Pho restaurant from Nam Dinh over 70 years old in Hanoi's Old Quarter, sells 500 bowls a day

For many years, the 3-generation traditional pho restaurant on Hang Giay Street (Hoan Kiem, Hanoi ) has always been bustling with customers coming and going every morning.

Currently, the pho restaurant is over 70 years old on Hang Giay street, run by Mr. Vu Truong Giang (46 years old), the third generation in his family. Mr. Giang said that his family's hometown is Giao Cu (Nam Truc, Nam Dinh ) and has been selling pho for 3 generations. More than 70 years ago, Mr. Dao - Giang's grandfather went to Hanoi with a carrying pole to sell pho throughout the old quarter. Later, when he was old, he started to open a restaurant to gradually stabilize and pass on the profession to his children and grandchildren. Mr. Giang said that the restaurant is still trying to maintain the traditional pho flavor of his family, but at the same time, it has to be adjusted to suit the tastes of most diners. For the broth, Mr. Giang uses the main ingredients of beef bones, fish sauce, cinnamon, star anise and cardamom. After that, the ingredients are reduced in proportion and simmered for more than 10 hours.

The broth is simmered from many ingredients for more than 10 hours. Photo: Nhat Minh

“Currently, the broth at my restaurant is adjusted to have a sweet, light taste, not too strong of fish sauce or too much of a beef smell,” Giang shared. The restaurant imports fresh beef every day. Because if we use frozen goods, when cooked, the meat will be dark and not soft. “Our restaurant often imports fresh meat, then slices it ourselves to control the thickness and softness of the meat,” Giang added. Giang chooses pho noodles that are soft but not mushy, and when eaten, they will blend with the broth. In addition, Giang pays attention to and carefully selects ingredients such as lemon, chili or garlic vinegar so as not to lose the flavor of the pho bowl. The chili sauce at the restaurant is ordered from Saigon, when eaten it will not be too strong, suitable for the taste of many diners. The garlic used to soak in vinegar is Vietnamese garlic, this type of garlic is not as big as other types but has a characteristic aroma. Currently, the restaurant is open from 6am to 11am every day, however, on peak days, the restaurant sells out by 10am. In addition to Mr. Giang, the restaurant currently has other family members working to serve the large number of customers. Each day, the restaurant sells from 400 to 500 bowls.

During rush hour, diners at the restaurant sit tightly indoors and on the sidewalk. Photo: Nhat Minh

Each bowl of pho here ranges from 40,000 to 100,000 VND. The crispy beef pho and turtle core pho are always in high demand and are ordered by many regular customers and gourmets every time they come to the restaurant.

A bowl of rare beef pho at the restaurant costs 45,000 VND. Photo: Nhat Minh

As a regular customer at the restaurant, Mr. Tran Van Nghi (48 years old, Hoan Kiem) said that he has been impressed by the flavor of the broth at the restaurant for many years. "The broth here retains the full flavor of Nam Dinh pho but is not too strong, which impressed me and made me a regular customer of the restaurant for many years" - Mr. Nghi said.

Laodong.vn

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