Phở (pronounced like ‘fuh?’) is a traditional rice noodle soup and one of the most iconic Vietnamese foods. Pho is normally served as a bowl of flat-rice-noodles in beef broth, with some beef slices or other options like tripe or chicken etc.
There are a few variations of pho depending on the regions in Vietnam. The pho in Hanoi is called phở Hà Nội or phở bắc (northern pho), which is normally served with green onions; while the other regions are using different herbs instead.
A new found friend brought me to one of the locals’ favourite to try the pho when I was in Hanoi in July 2008. The place is Pho Thin, located at 13 Lo Duc St.
The restaurant was packed on the Saturday morning. The customers were sitting shoulder to shoulder while some others lining up for their seats. It’s not difficult to understand the crowdiness after tasting the pho, because it was really good.
The rice noodles were smooth and chewy, and the broth was rich in flavour despite looking mild and clear… and their chillies were nice too. Simplicity to its best.
Possibly Related Post
St Joseph’s Cathedral, Hanoi, VietnamCyclo tour in Old Quarter, Hanoi, Vietnam
Cay Cau Restaurant, De Syloia Hotel, Hanoi
Museum of Ethnology, Hanoi – outdoor exhibits
look different than the pho i had at my place. we have carrots, bean sprouts along with the green onions. maybe is the soutern pho, or maybe the pho i had was fake haha..
i’ve eaten pho in many places but i’ve never seen carrots.
I have eaten some pho with bean sprouts… some were with sprinkles of roasted nuts, but can’t recall any with carrots as well. Not sure if those pho with carrots are fake though; Vietnam is a populated country… there must be some culture or cuisine that we haven’t learned about yet.
Love Pho
used to love pho too, but not as much anymore…
i eat it with bean sprouts and onions, but they also serve me a small lime (using the squeezed juice) and some herbs.
lol, does anyone here drink all the soup when you’re finished with the noodles?
i used to, but now that i know the soup is made of pure msg, i don’t anymore =P
I’ll drink all the soup if it taste good and natural. I can differentiate quite well between natural flavour and those with msg or additive.
i remembered at least one time my pho has carrots. they serve the rice noodle in soup, and then serve the meat and side dish separate with different things like green onions, brean sprout, carrots and nuts.
Once again,…a “yummy” looking photo of that pho YeinJee. Very tasty looking.
bb, it’s not all msg. the flavor comes from the beef bones or chicken to make the soup.
For this particular restaurant, anon#9 is probably right. They brewed the soup in a large (really large) pot which could be seen when entering the restaurant. I can’t guarantee that they were not using msg at all, but they certainly used lots of natural ingredients to give that aroma and taste.
anon#9…hehe, i know not all msg. i was just exaggerating a bit. but you have to admit, it’s MOSTLY msg, lol.
oh, and i don’t mean the pho in the restaurant yeinjee went to.
i haven’t even been there.
i’m just talking about the ones i eat where i live, lol.
when i was working in Taiwan,i met a beautiful vietnamese woman and we became good friends.she cooked “pho bo”and tastes good.i like it so much……….
全越南最棒的河粉..apec 也是吃這裡的喔!
lawl, pho never have carrot, western variation (especially the chinese one) could taint it with carrot (due to the fact that carrot bring in a sweet flavour), however traditional vietnamese pho will not have carrot. The broth are cooked using real beef and chicken bone (mostly beef bone), and to hate a food cause of the msg, you really need to judge whether the restaurant you go to is a good one or not, because once u taste a really good pho, you know the broth isn’t just msg… sorry, i can’t stand ppls who is kinda superficial for hating one food just because of msg…. you should go and read about msg, it’s just about as bad as salt or sugar really!
>_> sorry lol, i forgot my main point for posting. Ok, the author hasn’t done much justice by not specified the different of pho thin. Pho thin is like most traditional pho that it has rice noodles, beef and using beef broth. however, the real different is the beef was wok fry before they put it in the bowl. this gives it a really different texture, and the restaurant you visited in Vietnam has been famous over 100 years for that type of pho, because not many ppls know the recipes to cook it. most ppls know how to cook the normal pho since it’s quite simple, however, no one knows how he (the original creator of pho thin) marinated the beef. however, there’s rumor that ever since he past on the business hasn’t been well. out of his 3 or so son, only 1 managed to sustain his father’s reputation…. or it could just be that ppls got sick of it since they eat it every day lol. to me, it tasted till as good as the first time i had it, i can’t really tell the difference since i don’t constantly live in hanoi.
Thanks for the note alex.