The location of Pho Ever is so peculiar that even Waze had me going around in circles. It sits in a mini-mall that’s virtually on the ramp to the 10 Freeway east, in a location that’s technically in Alhambra, though I think of it as the Monterey Park side of the freeway.

From the outside, it looks like any number of generic pho shops here in SoCal. And those who glimpse at the place while heading onto the road might well not give it a second thought. They’d be incredibly wrong, for Pho Ever is a Vietnamese restaurant like none other. This may well be the best Vietnamese destination in the San Gabriel Valley. Our culinary life is, as ever, full of surprises.

The SG Valley Pho Ever is a cousin restaurant to the Pho Evers in Gardena and Little Tokyo. The restaurant is a tribute to the cooking of Lani Nguyen, who – along with her daughter, Hanli Su – opted to go beyond the familiar dishes of the first two Pho Evers.

But first, let’s deal with the basics! Those who hunger for the namesake pho will not be disappointed, for this is a soup of many complications and great understatement in terms of the intensity of its flavors.

The bone broth at the heart of the pho is simmered long and slow for 16 hours, leeching the goodness from the bones till they’re reduced to their basic molecules. The broth is flavored with bean sprouts and basil, with sawtooth coriander, which is easy to confuse with cilantro, except the flavor is more pungent and more peppery, with the inevitable limes and jalapeños on the side.

The proteins are tender to the point of absurdity – oxtail, rare steak, well-done brisket, beef meatballs, tripe, beef balls and shrimp, all by themselves, and in some cases mixed together. The pho, all by itself, is a wonderful meal.

There are a trio of rolls – chicken and veggie egg rolls, shrimp spring rolls with peanut sauce that’s so good I could eat it for dessert.

For those who worship at the altar of the wondrous banh mi sandwich, there’s one made with braised beef brisket, another with braised pork belly, and a third with fried tofu with basil. They all come on crispy, tres French baguettes, with pickled daikon and carrots, and the inevitable cilantro and jalapeños.

But then, along with the three rolls, you’ll also find a tempura dish of blue oyster mushrooms grown nearby the much revered Long Beach Mushroom Farm. Before the restaurant opened, Nguyen could be found serving the tempura in a Buddhist temple in Corona. It’s well worth the trip – from anywhere. The mushrooms are sizable, intensely flavored, and coated with a tempura batter that crackles with every bite.

Do eat it while it’s hot; I tried to take some home, which worked, but not as well as I wanted it to. This is a crispness that fades with time. But fresh from the fryer, it dazzles.

And then, there’s the section of preps headed “Specialty dishes: Reimagined childhood favorites.” This is the food that defines Pho Ever, that truly sets it apart as a Vietnamese restaurant unlike any other.

The dish that leaped out at me was the Butterfly Pea Sticky Rice, a name of remarkable elegance for a dish of rice turned pinkish blue by soaking in butterfly pea flowers – a centerpiece for slices of sweet lop xuong sausage, the curious pork “floss” referred to as “sung,” fried shallots, sesame seeds, scallion, and half an egg that’s soft boiled and then deep-fried, giving it a unique texture. At Pho Ever, even the eggs are from an alternative food world.

There’s more: banh canh chay (umami vegetable broth with tapioca noodles, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, napa cabbage, fried tofu and shallot). Nem nuong banh hoi (woven vermicelli noodles with pork sausage, lettuce, mint, basil and pickled vegetables). And shrimp fried rice – yes even the shrimp fried rice! – made with organic red grain rice.

To wash it all down, there’s lemongrass blueberry lemonade, green Thai tea, jasmine with raspberry, cucumber and basil lemonade, and butterfly pea flowers with kiwi. There’s a drink called Strawberry Dream as well. There’s Vietnamese iced coffee so strong, it will open your eyes for a month.

There’s a case of desserts right opposite the entrance, filled with tasty treats made by Nguyen. We are told on the menu, “Food is our family’s love language.” You can taste the love in every bite. Once you figure out where the place is.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.