Owner of Pho Ngoc Vuong: My hometown is Van Cu, but pho has reached its peak in Hanoi.

Pho Ngoc Vuong has been based in the capital since 1998, almost 30 years now, and if you ask what kind of pho Pho Ngoc Vuong serves, Mr. Vu Ngoc Vuong - the owner of this famous pho brand - will say he cooks traditional Nam Dinh pho.

Pho Ngoc Vuong's pho noodles are homemade - Photo: DAU DUNG

The defining feature of this brand is its homemade rice noodles, which are wide, soft, and smooth. The broth is sweet and savory from the bones, carrying the beloved flavor of Vietnam.

In a conversation held ahead of Pho Day, which took place on December 13th and 14th in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Vuong shared with Tuoi Tre Online his firsthand experiences about the journey of pho in his area, some of which he finds quite amusing when he thinks back on them now. The days of selling pho were "wild and uninhibited"!

Mr. Vu Ngoc Vuong receives a thank-you letter from Tuoi Tre newspaper for participating in the Vietnam Pho Festival 2024 in South Korea - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

We need to announce to the whole world what the core ingredients of a traditional Vietnamese bowl of pho are in order to develop a coherent pho promotion strategy.

Vu Ngoc Vuong

"My hometown is Van Cu, but pho has reached its peak in Hanoi ."

Mr. Vuong recounted that for those of his generation (born in the 1960s and 1970s), pho is ingrained in the blood of Van Cu village since childhood. He grew up seeing a couple of pho stalls in the village, the best being Mr. Quynh's pho. He himself often enjoyed pho cooked by his paternal and maternal grandfathers.

According to accounts from those who came before, the shift from agriculture to pho making in Van Cu was driven by the economic difficulties of the period after 1954. The agricultural cooperative model could not guarantee a livelihood for the people, forcing them to find other means of earning a living.

Since the 1980s, an informal but very strong supply chain has formed between Van Cu village and the pho-selling community in Hanoi. Even today, about 70-80% of the pho noodles for pho restaurants in Hanoi are supplied by people from this village.

Vượng's mother used to carry 50kg of rice, traveling by horse-drawn carriage from Vân Cù to the Nam Định bus station, then taking a train to Hàng Cỏ station (Hanoi). From there, she would carry the rice on her back to deliver to family-owned rice noodle factories in Khâm Thiên, Nam Ngư, and the Old Quarter.

The villagers brought rice to Hanoi to sell; upon returning, they bought scarce tools and materials in their hometown, such as iron and steel, to build houses.

In the summer of 1991, after finishing junior high school, Mr. Vuong started trading rice in Hanoi, selling it to establishments that make pho noodles. According to him, the best rice for making pho noodles is old rice, not new rice; among them, Vietnam 10 rice and 203 rice produce the best-tasting pho noodles. Later, when Vietnam 10 rice became scarce, people switched to using five-digit rice varieties, such as code 17494. Currently, establishments often use Khang Dan rice.

Mr. Vuong cooks pho in the traditional style - Photo: DAU DUNG

However, back then, there wasn't always enough rice available. People had to combine cooked rice (a cheaper, less sticky type of rice) with leftover cooked rice or a little borax to increase the binding and chewiness of the rice noodles.

Later, he worked as an assistant in a restaurant, learning how they ran their business; in 1998, Vu Ngoc Vuong opened his first pho restaurant on Thai Ha Street and has been selling pho ever since, nearly 30 years.

His village has a century-old pho tradition, but clearly "pho has flourished most in Hanoi. The people here are well-off, the taste suits them, and the large population makes the market more vibrant. This is where pho has reached its peak of prosperity and strong commercial development."

Eating pho in winter tastes even better - Photo: DAU DUNG

Hormonal crisis and the stubbornness of young people in their twenties.

In the late 1990s, the shift from manual to mechanized production significantly increased the output of rice noodles.

The lack of temperature control has led to the use of formaldehyde – an antibacterial additive that prevents bacterial invasion – in rice noodles to extend their shelf life. Additionally, to compete with each other, some establishments have adopted a policy of allowing customers to return unsold noodles, further contributing to the use of formaldehyde to prolong their shelf life.

This is what caused the pho and vermicelli noodle industry to falter, almost leading to a public boycott in 2000 when the press and media reported on it.

"Can you imagine? Pho Ngoc Vuong in Thai Ha was very famous back then, sometimes serving a thousand customers in the morning, but then it became deserted," he recalled. However, instead of closing like many other restaurants, Pho Ngoc Vuong remained open to welcome customers.

He said the restaurant had a group of regular customers including the party secretary, police officer, and ward chairman, but after the news was reported, they still came but ordered instant noodles.

At that moment, the owner of the restaurant, as stubborn as a crab, said, "Come have some pho today, gentlemen."

"- No, we ate instant noodles."

"Normally I sell instant noodles, but I'm not selling them today. I know you're all afraid of rice noodles, but these are homemade. If you want, I'll eat some for you to see. Or you can buy instant noodles and bring them to me, but I'm not selling them. It's not that I can't bear to see you all eating instant noodles."

Because, in the opinion of young Vu Ngoc Vuong, who was in his early twenties at the time, pho had to have pho noodles. That's how stubborn he was! Recalling that age-old conversation, he laughed heartily.

Pho is the national dish of Vietnam - Photo: Provided by the author

He recounted that afterwards, authorities took positive steps to ensure food safety, requiring businesses to sign commitments and conduct product testing. Rice noodle production facilities had to be certified and affixed with a certificate by the Department of Health or the district health center.

The crisis came like a storm and passed like a storm. After this incident, the pho industry recovered quickly and shifted to a phase of greater emphasis on food safety and hygiene standards.

Looking back now, Mr. Vuong believes that people working in traditional crafts, especially in craft villages, often have certain limitations in their understanding, and production relies mainly on word-of-mouth and practices passed down from father to son.

They also don't understand that some things not only negatively impact the environment but also have a detrimental effect on themselves and their families. For example, producing rice noodles using coal for many years is not a good thing at all.

Even the controversial use of formaldehyde wasn't due to malicious intent, but rather a lack of understanding. People heard from others that using this additive could preserve cakes for longer, so they started using it without fully realizing its dangers.

Ngoc Vuong Pho restaurant travels to Truong Sa Island to serve soldiers stationed there - Photo: Provided by the restaurant.

Mr. Vuong recounted how heartwarming it was to see the soldiers on the island enjoying pho - Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

A bowl of pho embodies the culture and transformation of the country.

The owner of Pho Ngoc Vuong also recalled the changes in the pho industry over time. A bowl of pho contains culture, rice, Vietnamese agricultural products, and even the history of the country's development. Like the country itself, this industry is also "transforming every day."

In the early stages, pho businesses faced difficulties in ensuring food safety and hygiene due to a lack of facilities.

Selling food for months on end might not even earn enough money to buy a refrigerator to store the goods. Around the year 2000, a used refrigerator cost 7-8 million dong, which was a fortune (while each bowl of pho only cost 4,000 dong). Back then, pho stalls were very simple; only the most historic ones had fans. Now, every stall has an electric stove, ensuring cleanliness and hygiene.

A bowl of pho contains culture and history - Photo: Provided by the interviewee

Before 2000, due to limited economic resources, people had to be frugal. Breakfast options in Hanoi were quite limited, mainly consisting of vermicelli, pho, and sticky rice; however, from 2000 to 2005, the market economy began to develop. Dishes from other provinces and cities (such as Hai Phong crab noodle soup, Hue cuisine, Thai Binh fish noodle soup…) and global cuisine (KFC, Korean noodles, Japanese food…) began to enter Hanoi. Previously, only large hotels offered Italian pasta, but after 2000, it was widely available.

The emergence of many new dishes has affected traditional dishes, but not to the extent of pho.

Last year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the list of national intangible cultural heritage for the folk knowledge of pho from Nam Dinh and Hanoi. Currently, Vietnam is finalizing the dossier to submit to UNESCO for inscription of pho as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Pho is found from North to South Vietnam; it has "gone abroad," appearing in many places around the world. "Pho" has become an international term, needing no translation. And amidst countless fleeting trends and the vast world of cuisine, pho still reigns supreme. Mentioning pho immediately brings to mind the national dish of Vietnam.

Ngoc Vuong's Pho restaurant at the Vietnam Pho Festival 2024 in South Korea - Photo: Provided by the owner.

Pho tastes better now than it used to!

Having participated in Pho Day with Tuoi Tre newspaper since its early days, Mr. Vu Ngoc Vuong expressed his "deep gratitude because, thanks to the newspaper, pho industry professionals have a place to gather and share the legendary story of Vietnamese pho in particular, and the essence of Vietnamese culinary art in general."

So, which pho is better, today's or the pho of the past? Today's pho is better! The ingredients are fresher, cleaner, and more hygienic than in the past.

"But pho has also lost some of its 'countryside flavor' on this high-speed train hurtling forward," he said. "For example, it's not easy to find a sprig of Láng mint, the traditional Vietnamese coriander, to put in a bowl of pho these days." But oh well!

However, we can still preserve the traditional flavor of pho. "Traditional," in his view, means "having rice noodles and broth simmered from bones." As for how it's prepared, how the seasonings are adjusted, whether or not to add vegetables and bean sprouts, that depends on each person's taste and region.

"You can be creative and experiment with whatever you want, but you must understand what traditional pho is, what the core essence of Vietnamese pho is, and that creative pho cannot be equated with traditional pho. Otherwise, it can easily lead to confusion about its value and the dissemination of the heritage," the founder of Pho Ngoc Vuong advised.

Pho Ngoc Vuong goes to Singapore at this year's Vietnam Pho Festival - Photo: FBNV

The Pho Day 12-12 program, now in its 9th year with the theme "Elevating Vietnamese Rice - Spreading Across Five Continents," will take place over two days, December 13th and 14th, at the former Tax Department Store area, 135 Nguyen Hue Street, Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

The program features nearly 30 famous and unique pho brands from North to South Vietnam, showcasing a diverse range of pho dishes reflecting the characteristics of different regions and local cultures.

With a price of 40,000 VND per bowl, the Pho Day festival on December 12, 2025, is expected to serve more than 20,000 servings over two days. The organizers will donate at least 10% of the pho sales revenue to the "Pho of Love" program, cooking and serving pho to people in the flood-stricken areas of Dak Lak province (formerly Phu Yen), which recently suffered damage from natural disasters.

The Pho Day 12-12 program is supported and coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Cultural Diplomacy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Trade Promotion Department - Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, and the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association, with the diamond partnership of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company for many years, and this year with the additional support of Ho Chi Minh City Development Commercial Bank (HDBank), Cholimex Food Joint Stock Company, Saigon Trading Corporation Limited (SATRA)...

CENTURY BEANS

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ong-chu-pho-ngoc-vuong-que-toi-van-cu-nhung-pho-thang-hoa-nhat-o-ha-noi-20251209153657341.htm