That left me both overwhelmed and curious when I went to eat at Pho 2000, a restaurant with over two decades of history.
Former US President Bill Clinton visited the restaurant while the owner was… in America.
One morning in Ho Chi Minh City, I had an appointment with Mr. Alain Tan (Huynh Trung Tan), the owner of Pho 2,000 restaurant located near Ben Thanh Market, at 210 Le Thanh Ton Street (District 1).
Seeing me, the owner, whose hair was already graying, greeted me warmly and then told me stories about the time when US President Bill Clinton (when in office) and his family visited the pho restaurant, even though Pho 2000 had only been open for a little over a year at that time.
Pho 2000 restaurant has been open since 1999.
The restaurant was visited by US President Bill Clinton in November 2000.
It was a beautiful day in November 2000 when the pho restaurant, then located at 1-3 Phan Chu Trinh Street, was unexpectedly visited by US President Bill Clinton, who praised it highly. But to achieve this honor, Mr. Alain Tan had a very special stroke of luck.
Mr. Alain Tan, Owner of Pho 2000 Restaurant"Since Pho 2000 opened near the North Gate of Ben Thanh Market, an American friend who works at the consulate has been coming here to eat almost every week. One day, this friend asked to see me. When I asked why, he said: 'I like your pho restaurant, I've eaten here many times, and my staff also come here regularly. I have some American friends, they are very particular, especially about food safety and hygiene, and I want to bring them here to eat.'"
"If you allow it, before I bring them here, I'll have someone come to the shop to take samples for testing. Is that okay?" Hearing my friend say that, I felt comfortable and normal, and told him to go ahead and test if he wanted to," Alain Tan recalled.
The memory of the visit from the US President is still remembered at this pho restaurant.
Later, due to being busy with the opening of a restaurant in the US, and with his son about to start university there, Alain Tan and his wife returned to the United States for a while. Around this time, US President Bill Clinton unexpectedly visited Pho 2000, when only his mother-in-law and staff were present. Fortunately, everything went smoothly because the owners had meticulously organized and managed the restaurant well even without their presence.
Upon hearing the news, Mr. and Mrs. Alain Tan were extremely surprised. The visit of US President Bill Clinton to Vietnam, particularly Ho Chi Minh City, was a highly anticipated event at the time. Back in the US, the owner had read the newspapers and seen that the city had selected 3-4 locations for the President to enjoy the cuisine , but their restaurant was not on the list.
Alain Tan's family restaurant chain has hosted many politicians.
"According to what people told me, when the President entered the restaurant, security locked all the doors. Bill Clinton and his daughter went upstairs to eat. He ordered a bowl of chicken pho, a glass of water, then a cup of coffee and a mango smoothie. Afterwards, he stood on the balcony waving to everyone. He even went into the kitchen to shake hands with everyone in the restaurant. Of course, I was happy to have the President come to the restaurant, but I regret not being there to welcome the VIP," he said with a smile.
Spend six months just enjoying… exquisite cuisine.
After that visit, Pho 2000, already famous in Ho Chi Minh City, became even more renowned. Many rumors began to circulate, with some claiming the owner must have some extraordinary connections to be able to invite the President to dine there. Regarding this, the owner shook his head, stating that it was untrue.
Pho 2000 restaurant is always crowded, especially with foreign tourists.
"Many people think I managed to invite the President to eat here, but that's impossible because the President of the United States is someone you wouldn't know where or when he'd arrive. It's all about fate and coincidence. Many people also say that I changed the name to Pho 2000 to commemorate Bill Clinton's visit, but that's not true, because I named the restaurant Pho 2000 when it first opened in 1999," he explained.
In the 1990s, Mr. and Mrs. Tan became pioneers in the high-end restaurant business in Ho Chi Minh City. The restaurant chains they opened successively made a name for themselves on the city's tourism map: Le Mekong, Vietnam House, Lemon Grass, Dalat House, Blue Gringer, Chef Lap... Unfortunately, the 1998 Asian financial crisis severely impacted these high-end brands, including Alain Tan's restaurants and hotels.
Mr. Alain Tan, Owner of Pho 2000 Restaurant At this point, after decades of running a high-end French restaurant, the owner began to harbor the idea of starting a fast-food business, selling traditional Vietnamese dishes in a more affordable, quick, and convenient way. Among the countless popular street food options in Ho Chi Minh City such as pho, vermicelli, spring rolls, rice noodle soup, banh canh, banh khot, banh xeo, etc., he chose to sell pho.
The pho restaurant is located at 210 Le Thanh Ton Street (District 1).
The restaurant has two floors; the upper floor mainly caters to pre-booked tour groups.
“Wherever there is pho, there are Vietnamese people, and wherever there are Vietnamese people, there will certainly be pho. This is a signature dish, the soul of Vietnam. For me, pho is a refined dish with the exquisite harmony of 18 spices, with the characteristic chewy yet firm texture of the noodles, and the way it's eaten with rare or cooked meat…,” Mr. Alain Tan shared about his reasons for choosing to do business with this dish.
From then on, he and his wife, Huynh My Truc Lien, whom he affectionately called "Little Dao," spent six months trying out pho restaurants in both the North and South of Vietnam. He realized that each restaurant had its own unique way of cooking pho, a distinct flavor that couldn't be mistaken for any other; pho in both the North and the South had their own very specific characteristics. From this, he selected the best aspects of those restaurants and recreated the pho using his own unique recipe.
Customers love the rich, flavorful broth and the soft, chewy noodles that don't break easily... that's what makes Mr. Tan's pho restaurant so special.
The price of a bowl of pho here ranges from 80,000 to 100,000 VND.
"I wanted to cook a bowl of pho without MSG or sugar, with a rich, traditional flavor that anyone, especially foreigners, would recognize as a truly authentic Vietnamese dish," the owner shared. It was from this desire, having developed their own unique recipe, that the couple's pho restaurant was born, located on Vo Thi Sau Street (District 1).
He chose the name Pho 2000 for his restaurant because he wanted it to have a special mark as humanity was about to enter a new century. The pho restaurant, with its innovative style, housed in a luxurious setting, prepared hygienically, and served professionally—what Alain Tan called "elevating Vietnamese pho"—quickly attracted a large number of customers at that time.
Mr. Huynh Trung Khai, son of Mr. TanAccording to accounts, less than three months after opening, customers lined up along Vo Thi Sau Street waiting to enjoy a bowl of pho for 2000 VND. To date, the restaurant has a stable customer base, and all members of Mr. Tan's family, from him and his wife to his son and daughter-in-law, are wholeheartedly dedicated to developing the eatery.
90% are international tourists.
These days, Alain Tan's restaurant is bustling with customers, mostly foreigners. The owner says that 90% of his customers are international, with the rest being Vietnamese. Here, the average price for a bowl of pho ranges from 80,000 to 100,000 VND, depending on the dish and the customer's needs.
Khải inherited and developed his father's restaurant.
Mr. Tan's family has poured all their heart and effort into developing this special dish within Vietnamese cuisine.
For over 23 years, the owner has been tirelessly bringing the flavor of his pho to even more people. “We don’t want to stop there! In the future, we plan to bring pho to more countries, especially in Korea, Australia, Japan, and the United States… but not in Vietnamese communities, but in places with a large local population,” shared Huynh Trung Khai (Mr. Tan’s son). Khai and his wife are also the next generation in a family with three generations dedicated to culinary arts.
However, Alain Tan believes that pho is a dish whose quality can easily be compromised if not prepared with meticulous attention to detail. That's why he is extremely cautious in developing his business. When opening any pho restaurant, he wants his family to wholeheartedly focus on product quality to deliver the best possible bowl of pho to customers, and to maintain strict quality control.
Mr. Alain Tan, owner of Pho 2000 restaurant."A successful business doesn't need to be big. When I can cook a dish that satisfies customers and treat my staff with love, that's what makes me happy, and it's also the greatest success for a restaurant owner," he remarked.
Mr. Tan is from Saigon and was sent to study in the United States by his family in 1971. His father, Mr. Huynh Lap, was a renowned long-distance trader. He traded, received, and distributed goods from various countries to the port of Saigon, and then shipped them throughout South Vietnam. In 1975, his entire family emigrated to the United States. After many years running a high-end French restaurant in the US, Mr. Tan returned to Vietnam to live and work, driven by his deep love for his homeland.
Mrs. Huynh My Truc Lien (Mr. Tan's wife) is the person who helped her husband develop his career.
This is her second time eating at Pho 2000, and Kim Jiae (38 years old, Korean) said she really likes the taste of the pho here. Every time she has the opportunity to visit Vietnam, she and her family always come to enjoy it.
"This pho restaurant is near Ben Thanh Market, so after sightseeing and buying some traditional Vietnamese goods at the market, I'll stop by for a meal. The broth is rich and fragrant, and the noodles are chewy and soft, which is what I like most about this bowl of pho. Plus, everyone here is very friendly, and the restrooms are especially clean!", a customer commented.
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