Phở or pho is a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, a few herbs, and meat, primarily made with either beef or chicken. Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam and a specialty in a number of restaurant chains around the world. It is a dish that is served primarily at breakfast time and remains a staple of the early-rising Vietnamese population. Pho is like breakfast cereal, oatmeal, and scrambled egg. It’s how we Vietnamese start our day. Pho traces its origins to the early 20th century in northern Vietnam. Subsequently, it was popularized throughout the rest of the world by refugees after the Vietnam War.
Today I’d like to take you to one of my most favorite restaurants where you can have a look at this unique dish.
Khôi Phở Bò Restaurant has been operating since 1968. It has carved a brand name for itself in the area. Khôi Phở Bò owes its success to the owner’s dedication who gets up at 3 AM each day to prepare the broth, choosing the best cuts of beef carefully, and then bringing together the other ingredients in a delicious bowl of piping hot Phở.
Once a Thai couple came to visit the restaurant. After trying the Pho, they invited the owner to move to Thailand and open another restaurant there. However, the owner thanked them for the offer and politely declined. He wanted to stay in Vietnam and keep his family traditional moving forward.
Other than the owner no one else knows the secret recipe. The Pho tastes sweet, not from the sugar or monosodium glutamate, but from the natural flavor of the meat. Even the most fastidious visitor is bound to walk away absolutely satisfied after having tried the Pho served here.
Thank you for sharing your photos with us! This looks absolutely delicious! I’ve never tried any Vietnamese food especially pho, but I’ve heard a lot about it and I’m sure @sonnyNg has more experience and knowledge.
Are there different variations of pho? Is there a vegetarian one? Would you say this restaurant serves the best pho food?
The restaurant I shared is not the vegetarian one. there is one vegetarian restaurant near my house. But it is not good. If you want to try real Pho, you should try beef Pho or chicken Pho.
An interesting introduction of phở. From your photos, they remind me to Indonesian chicken/beef soto noodles. Phở looks very similar to soto, but normally soto doesn’t have extra herbs like phở.
Many thanks for your kind words, @AdriansyahPutera I am happy that you enjoy my post, especially Phở. Thanks to you, I have known a new dish, soto. By the way, could you tell me some more about soto?
Same as Pho, soto is popular street food across Indonesia, is usually composed of clear or yellowish broth, meat (chicken, beef or goat) and vegetables. Soto has a wide variety of recipes and variations (more than 10 variation) based on the region and primary ingredients. My favorite soto is Lamongan chicken Soto, it is normally between Rp. 10,000 to Rp. 18,000 (less than US$ 1.5)
Hi, thanks for sharing. I love pho, ngon lam. I’m living in Long An province and one in a while I go to Ho Chi Minh City. For sure I would like to try that restaurant.
You should eat Banh Mi too. I heard a Banh Mi store near the center named Huỳnh Hoa(I guess it’s in District one) is full of customers everyday and it’s delicious. Hope you would come there to eat and review it.
Yup, totally agree. Banh Mi is very cheap in Vietnam. Some of my foreign friends really love banh mi. Thanks again. Maybe I should write a post about it, huh?
Yes, you should try soto when you are in Indonesia. Currently I live in Bengkulu - Sumatra, about an hour flight from Jakarta. Enjoy the rest of your day @DennisNguyen .
