3 authentic Northern-style beef pho restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is a paradise for pho lovers, with every style imaginable. In recent years, several authentic Northern-style pho restaurants have emerged due to the migration of people from the North to Ho Chi Minh City, and also to meet the needs of "Northern pho enthusiasts" traveling or working in the South.

A bowl of beef pho is characterized by its generous topping of onions and scallions.

The oldest pho restaurant is undoubtedly Phu Gia, located on Ly Chinh Thang Street, District 3. Despite being in Ho Chi Minh City for so long, Phu Gia still serves traditional pho in a "conservative" style, with a broth that contains no sugar, served with onions and scallions as accompaniments, chili sauce, lime, garlic vinegar, crispy fried dough sticks, and, as a "compromise," an additional plate of blanched bean sprouts if requested by the customer.

Phu Gia's signature rare beef pho

Because of the generous amount of onions and the hot serving (without vegetables), diners are completely focused on the pho, sweating profusely. But afterward comes an incredibly satisfying feeling from enjoying the sweetness of the fresh beef and the distinctive aroma of the Northern-style pho broth. Perhaps the standout dish here is the rare beef pho, where the beef is stir-fried with fragrant garlic, then quickly "rolled" over high heat to retain its sweetness, and then topped with pho broth made from beef bones, sea worms, etc., creating a rich, intensely alluring flavor. In addition, other typical Northern-style pho dishes such as rare beef, brisket, flank, tendon, and tripe are all available.

Pho Phat Tai

Located right in the heart of District 1, Pho Phat Tai offers the authentic, traditional flavor of beef pho, focusing on recreating the quintessential Northern Vietnamese pho with broth made from pure Vietnamese beef bone marrow and premium sea worms (Quan Lan sea worms).

Rare beef pho, beef stew pho, and pho rolls at Phat Tai.

The restaurant focuses on a clear, sweet broth made from bones and uses sea worms (which have become "extinct" in many pho cooking processes due to their high price) to create a deep sweetness in the broth. They also incorporate a type of salt crystallized during the fish sauce making process to create an umami flavor and prevent the broth from becoming sour. The restaurant uses purebred Vietnamese yellow-haired beef, which gives the broth a traditional aroma. Notably, the pho is served with Láng basil, a herb thought to be "scarce," but the restaurant has brought it back, albeit with great effort due to the need to transport it by plane from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.

Typical pho dishes here include beef brisket, rare beef brisket, pho in wine sauce, pho rolls, etc.

The pho here is not served with dark soy sauce or sweet chili sauce to preserve the clear, delicate amber-colored broth. Instead, it's served with only garlic-infused fruit vinegar and Hang Be chili sauce (from Hanoi). There are no bean sprouts, just a bowl of scallions, mint, and onions, allowing diners to focus on the delicious beef and the subtle aromas of star anise, cinnamon, and cardamom from the northern mountains. Especially noteworthy are the handmade rice noodles, made from rice grown for six months, which are both soft and chewy, perfectly complementing the broth.

The restaurant has an added touch: using old bamboo chopsticks to pick up the noodles prevents them from slipping, and handcrafted aluminum spoons evoke memories of the subsidy era. They also offer leftover rice for those who want to reminisce about the difficult times (the whole family could buy a bowl of pho for the sick to enjoy the meat and noodles, and buy extra broth for the healthy to pour over leftover rice to ease their cravings).

Pho Dinh

Rare beef pho and beef brisket pho at Pho Dinh

The distinctive feature of Pho Dinh is the generous amount of scallions and onion tops covering the bowl, and the clear broth without any oil film or added sugar. It's known that the restaurant uses a special alkaline water to simmer the bones, resulting in a clear, fragrant broth free from impurities. Pho Dinh includes rare beef, brisket, flank, tendon, and shank. The fried dough sticks are crispy and have a flavor reminiscent of Hanoi. Notably, the pho is served without bean sprouts, only with Northern-style chili sauce, garlic vinegar, lime, and green chilies. The beef used in the pho feels very fresh, being hot daily, not frozen, due to the constant stream of customers.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thoi-trang-tre/3-quan-pho-bo-chuan-vi-bac-o-tphcm-185250307162838032.htm