What do Vietnamese customers say when eating pho for 265,000 VND at Chipu's restaurant in China?

(Dan Tri) - Having tried many pho restaurants in Shanghai, Hanh Thu has not really been satisfied with any of them because the taste is not up to standard Vietnamese pho.

Nguyen Hanh Thu first set foot in Shanghai in 2016 and has been attached to this city ever since.

After nearly ten years living abroad, the Vietnamese girl sometimes wishes to find a restaurant that serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Because pho is one of her favorite dishes, Thu has tried countless restaurants in Shanghai to experience it.

A bowl of Vietnamese pho in Shanghai with beef balls, served with bean sprouts and basil.

"If you roughly count, there are more than 30 pho brands with nearly 100 restaurants in Shanghai. I have tried many and found that the characteristic of pho here is not as fragrant with cinnamon, anise, and cardamom as in Vietnam. The bowls of pho also do not have brisket, flank, or tendon for customers to choose from, usually only served rare, well-done, and beef balls.

Perhaps the flavor has been mixed to suit local tastes. Therefore, most Vietnamese people who eat pho in China will not get the authentic taste of Vietnamese pho," Thu commented.

Vietnamese customers come to Chipu's pho restaurant to experience it.

Recently, when she heard that Chipu's pho restaurant had just opened, the Vietnamese girl was very excited and immediately went there to experience it.

The restaurant is located on Dien Binh Street in Tinh An District. After 3 weeks of trial sales, the restaurant has officially opened. Located on a street that is not too busy, but visitors can easily find it. After stepping in, inside there is only a row of tables, making diners easily think of Japanese-style noodle shops with about a dozen seats.

Because the restaurant is quite small, there is not much space to design and decorate with accessories and pictures of Hanoi's Old Quarter. And the restaurant's sign does not have the words "Vietnamese Pho" like many other restaurants in Shanghai.

The space of the restaurant is quite small, the seating arrangement is like a Japanese noodle shop.

The time Thu came to dine was a weekend. At that time, the restaurant was almost full of customers. With its location on a not-so-busy street, the Vietnamese customer thought that was quite good.

It is known that the restaurant is running a 79 yuan (265,000 VND) combo that combines many products together including: A bowl of pho, a poached egg, a fried dough stick with lotus tea or coffee.

"Of all the pho restaurants I've eaten at in Shanghai, this is the only one that comes with a poached egg and fried dough sticks. The beef is also different. In addition to well-done and rare beef, the pho doesn't have beef balls, but instead has a piece of beef stew.

The restaurant's spices include garlic vinegar, chili sauce and fresh chili, instead of fresh lemon, bean sprouts and basil like some other restaurants," the Hanoi girl described.

Meal 265,000 VND includes a bowl of pho, poached egg, fried breadsticks and optional drink.

The letter said that the price of pho in Shanghai ranges from 40 yuan to 70 yuan (135,000 VND - 235,000 VND). In a city with such an expensive cost of living, the price of pho at the restaurant is considered "on par with the price of pho in China".

While other Vietnamese restaurants abroad sell many other dishes besides pho such as bun cha, bun bo, banh mi, nem ran or nem cuon, Pho Chipu currently only focuses on selling one dish, beef pho. Thu finds the most impressive point of the restaurant is that it has a strong Northern pho flavor with a beautiful decoration.

"If I have the chance, I want to support all Vietnamese restaurants in Shanghai as well as many other places," the Vietnamese customer shared.

Previously, during the trial period, many diners came here to experience and said "this is the traditional Vietnamese pho restaurant in China that they have ever known".

"The broth is naturally sweet and the noodles are soft and chewy. The large amount of meat is a big plus when compared to some pho restaurants in Shanghai," commented a customer named My Pham.

Photo : Nguyen Hanh Thu

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