Pho restaurant in Hanoi is half the price of Pho Thin Lo Duc, customers line up to enjoy

Pho Thin Lo Duc is a famous brand in Hanoi , favored by many locals and tourists. The restaurant was established in 1979 by Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin (71 years old). Since its inception, the restaurant has only served rare beef pho.

Recently, the Pho Thin Lo Duc brand has received public attention surrounding the conflict between the founder and the person who introduced himself as the operator of the company related to this brand. Before the controversy related to the brand, Pho Thin Lo Duc also caused controversy many times about its price. This is considered one of the most expensive pho restaurants in Hanoi. At one point, Pho Thin Lo Duc reached 90,000 VND/bowl.

Up to now, many famous pho restaurants in Hanoi still keep the price at 30,000 - 50,000 VND/bowl, which is only about half the price of Pho Thin. Many restaurants make diners willing to queue up to enjoy.

Pho Oanh: A three-generation pho restaurant in Hanoi's Old Quarter, customers 'cycle around West Lake' waiting for their turn to eat

Mrs. Oanh's pho restaurant in Tho Xuong alley is located in a small, old house with no sign... but is always crowded with customers. According to Mrs. Oanh, the restaurant can sell several hundred bowls of pho every day.

Mrs. Oanh (born in 1975) and her husband - the owners of the restaurant humorously shared with VietNamNet reporters: "Before, I also hung a sign but the storm blew it away and it "blew away". Now I'm too lazy to hang it up again. The customers who come to the restaurant are all regulars for many years, no one even looks at that sign."

In the house, apart from the pho counter, tables and chairs are arranged in any empty space. On weekends, Ms. Oanh’s husband even has to put plastic chairs on the neighbor’s sidewalk so that customers can sit and eat pho.

The pho restaurant is packed with customers every morning.

"Whenever the owner's husband says, "Please cycle around Hoan Kiem Lake one more time!", it means you have to wait 5-10 minutes. When it's more crowded, he will jokingly say, "Please cycle around West Lake one more time and then come back!" On weekends, sometimes the owner doesn't need to say anything, just looking at the long line of cars, I know I'll have to wait a long time. But I'm used to eating here, I rarely eat pho at other restaurants," said Mr. Ha Van (73 years old, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi) - a regular customer of the restaurant.

Ms. Oanh said that her family has been selling beef pho for three generations, since her grandfather, Mr. Tho. His grandfather cooked Nam Dinh style pho and sold it all over the Phu Doan area. Later, Ms. Oanh's father used his father's recipe to cook pho in the cooperative, near Hong Ha theater.

According to Ms. Oanh, every day, she orders 60-70kg of meat and beef bones of all kinds from a long-standing establishment to ensure a stable and quality source of raw materials. The beef is thinly sliced, pounded, and quickly poured into boiling pho broth to retain its sweetness, aroma, and nutrients. The crispy brisket at the restaurant is always fresh and delicious, boiled just right.

While pho in the old town has skyrocketed in price, with many restaurants charging 60,000 - 80,000 VND/bowl, Mrs. Oanh's pho still costs 30,000 VND. "We are a popular pho restaurant, we don't have to pay rent, so we are determined to make a profit from our labor," said Mrs. Oanh.

Pho Bung Hang Trong is as clear as spring water, customers squeeze through narrow alleys, 'hunchbacked and tired' waiting to eat

Nearly ten years ago, at rush hour, a pho restaurant located at the intersection of Hang Trong and Hang Bong streets (Hanoi) was packed with customers. The restaurant was located right on the sidewalk with a pot of broth, a basket of beef, and a few dozen plastic chairs. Customers lined up to order, then carried their bowls of steaming hot pho, quickly finding an empty chair to sit and enjoy. There were no tables, so when eating, they held and picked up food with one hand, exclaiming. That's why people called this "Hang Trong pho" - a dish that "hunches your back and knees" to enjoy.

Currently, the restaurant is only about 10 square meters wide, located on the second floor of an old townhouse. A corner of the owner's living room is used to place 4-5 plastic tables, which can accommodate about a dozen guests. The kitchen corner with a pot of boiling broth, a basket of meat and pho making tools is located in the corner of the 3-4 square meter wide balcony. This balcony does not have enough space for tables, so diners still keep the same habit as when they sat on the sidewalk - holding and picking up food at the same time. On rainy days, the owner wears a hat to sell, and uses an umbrella to cover the pot of pho.

The pho restaurant is narrow but still attracts diners.

The most distinctive feature of a bowl of pho is the clear broth like "spring water", light and fragrant, with absolutely no pungent smell of meat or beef bones. The restaurant only sells cooked pho. The beef is boiled until cooked, with fat and lean meat interwoven, thinly sliced, and soft to eat. Many customers said they also like to buy this pho broth to bring home... to pour over cold rice, a delicious dish during the subsidy period.

Currently, each bowl of pho at the restaurant costs 35,000 VND. Some opinions say that the current taste is not as good as when the restaurant was on the sidewalk. However, the restaurant still maintains a stable number of regular customers and is often crowded on weekends. The owner opens the restaurant from 3pm to 9-10pm.

Pho Bung Hang Trong has a broth that is "as clear as spring water"

Pho restaurant has a strange owner, for nearly 30 years he has not let his wife touch the meat cutting knife.

Pho Duc Khoi on Phung Hung Street (Hoan Kiem) is one of the favorite addresses for pho lovers. Mr. Khoi's pho restaurant originated from the father of the famous Pho Suong restaurant in Hanoi. For nearly 30 years, Mr. Khoi has only followed that recipe, the broth only adds ginger and grilled onions mixed with good fish sauce, absolutely no star anise or cinnamon because it will have a strong smell and the pho broth will easily change color.

The owner is famous for being meticulous, so the bowl of pho here has a well-balanced broth, the thinly sliced meat clearly shows the grain, the bowl of pho is very delicious to look at. The beef is carefully selected, especially the rare beef, must be fresh pieces, the meat is still soft and sticky when sliced. The pot of water for blanching the pho must always be full to the same level as the broth to cover the pho noodles, helping the noodles to be soft and chewy, keeping them hot. Therefore, pouring the broth over the bowl of pho will keep it hot for a long time.

In 30 years of selling pho, Mr. Khoi's wife has not been allowed to cut meat or cook. He keeps his meat cutting knife very carefully, cleaning and preserving it himself.

Each bowl of pho here costs from 35,000 - 50,000 VND.

Pho Khoi Hoi Hang Vai

Also associated with the owner named Khoi, Pho Khoi Hoi is a familiar address to many diners in Hanoi's Old Quarter. The famous dish at Pho Khoi Hoi (50C Hang Vai, Hoan Kiem) is beef pho - the rare and most delicious part of the cow.

In addition to the special fresh ingredients, the broth cooked according to a traditional family recipe also contributes significantly to the success of Pho Khoi Hoi in the hearts of diners. All ingredients, spices, and broth are displayed in front of the restaurant for customers to see, which is also the way the owner of this pho restaurant builds trust in the hearts of diners.

A bowl of pho here costs between 40,000 and 80,000 VND. The most expensive pho dish is crispy flank pho.

40-year-old pho restaurant only opens 'midnight, early morning'

Located on Tran Nhat Duat Street (Hoan Kiem, Hanoi), Pho That restaurant has "unusual" opening hours. For over 40 years, the restaurant has only been open from 5pm to 5am the next morning, and is a famous late-night dining spot in Hanoi.

The current owner of Pho That is Mr. Pham Van Thanh. "The name of the pho restaurant was given by my father, after the youngest son in the family. But later, when many customers came, they often said That in the restaurant's name means real pho, real meat, real broth. The compliment is that my pho is delicious from the ingredients to the broth," Mr. Thanh shared.

The restaurant's menu is diverse, but the three most popular and "best-selling" dishes are rare pho, well-done pho, and pho with wine sauce. According to Mr. Thanh, his pho broth only has bones, beef, and ginger. His family has never used star anise or cinnamon to remove the fishy smell of beef bones.

The pho cooking area is "open air" and can be seen by all customers. There are always 3 large pots of broth boiling, steaming: one pot is used for rare and well-done pho; one pot is used for red wine sauce and the largest pot is used to simmer bones.

Each bowl of pho here costs from 40,000 VND.

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