Arriving in Southeast Asia we were of course excited to try the local cuisine. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup typically served with meat and plenty of fresh herbs that we have especially come to like. It is quick and readily available on every block and we find that it serves as an easy, light lunch option, although we have also had it for breakfast as well as dinner. Pho is very reasonably priced from around USD 1.50 to an “outrageous” USD 2.50.
After having been served your pho base of choice – we usually go with the regular raw beef (pho bo), but brisket and meatball phos have also been encountered – it is time to add the fixings: plenty of fresh herbs (mint and Thai basil have been identified, but we are not always 100% sure), bean sprouts, chili and lime.
We’ve found that the taste of the broth has changed from a more meaty flavor in Saigon to spicier in Hoi An. And then there is the bun which the Vietnamese would claim is an entirely different dish. Bun is also a noodle soup, typically served with beef (bun bo) in a sweeter broth and, yes, totally different, but it has fixings like pho hence we included a picture of bun here as well. We will continue our interesting food quest throughout our travels but here is what we have gathered up until now on Vietnamese noodle soup.
Disclaimer: with these giant bowls of soup, there is rarely an occasion to ask for more pho as the title of this post might have implied 🙂
Our first pho tasting in Saigon
Pho in Hoi An
Alex digging into his Bun Bo Hue in Hanoi
Pho Quinn in Saigon
Pho fixings