Pho noodle in Hanoi

Phở noodle soup first appeared in the 1920s, ie it’s less than 100 years old. However, it developed incredibly fast. First, there was only beef noodle soup and it was hawked around the streets. During the 1940s, when there was a shortage of beef, people started making Phở with chicken as they had become addicted to it. And now Phở is so popular that almost no street in Hanoi is without a Phở restaurant. In some areas, there are even 3-4 restaurants, from luxurious to simple ones inside alleys, but not every restaurant can satisfy the strict requirements of Hanoian gourmets, who eat Phở every morning or late at night during the four seasons. 

A good bowl of Phở first requires the flavor of soup, which comes from cooking the ox bones, not from seasoning, along with taste of cardamon, grilled ginger and onion, all mixed together. Noodles must be soft and plastic. Next, brown beef is dipped into the hot soup, and finally spices, including onion and “thơm” vegetable. The southerners love to eat Phở with various types of vegetables, but Hanoians do not eat it that way. 

Exceptional cases are Phở bought specially for sick people without  meat or for children without onion, but these are not really Phở. To appreciate Phở properly, it should be eaten in restaurants with the atmosphere of people going in and out, the sound of bowls, chop sticks and knives, and the passionate faces. 

Phở is the delicious speciality food of Hanoi. In Vietnam, you can find Phở everywhere, but even some tens of km away from Hanoi, Phở is longer so delicious. 

In addition to Phở made from beef and from chicken, there are other types of local Phở like Phở thịt vịt (duck meat), Phở thịt lợn (pork), Phở chua, Phở cuốn etc., but only Phở noodle soup made in Hanoi has the special attraction that is found no where else in Vietnam. It is, indeed, “a feature of Hanoi”. 

Some types of Phở noodle soups in Hanoi: Phở bò tái (rare beef), Phở bò chín (well done beef), Phở bò nạm gầu (beef), Phở bò sốt vang (beef and tomato), Phở gà (chicken).