland," he said. "Whatever you do, please don't be criticizing. It's not just here that you have them."
The teams competed in three rounds with the top eight point-scorers advancing to the Great Eight Playoff. After the great eight, two teams were left, the Lee RoboWildcats and the
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Ashlyn Lesure scored 18 points, and Regan Shea and Emma Meczywor added 15 and 11, respectively, as the Hurricanes successfully defended their 2024 state crown and won the program’s fourth state title in a run that has seen Hoosac Valley go to the state final nine times since 2014. click for more
In addition to milk tea and pho (noodles), the restaurant offers rice dishes, sandwiches (bahn mi), dumplings and salads. Item prices range from about $10 to $20 plus add-ons.
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