In the heart of Tokyo, Pho Trung restaurant has been a popular spot for many years, not only for Japanese diners and Vietnamese expatriates but also for lovers of Vietnamese cuisine from all over the world.
A sign for Pho Trung restaurant in Japan - Photo: FBNV
Chef Nguyen Tat Trung
Chef Nguyen Tat Trung, 60 years old and from Hai Duong province, has over 20 years of experience cooking pho in Japan.
When Mr. Trung first arrived in Japan, the number of Vietnamese restaurants could be counted on the fingers of one hand, but now there are hundreds of Vietnamese restaurants in Tokyo. And whenever Vietnamese food is mentioned, the Japanese exclaim: Pho!
A connection with the kitchen, a connection with Japan.
In the 1980s, after completing his volunteer soldier duties in Cambodia, Mr. Trung returned to Ho Chi Minh City and studied at the tourism and hotel management training center (now Saigontourist Tourism and Hotel Vocational School). He excelled academically, earning priority for an internship at the Rex Hotel, after which he was hired directly and worked there for seven years.
Mr. Trung's fate changed when he was sent to Japan to cook Vietnamese food. Normally, chefs who go to Japan only work for about a year before returning home. But Mr. Trung, in six months, had learned the basics of Japanese and also possessed a talent for carving and decorating dishes... so he was retained. After more than 13 years as a head chef, Mr. Trung had the opportunity to fulfill his long-held dream: opening his own restaurant in the heart of Tokyo.
And so, in 2014, Pho Trung was born: "When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine , both Japanese and international visitors know pho the most. So when I opened the restaurant, I chose the name Pho Trung so that everyone could easily remember it. As for the number of dishes in the restaurant, there are many, including all the famous Vietnamese dishes, not just pho."
The challenges of starting a business abroad.
Beef pho at Pho Trung
Trung's early years as an entrepreneur were difficult; bringing Vietnamese ingredients and spices over was not easy. Especially for pho, a delicious bowl requires a full range of characteristic spices, so in the beginning, Trung had to scramble to import ingredients from all directions.
Finding the right ingredients is difficult enough, but choosing a business philosophy is even harder. When he was the head chef of a Japanese restaurant, it was always packed with customers, and everyone praised the Vietnamese dishes. So when starting his own business, Mr. Trung confidently copied the restaurant's model, hoping for just as many customers.
However, both Vietnamese and Japanese people who had lived in Vietnam criticized Trung's original pho dish. Their biggest criticism was that the pho didn't taste like the Vietnamese version. After many sleepless nights, Trung realized that since he had been cooking Vietnamese food in restaurants for Japanese people, he should adjust the seasonings to suit Japanese tastes, thus making the dish more appealing to the majority.
Mr. Trung decided to change. He started cooking authentic Northern-style pho, Hue-style beef noodle soup, and Phnom Penh-style noodle soup: "That's when customers finally accepted it, nodding in agreement, 'Oh, that's really pho.' That's when I realized the value of authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Trung's pho has attracted and retained customers until now."
Mr. Trung said the Japanese were very curious; they asked detailed questions about what pho is made from, whether it's rice or wheat, where the rice comes from, why the broth is so delicious and sweet, and why the bones don't have a bone smell...
"The Japanese asked a lot of questions, but the more they asked, the more opportunities I had to share with them about Vietnamese culinary culture . They showed me that Vietnamese cuisine is just as good and unique as any other country's," Mr. Trung recounted. His pho restaurant has a good reputation and is well-known. Currently, besides focusing on his restaurant, Mr. Trung also trains chefs, teaches pho cooking, and helps anyone who wants to open a Vietnamese restaurant in Japan.
After eight years of running his own Vietnamese restaurant in Japan, what makes Mr. Trung most proud is that the dishes are now authentic, with precise quantities and consistent flavors: "We use machines to weigh and measure everything, instead of seasoning based on intuition. The amount of water, the amount of bones, the amount of spices... everything is clearly defined, so year after year the flavor remains original, purely Vietnamese, and loved by our customers."
When meeting with the Tuoi Tre newspaper delegation on their survey trip to Tokyo, Mr. Trung expressed his pride in having the pho festival and his willingness to contribute. According to Mr. Trung, Tuoi Tre newspaper bringing the pho festival to Japan is a great opportunity for the essence of Vietnamese culinary culture, and pho in particular, to reach Japanese people and international tourists in Japan.
Mr. Nguyen Tat Trung sharing his experience with domestic pho restaurants participating in the Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 - Photo: QUANG DINH
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