Customers line up, carry pho and sit on the sidewalk to enjoy

On Au Trieu Street next to Hanoi Cathedral, there is a pho restaurant that has been bustling with people for decades. Here, it is not difficult to see the image of customers lining up in long lines or arranging plastic chairs themselves, carrying pho and sitting on the sidewalk to enjoy. The restaurant does not have a sign but customers often call it Pho Au Trieu or Pho Tu Lun - Au Trieu.

The owner of the pho restaurant is Mrs. Ngo Thi Phi Nga (64 years old). She said that she is the granddaughter of Mr. Tu - the owner of the famous Pho Tu Lun brand in Hanoi for the past 80 years. Currently, the original pho restaurant is still on Hai Ba Trung street, with Mrs. Nga's mother and sister as the chefs. In 1994, after getting married, Mrs. Nga brought her grandfather's family recipe to Au Trieu to open a restaurant.

Recently, Pho Au Trieu was awarded the Bib Gourmand (good food at affordable prices) award by Michelin. "I didn't know about this award before. When the postman brought the invitation to the announcement ceremony, I thought it was a scam and hesitated to accept it. Luckily, my children read it carefully and introduced me to Michelin. The whole family was very happy and eagerly awaited the announcement day," Ms. Nga shared while quickly slicing meat.

"On June 6, I attended the announcement ceremony. When I was honored, I was overwhelmed with happiness. I arrived late to the event and didn't have time to cook the broth, so on June 7, the restaurant closed. Many customers were surprised to see that and left with regret. No one could replace me to cook the broth, slice the meat, and cook," said Ms. Nga.

Born into a family that owns a famous pho restaurant in Hanoi, Ms. Nga helped her grandfather and father make beef pho since she was young. At the age of 17, she started working in the kitchen to sell. "I kept the recipe my grandfather left me, absolutely no changes, because that is the unique quality of Pho Tu Lun," Ms. Nga said.

Right at the restaurant's entrance is a pot of boiling broth, emitting billowing steam. Unlike most pho restaurants in Hanoi that use clear broth, Mrs. Nga's family's pho uses cloudy, rich broth. Mrs. Nga still introduces it to customers as "clear is simple, cloudy like my family's is difficult" - meaning the uniqueness of her family's way of cooking pho.

Each pot of broth is simmered from beef bones and beef from 5am the previous day until 6am the next day before being sold. The marrow bones are broken at both ends so that the bone marrow can easily seep into the broth during the simmering process. The meat and tendons around the bones are not filtered too cleanly to create a sweet, rich flavor. According to Ms. Nga, the broth does not use cinnamon or star anise but is seasoned with good fish sauce and grilled ginger.

Pho noodles are sourced from a family-familiar establishment that has been around for decades. The noodles must be chewy, elastic, dense, and absorb the broth.

Every day, Mrs. Nga wakes up at 3am, meticulously washes onions and vegetables, then quickly slices the meat. She cuts the brisket entirely by hand, but the pieces are still neat. The fresh beef is sliced by machine, but before serving the rare beef pho, Mrs. Nga uses a knife to smash it and flatten it, skillfully places the meat in a bowl, and pours boiling broth over it. "Most restaurants blanch the meat, but I don't do that. My family's method helps preserve the sweetness of the meat. However, the meat must be clean and fresh," said Mrs. Nga. This method is similar to rare beef pho at Pho Thin Bo Ho.

Currently, the price of cooked pho at the restaurant is 55,000 VND and rare pho is 65,000 VND. Diners order special bowls, depending on their request, the price is different.

Ms. Tran Thi Viet Hai (in ao bo) has been a regular customer at the restaurant for 7-8 years now because she loves the sweet, rich broth with the aroma of bones. Ms. Hai honestly shared: "The restaurant is always crowded, so on days when I'm in a hurry, I don't dare to come, afraid of having to wait too long. But when I have free time, I will come to enjoy it." The female diner was quite surprised to see the Michelin certificate hanging solemnly at the restaurant. Ms. Hai believes that the restaurant deserves this title.

Two tourists, LiLy and Tom, from the US, enjoyed Au Trieu beef pho. The rich broth and chewy noodles made them happy. "I don't eat beef, so I only ordered pho and broth. The flavor is unique and delicious. This is the third time I've had Vietnamese pho, but it's the best," Tom shared.

The restaurant has a spacious and airy space with 4 large tables (each table for 4 adults), 4 small tables (each table for 2 adults), located in a convenient traffic location, with a place to park motorbikes. The owner also arranges some plastic chairs to serve customers sitting on the sidewalk when it is too crowded.

However, the restaurant is famous for being crowded, so customers often have to wait from 5 to 15 minutes, especially between 7 and 9 am. Because of the large number of customers, sometimes the staff and the owner make mistakes in the dishes customers order.

Dining at a 1-star Michelin restaurant in Hanoi: Prices from 8.5 million VND/person Due to many curious people, Michelin-starred culinary businesses were fully booked at noon on June 7. Notable among these is a restaurant located in a hotel in the center of the capital, where diners must spend at least 8.5 million VND/person.

'Hanoi having a Michelin-starred restaurant is an opportunity to promote its tourism image' The leader of the Hanoi Department of Tourism said that Hanoi having a representative restaurant with a Michelin star - a prestigious award in the world's culinary world - is good news for the capital's tourism industry and a good opportunity to widely promote Hanoi's cuisine to the world.

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