Stephen Fung vs. Pho Garden’s Giant Pho Challenge

Somewhere in San Francisco there is a place that serves what could very well be the BIGGEST PHO in the world and this place is called Pho Garden. This eatery kicked off my US tour of three places that I wanted to hit during my road trip to the US. They included Iguana’s Tacqueria for the Burritozilla Challenge, Beth’s Cafe and their 12 Egg Southwestern Exposure Omelet Challenge and of course the Pho Challenge!

As you might have figured out, I kind of posted my challenges out of order. This one was my biggest disappointment because it was the one I was looking forward to the most. Ever since I found out about this challenge, I wanted to do it, not only for myself, but for the pride of Dot Com Pho. What says Pho more than a bowl that is nearly two feet wide, filled with 2 lbs of meat and 2 lbs of noodles?

Of all of the Dot Com Pho Gang, it’s clear that I was the only logical choice to take on and defeat this challenge due to the fact that I have this tendency to finish things like the Kam Do Mixed Grill and have a reputation for eating massive hamburgers. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, my inexperience at this type of gargantuan challenge put me at a disadvantage. I did not have my strategy in place and I did not follow my instinct which was to attack hard and fast; a tactic that led to my success in Seattle at Beth’s Cafe with a massive 12 egg omelet.

Despite the disappointment that this challenge represented, this also is a reminder that I do learn quickly and that experience is everything. Enjoy the video!

You’ll find more pictures from the infamous Pho Garden Pho Challenge after the jump. Stay tuned for more food adventures coming up soon!

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Stephen Fung vs. Beth’s Southwestern Exposure 12 Egg Omelet!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That pretty much described my crazy foodie challenges while I enjoyed my time down in California and the Bay Area. The first challenge which was San Francisco’s Pho Garden’s Pho Challenge, a massive bowl of Pho consisting of 2 lbs of meat and 2 lbs of noodles, left me demoralized and quite full for most of the day. However, I fought back and put a big dent into that massive Pho, but it wasn’t enough to clean the bowl (video coming soon).

The very next day, after somehow being able to digest that huge Pho, I went to Iguanas Tacqueria in San Jose where I attempted my challenge against the infamous Burritozilla. It’s a challenge so horrible that Adam Richman walked away from it during his San Jose visit and had World Competitive Eating Champion, and San Jose native, Joey Chestnut take it on instead. I again tried and failed. Sigh.

Some say that that the third time is a charm. Of course, others say that three strikes and you’re out or that terrible things come in threes. Well, I decided to try one last time in Seattle by taking on Beth’s Southwestern Exposure 12 Egg Omelet!

Located in Seattle, Washington, Beth’s Cafe has been serving the area for 55 glorious glutinous years! The portions are big, the place has character, and the customer submitted artwork is interesting. However, I had no time to draw a pretty picture and instead got down to the ugly task of taking down this same challenge that downed our Man vs. Food Hero, Adam Richman.

Do I triumph? Or do I crash and burn for a three straight consecutive loss? Check out the video!

After two failed attempts on two of the planets most infamous and challenging monster food challenges, Beth’s Southwestern Exposure 12 Egg Omelet fell and I can finally say that in the battle of Stephen vs. Food, Stephen WON!

If you want to see the challenge that inspired my latest win, the Pho Garden’s Pho Challenge, stay tuned as I’ll be putting that up over the weekend.

Stephen Fung vs. Iguana’s Burritozilla!

Nestled in this seemingly quiet part of Downtown San Jose is a little Mexican Taqueria known as Iguanas. This place is an easily recognizable landmark in the downtown core and has been feeding the many hungry students that attend the neighboring San Jose State University since 1994. The smiling green iguana is their mascot and is also synonymous with generous portions, fresh ingredients, reasonable prices and some of the best Mexican food in the state.

Behind the smiling iguana is something so horrible that even Man vs. Food’s Adam Richman had to walk away from it. In it’s underbelly is something that weighs nearly 5 lbs and is over 18 inches in length. Ladies and gentleman, this horrible beast is known as Burritozilla!

During my road trip down to the US, I hit some pretty cool eateries. Besides the Pho Garden Pho Challenge (which I will post about later this week), the great Burritozilla was on my hit list of monster food challenges. Did I finish this remarkably gruesome (but extremely tasty) creation? Check out the video to see how it all went down…

What an upset! With only 1/4 of Burritozilla left, I tapped out and let the lizard win. Damn!

However, with the knowledge gained from tackling two of California’s greatest food challenges, I was able to take what I learned and apply it to my challenge against Seattle’s Southwestern Exposure 12 Egg Omelet Challenge. More on that in an upcoming post so stay tuned!

More Burritozilla pictures after the jump…

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