Pho Phuong and the journey from small brand to Michelin honor

1 Brief introduction about Pho Phuong restaurant

Address: 25 Hoang Sa Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Opening hours: 05:30 – 20:30

Pho is a familiar dish in Vietnam. Therefore, Michelin’s annual Bib Gourmand list always has a place for quality pho restaurants with affordable prices. In 2023, Pho Phuong is one of 8 pho restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City honored by Michelin. What’s special is that this list also includes Pho Hoang restaurant, the owners of these 2 pho restaurants are sisters with a traditional pho recipe that has created a flavor that has conquered diners near and far. Therefore, domestic and international tourists when traveling to Saigon must definitely come here to enjoy this unique and attractive pho flavor.

2 The journey to create the Pho Phuong brand

Pho Phuong restaurant is located at 25 Hoang Sa, District 1, owned by Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Phuong (58 years old). The other restaurant is Pho Hoang located at 460 Nguyen Tri Phuong, District 10, owned by her younger sister, Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Hoang (56 years old).

Ms. Phuong shared that this pho dish has its “origin” from the traditional pho of Nam Dinh people. Her mother is originally from Nam Dinh, came to Saigon in the 1960s, opened a pho restaurant to make a living and raise her children. To suit the taste of Saigon diners, Ms. Phuong’s mother transformed the flavor of Nam Dinh pho to harmonize with Southern pho, creating the restaurant’s own unique pho recipe.

Ms. Phuong’s mother sold pho for more than 20 years before passing away, leaving the pho stall to her two sisters to continue. Ms. Phuong is the one who took over and is in charge of the kitchen. She has been selling pho since she was 17 years old, and has been doing so for more than 40 years now. At first, the business was difficult, with not many customers. She opened the stall on Nguyen Binh Khiem Street for 10 years, then moved to the Dien Bien Phu roundabout, and after about 20 years, moved back to its current location on the embankment of Hoang Sa Street.

During the decades of cooking and selling pho, Ms. Phuong has encountered many challenges and gone through extremely difficult times, but she has never had the intention of switching to selling other dishes. Because she always kept in mind that she had to preserve the pho profession that her mother passed down. Another reason is that Pho Phuong is loved and supported by many diners, so she also has the motivation to overcome difficulties and build the brand as it is today.

Helping Ms. Phuong with the business and building the pho restaurant is her younger sister, Ms. Hoang. In 2004, Ms. Hoang got married and decided to open another pho restaurant, named Pho Hoang, which has been open for 20 years now. The fact that both Ms. Phuong and Ms. Hoang’s pho restaurants have been honored by Michelin is partly a testament to the quality of the dishes and traditional flavors that the two have worked hard to preserve over the past several decades.

Because she does not have a family yet, Ms. Phuong is currently passing on her pho making skills to her children and grandchildren. She hopes that her family’s traditional pho recipe will become more and more famous and developed. The successes she has achieved have given Ms. Phuong more motivation to bring her pho brand further on the Vietnamese culinary map.

3 The secret to making a delicious bowl of pho from Pho Phuong restaurant

3.1 Broth recipe

According to Vietnamtravelio travel guide, the most important thing that helps Pho Phuong get on the Michelin list is the secret to making delicious, flavorful, and unique broth. Ms. Phuong revealed that her family’s broth must be simmered entirely from beef bones, continuously for 20 hours. She is responsible for all the preparation steps, from preparation, seasoning to adjusting the heat… to ensure the most authentic and delicious pho broth.

In addition to the rich broth, sweet and aromatic spices, Pho Phuong also scores points with fresh ingredients. Her pho restaurant ensures that all of the beef used is Vietnamese, slaughtered fresh and sold out the same day, absolutely no imported beef or frozen goods. Therefore, each bowl of pho is delicious, attractive, ensures food hygiene and safety, and is full of nutrition.

3.2 Super attractive pho dishes at Pho Phuong

Ms. Phuong said that in the past, her mother did not use oxtail when cooking pho. But when Ms. Phuong started selling pho, a few years later, she thought that she should add the tail to make the broth sweeter. The chewy, crunchy skin of the oxtail is also loved by many people. Therefore, her restaurant’s oxtail pho quickly became a best seller, attracting many customers to enjoy.

Oxtail pho is also the most expensive dish at Pho Phuong, costing up to 110,000 VND for a bowl. Because oxtail is very difficult to prepare, handling the tail is very hard, the skin must be peeled off, not just scraped like pig’s tail. Then it must be grilled, blanched… through many stages to have a complete bowl of pho. Therefore, even though the price is very high, customers coming to Pho Phuong still love this dish, feeling that the expensive price is extremely reasonable. However, because this dish is a bestseller, it often sells out early, if you come in the morning you can enjoy it. But if you come in the afternoon or evening, it will be gone.

Other pho dishes at the restaurant are also invested in and meticulously cared for by Ms. Phuong. The average price for each portion is from 70,000 to 90,000 VND, diners can choose up to 3 types of toppings. Each portion of pho will come with fresh green vegetables, if you want to eat more vegetables, you can order more for free. According to diners’ reviews, the restaurant’s pho is extremely filling, worthy of the price and location right in the center of District 1.

3.3 Cool space of Pho Phuong restaurant

Located on Hoang Sa Street, in front of Nhieu Loc Canal, the restaurant space is very airy. Coming here in the evening, you can sit outside, enjoying the cool breeze blowing in from the canal. Pho Phuong also emphasizes neatness and cleanliness, even though it is very crowded, the staff always maintains continuous cleaning, helping diners to enjoy their meals in the most comfortable space.

Besides, the restaurant staff is always friendly and enthusiastic. If you have any special requests about the flavor, you can mention it when ordering to get the most suitable service.

Since being honored by Michelin in 2023, Pho Phuong has become more and more crowded. Even though it has been more than a year, the restaurant still maintains its attraction to diners. This does not come from the reputation after the prestigious award but from the quality of the dishes. Most diners who come to enjoy it once want to come back many more times.

Above is information about Pho Phuong for you to pocket another delicious restaurant in your journey to explore Saigon cuisine. Don’t forget to follow the Vietnamtravelio travel guide to discover more interesting things about the cuisine of the 3 regions.