I started my phở journey in a foreign place, Australia. Now that I’m walking and eating in phở’s motherland, Vietnam, will it taste better? So many blogs have described how phở broths in Melbourne pales in comparison with what you can get anywhere in Vietnam. I couldn’t wait to finally learn what real phở tastes like.
Phở Hòa
Phở Hòa on 260C Pasteur St is arguably the most popular phở joint in Southern Vietnam. Billy knows about it, Dad knows about it, I’m sure it’s also listed in Lonely Planet. Blogs have described its interior as rather dingy and dirty. To be honest, after exposing myself to street scenes of roadside vendors and hole-in-the-wall eateries, Phở Hòa actually looked quite clean and tidy. Ha ha!
Each table is filled with all the implements you may need: an array of sauces, a large tray of herbs, a bowl of cut chillies, blended chilli paste, limes, dough fritters, vine-wrapped food accompaniments, and bananas. There’s almost no space for the actual bowls of phở. You are charged according to what you eat, if you don’t touch the extras, you won’t be charged for it.
From left: Thai basil Rice paddy herb, Sawtooth herb, Vietnamese mint Thai basil, Papa.
(Thanks, Billy, for the corrections)
Phở Chú Thể in Melbourne only serves one type of herb – Vietnamese mint Thai basil. Here, we got three kinds of herbs: Rice paddy herb (ngò om), sawtooth herb (ngò gai) and Thai basil. New herb score! I’ve never had ngò gai before, it tastes quite strong when raw. Might be better if it’s slightly cooked in boiling hot soup. Dad liked having it with the soup.
Raw beef, brisket, beef ball and tendons.
Of course I once again had the phở bò đặc biệt. Authentic phở at last! I took a slurp of the broth and noodles… it tasted pretty much the same as Richmond’s I Love Pho 264, lol. I was frankly a little disappointed, where’s my phở orgasm? Haha! Don’t get me wrong though, it was still a pretty good bowl of phở, and having dough fritters with the bowl of pho added a nice touch. The beef pieces were really good and my only complaint was that the soup wasn’t served piping hot.
Vietnamese Iced coffees. They come with a lot of sugar.
The entire meal for 3, including drinks, cost 191,000đồng (AUD$9.55). Each bowl of phở was 48,000đồng (AUD$2.40). To the locals, this is pretty expensive.
Street Phở
2 days later, we were wandering down Nguyễn Thượng Hiền street and ate at this random phở bò (beef pho) place. Street phở… another first! I am so very glad my folks have no qualms about eating street food. The hygiene levels can be shocking, but Dad, Mum and I seem to hold the belief that if the place looks dirty, the food is probably very good. LOL! That’s why those immaculately clean food courts in Sinagpore serve rubbish food. Too clean. My heart dies a little every time an age-old hawker centre gets refurbished.
We had a lot of trouble communicating with the vendor. There was a lot of pointing and puzzled looks from both sides. Maybe that’s one reason why it’s easier sticking to the boring tourist traps. We shared 2 bowls of phở, they were pretty good! The broth was just slightly less full-bodied than Phở Hòa’s and the noodles were a little overcooked. Coriander was used as a garnish here instead of ric paddy herb (ngò om). Only thing missing was the chilli paste/oil. We didn’t like the chilli sauces here, they looked bottled.
Our coffees were dripped the classic Vietnamese way. I had a sip of the dripped product – it was really really strong and full-bodied, even slightly sweet. Dad liked it, he thinks it can be drunk without any added sugar.
So good news guys, you don’t have to fly to Vietnam to have a bowl of reasonably authentic phở. Save for a missing herb or two, good phở is right here in a nearby Melbourne suburb, cooked with the same accuracy and passion by migrant Vietnamese. Also, street phở is almost as good as restaurant phở in Saigon. I didn’t have the chance to assess upmarket phở chains like phở 24 and phở 2000, but I assume it won’t be as good. I am now really really curious about making my own phở at home.
Source: fatboo.com
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