My next stop was another one that’s relatively near Che’s office. I say “relatively” because the distance was ok for me, but others might condemn me for making them walk that distance.
It took me a bit more than 30 minutes to reach this place, and I passed by a church, a market, and a bus terminal.
Much like Pho Viet Nam, Pho Hung is also a franchise with a couple of sites here in Saigon. Researching about it, I saw the same logo in a different country as well, but I never got to ask if it’s all the same. Again, went to this particular branch because the Michelin Guide specifically mentioned it.
This one had more Vietnam feels, so this is the place I took my parents to when they visited.
Pho Hung In District 1
This looked like a traditional city eatery in Vietnam. Kitchen is near the entrance, so you could see how they prep your food. They have long tables, which means there’s a chance that you won’t be eating alone if the place gets full.
Like the previous shop, it isn’t full at the time I went to it in the morning, and patrons go in and out of the shop, so there’s always enough space. All tables are furnished with lime and chili covered in a cling wrap, and they serve the monster greens and beansprouts when you sit down.
The menu is a bit more extensive here, with more beef parts available. For the adventurous, I think I remember seeing blood and eggs as an optional add-on. For VND 85,000 (Php199.00), I got the large special bowl containing all the beef goodies.
Special Pho Because Why Not?
I went with soy milk as my drink this time around. It’s unusual to have sugar on it because restaurants usually avoid putting sugar on their drinks. But this works for me.
This is the day that I learned how to properly eat one of those leaves. I put a stalk of what looked like a long-stemmed pechay (chinese white cabbage)or mustasa (mustard leaf) into my bowl and let it sink. One of the waiters came by my table and proceeded to pick one stalk and cut it, demonstrating how I should have put it in my bowl.
Everything on the table has a purpose, and I wasn’t given breadsticks that I didn’t ask for, which I appreciate. They have home-made chili on the side and a variety of condiments like sriracha, hot sauce, hoisin sauce, and chili oil.
The verdict
At first sip, the broth was rich in beef flavor, which I believe is a result of having more beef parts in the dish. Raw beef was on top of the pile, with noodles at the bottom. While the cut of the raw beef was not as thin as Pho Viet Nam’s, it was a cut that I was used to seeing when I order beef pho elsewhere.
My bowl had ribs, tendon, raw beef, flank, brisket, beef balls, and oxtail. I honestly couldn’t tell which was which, but I managed to finish it all. Everything was soft and had almost melt-in-your-mouth texture. I put hoisin sauce on the side, because one of the owners of a Vietnamese shop in Singapore told me it would be best to dip the meat in it before slurping the soup and noodles.
Noodles were just to my liking – thick like Pho Viet Nam but had the silky smooth consistency that I loved from noodles that I’ve tried here.
I put some greens on my bowl, but the picture won’t show that because they really put that much veggies on the plate. If there were about 5 other people with me, we probably would have finished them all.
I’d go on a limb and say it’s a 4.5 out of 5. It’s the best beef pho I’ve had so far in my stay here in Ho Chi Minh, and I’m left baffled that this is just a “Michelin Select” restaurant and not at Bib Gourmand level.
Related Content
The Great Saigon Pho Hunt Part 4/11: Pho Minh
Just when I thought I was done with my D1 Pho adventure, I remembered that I still had to come back to the place that...
Vino’s Dad: A Farewell To Our Friends At BIS Ho Chi Minh
For the past year and change, Vino attended British International School in Ho Chi Minh City. What started out as a...
The Great Saigon Pho Hunt Part 3/11: Pho Phuong
This is the first Bib Gourmand pho place that I tried from the list. I was set to try a different restaurant this day,...