Unique crab pho, unique spicy pho: Have you tried Pho Hung To yet?

Pho Hung To has been in business on Binh Gia Street (HCMC) for 8 months, fulfilling the childhood dream of 'eating pho' of the owner To Thanh Hung.

Hung To Pho restaurant's slogan is "The best taste in both North and South Vietnam" - Photo: HOANG LE

Mr. To Thanh Hung is also one of the 5 contestants who won the Golden Star Anise prize in the 2025 Pho Cooking Contest. In this contest, he created pho noodles with ginseng as the main ingredient.

The restaurant is called Pho Hung To but hangs a picture of Pho Tau Bay.

The space of Pho Hung To restaurant is quite spacious. In addition to displaying a series of certificates confirming culinary awards, the restaurant displays photos of old Saigon: Children eating sugarcane, the train station and the old Pho Tau Bay restaurant... Strange, the restaurant is called Pho Hung To but it hangs photos of Pho Tau Bay!

Asked Mr. Hung why this "ironic" story happened? He happily said: "When talking about Southern pho, we are talking about Pho Tau Bay - a long-standing and famous pho restaurant.

I "idolize" this cafe, so I hung up a picture to remind myself to strive to be like it, and also to preserve memories of old Saigon."

Hung said that opening a pho restaurant was fulfilling a childhood dream for him.

When his family was still poor, he saw people eating pho and craved it, so he thought about opening a pho restaurant to eat to his heart's content. Sometimes his mother would give him money, and he would save it, save it up, and then buy a bowl of pho. "The taste of pho is so seductive and appealing that it's hard to describe," he said.

Why is it pho among so many other dishes? He said that perhaps even though he was born in Ho Chi Minh City, his family was originally from Nam Dinh - the cradle of pho and cooked pho, so "pho naturally entered his subconscious".

Long ago, in Nam Dinh, Hung’s uncle had a pho restaurant at the river wharf, selling to boat passengers. Currently, his cousin who lives in the US has two Vietnamese pho restaurants. The two brothers exchanged Hung To pho recipes to create the best bowl of pho to serve Vietnamese and foreign customers.

Hot broth poured into steaming pho - Video : HOANG LE

Spicy mixed pho - a unique dish at Hung To restaurant - Photo: HOANG LE

To make delicious pho, you have to put love into it.

Like many other pho cooks, Mr. Hung affirms that to have a delicious bowl of pho, the most important thing is to simmer the bones, remove the smell and impurities. Wash the beef bones thoroughly, boil and prepare them. Soak the bones in water for 8 hours and then cook them at a certain temperature and time.

Mr. Tô Thanh Hùng, who recently won the Golden Star Anise Award in the "Searching for the Best Pho Chef 2025" competition, is the owner of Hùng Tô Pho restaurant - Photo: HOÀNG LÊ

The restaurant's slogan "North - South best taste" is because we want all pho lovers from the north, central and south to enjoy Hung To pho. The pho is served with pickled garlic, herbs, bean sprouts. The restaurant's homemade satay and chili sauce create a unique flavor.

On Google Maps review page, some comments about Hung To restaurant mentioned the spicy pho salad.

Customer Thanh Long Phuong wrote: "The pho is very delicious, with a unique flavor that is not too strong with the smell of spices, very delicious. Especially the mixed pho has a very unique taste, Hong Kong style. You should try it."

Dien Doan commented: "The pho is clear, the broth is very clear and sweet. I find the restaurant's spicy pho salad very attractive and delicious! I ate 2 bowls by myself."

Anh Hung explained: "Pho Tron Te Cay is one of the restaurant's 'specialties'. In this new dish, I combine French-Chinese cuisine with traditional pho. Pho is mixed with shredded mango, fried peanuts, chicken or beef, drizzled with a concentrated sauce made from the pho broth. Then sprinkled with herbal spices. This dish is chosen by many people because it tastes strange."

Speaking of "unique taste", Mr. Hung is also the creator of crab pho. Mr. Hung cleans the crabs and blanches them in hot water to reduce the fishy taste. The broth is added with green pepper and shiitake mushrooms, creating a spicy and mild aroma, mixed with the characteristic smell of crab.

Crab pho was first introduced at the Ca Mau Crab Festival 2025. In less than 60 minutes, 100 liters of pho broth were sold out in a flash.

Crab pho dish created by Mr. Hung - Photo: NVCC

These days, Mr. Hung is busy managing Hung To pho restaurant and instructing his acquaintance in Dong Nai about how to decorate and cook pho to open a new pho restaurant.

"Every dish has a recipe, and pho is no exception. But strangely, if you don't put real love into cooking, the product will definitely not have the pho flavor. Perhaps that's why people call pho the national dish of the nation."

He affirmed, and added: "Now many people do not call me by the normal name Hung like every day but Hung To. That alone makes me happy. I hope the Pho Hung To brand will become more and more popular."

To him, each bowl of pho is not just a dish, but also contains his childhood, love and national pride.

The Pho Day 12-12 program enters its 9th year with the theme "Raising the level of Vietnamese rice - Spreading to five continents" and will take place on December 13 and 14 at the Tax Trade Center (old), 135 Nguyen Hue, Saigon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

Participating in the program is the presence of nearly 30 famous and unique pho brands from North to South, converging many diverse types of pho with characteristics of 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 Program 12-12 is supported and implemented by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Cultural Diplomacy - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Trade Promotion - Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association with the diamond companionship of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company for many consecutive years and this year with the additional companionship of Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank), Cholimex Food Joint Stock Company, Saigon Trading Group Limited (SATRA), Suntory Pepsico Beverage Company Limited...

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HOANG LE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/pho-cua-la-mieng-pho-tron-te-cay-hong-giong-ai-ban-da-an-pho-hung-to-chua-2025120819185295.htm