Pho Forever: Tay Ho's Best Pho Bo
- hotay50k
- Dec 31, 2019
- 5 min read
“If you want to lose weight, eat pho for every meal”, she advised. “But stop adding the fried sticks of dough, cans of coca cola, eggs and double portions of meat.” Pho is what you want it to be, and your order at the local place is a little steamy reflection of you. Me? I'm not a guy who says no to fried dough.
Rice noodles, a slow-cooked broth, meat, and fresh herbs form the heart of pho. It may not be the boldest or strangest of Vietnam’s national dishes, but it’s surely the most famous. Make the most of Hanoi's $1 pho and think of your poor friends eating $10 bowls back home. (The less said about my attempt to cook Pho for my family in England, the better. What was I supposed to do, boil bones for 24 hours?)
What am I looking for?
Sorry chicken lovers – beef pho is the only one for me. I’ve had my share of overly seasoned soups before (easy on the MSG, Hanoi), so I’m looking for a clean meaty flavour with a hint of spice. Garnishes like spring onion, coriander (or even onion) will ideally be fresh and nicely presented. For this article I’ve gone for my personal favourite variety, pho tai: topped with freshly cut rare beef that cooks in the broth. The quay (fried sticks of dough) complete a good bowl of pho for me, so if they're available, they're getting dunked straight in.
The Old Standard: Phở Nhớ 162 Xuân Diệu Opening Times: 08.00am-10.00pm
Pho 30k, Quay 5k, Tra Da 5k
Pho Nho was my first local spot in Vietnam, and where I studied the art of eating pho without it all falling out of the spoon. After many months of struggling to wrap the noodles around my chopsticks like white spaghetti, I gave in and settled on the local technique: sticks in one hand, spoon in the other. Take just a tiny pinch of noodles (that's the trick) and make the perfect spoonful.
A perennial favourite for Tays and locals alike, Pho Nho’s big location at the heart of Xuan Dieu is hard to miss. Presentation and service here are excellent: this is part of the bougie class of 'metal table and chairs' Vietnamese eateries, and they do a killer homemade chili sauce. The pho here is tasty, with good quality meat, although, sadly, there's a smack of MSG in the broth. Let's pit Pho Nho against its spicy rival down the street: Spicy Pho Bay.
Pho: 7/10
Location: 8/10
Quay: Crispy and snappy.
The Spice Boys: Spicy Pho Bay 1 Đặng Thai Mai Opening times: 05.00am - 10pm Pho 30k, Tra Da 5k
The perfect spot for lunch or dinner before a movie in the neighbouring CGV (although we don’t condone sneaking hot bowls of pho into the Le Roi Soleil building), Spicy Pho Bay is a Tay Ho legend, now on its second location. The place is run by some cheeky lads who are kept in check by an older lady (who I like to imagine is their auntie). What do these boys get up to when the place closes at 11pm?
The broth here is delicious and subtly meaty. I’m not usually a fan of onions in pho but these ribbons of onion don’t get in the way of a good time. Golden crisp quay quickly soak up the meaty juices. One thing to note: the restaurant's location on a steep corner makes the place feel all lopsided. Eating at Pho Nho may feel less like boarding a sinking pirate ship, but Spicy Pho wins where it counts. This is some good noodle soup.
Pho: 8/10
Location: 7/10 Quay? Fit for a hungry pirate.
The Pho Lounge: Phở Hương 139 Yên Phụ Opening times: 05.00am - 10pm Pho 30k, Quay 5k, Tra Da 5k
Pho places live and die by their broth, and no two of Hanoi’s countless restaurants do it exactly the same. The best keep theirs a secret, hidden away, steeping overnight in locked metal pots. Yen Phu's Pho Huong does a good one. Subtly meaty with a hint of spice, this is a soup to warm you up in the morning (after the falling-apart meat and laces of spring onion have woken you up.)
Unlike your standard pho and fried rice place, which all seem to serve exactly the same dishes, Pho Huong has some different stuff on the menu - drop by in the evening for their Banh Xeo pancakes and Nem Lui sausages as well. Pho Huong is about halfway down the chaotic and cramped Yen Phu street, but it's big enough to find a quiet table at the back.
Pho: 8/10
Location: 8/10
Quay? Soft and fresh.
Pho Go-Go: Phở Học Chuyên Bo 40 Xuân Diêu Opening times: 6am – 1pm, 6pm – 10.30pm Pho 30k, Tra Da/Quay/Egg 5k
They call it street food, and it doesn't get much more street than this: get lunch at Pho Hoc Chuyen Bo and you can practically high-five your mates as they drive down Xuan Dieu. Maybe not the most peaceful location, but it's always busy. They're doing something right: the pho here is excellent.
A good portion of meat, natural broth, a generous serving of sharp spring onion... If you can get over the parade of traffic (I had to take like 10 photos of the restaraunt before I got one without a student riding an e-bike), this place has it all. Shout out to the quay here: fresh out of the fryer with a perfect balance of soft and crispy. Don't touch them with your fingers.
Pho: 8/10
Location: 4/10
Quay? The best.
Pho Over Easy: Phở Bò Thiên Trường 20, Ngỡ 12 Đặng Thai Mai Opening times: 6am – 3pm, 6pm-10pm Pho 30k, Tra Da/Quay/Egg 5k
This shaded alley just off of Dang Thai Mai has seen an explosion of trendy western bars restaurants lately, but Pho Thien Truong is holding on and knocking out pleasingly attractive bowls of pho, com rang and pho xao. Save a bit of dong and grab dinner here before going out and blowing all your money on cocktails and craft beers. No need to speak Vietnamese here: they serve beef pho and there's a picture of a cow outside. Point at that.
As for the pho: their broth is clean and natural tasting, and they provide some great extras to hearty it up – try asking them to put an egg in your soup (an underrated addition to pho – if you see eggs on the counter, get them to crack one in), or for a glass bottle of coke. Altogether a pleasing and easy to eat portion of pho, but more meat would be nice.
Pho: 7/10
Location: 7/10
Quay: Rough and ready.
The Takeaway
Unlike bun cha, which is best cooked fresh to order, pho is pretty good all day. It's a popular breakfast and lunch dish in Hanoi, and these resturaunts get rammed around 9am and 12pm. Try going around 1 or 2pm for a late lunch (and a guaranteed table.)
What is Tay Ho's best? Yen Phu's Pho Huong is pretty class, but I wouldn't say no to a Spicy Pho if I was in the area. As always I have a feeling that there's a grandma, somewhere in the back alleys of Tay Ho, cooking up something even better. (If you know her number hook me up.)
Coming soon on Ho Tay 50k: 'A Beginners Guide to Bim-Bim'. We're collecting every weird and wonderful Vietnamese snack we can find. And eating them all.
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