The many variety of Pho

Pho is a common sight in Vietnam, it is the staple food of the population and I some time wonder if it is more important that rice, even though Pho derrived from rice.

I have tasted many types of Pho in my travel. My first experience of this food was in Canada. Many Vietnamese escaped from Vietnam during the wars and some resided in Canada since then, My brother brought me for my first taste of Pho and I was quite hooked on it since then. I frequent Vietnamese restaurants whenever I went to a country known to have a sizable Vietnamese population. Australia for example was one of these countries. I brought my family for a taste of Vietnamese food on our last excursion to Perth. The reason is: it is authentic Vietnamese food.

Pho in Singapore sucks, it is expensive and yet small in portion, its taste is stereotype and if you have been to one you have been to all. Further to that, most of the Vietnamese restaurants in Singapore are run by Singaporean, not Vietnamese. The Pho are local produces and feel more like local Kuey Tiaws. If you have tasted the real pho, you will not settle for such quality served in Singapore.

While in Vietnam I have never failed to go for a bowl of Pho. Mind you, there is no two stalls of pho having the same taste. Each serves pho with different taste of soup stalks, vegetables, proportion of pork, beef and chicken. The Pho in the morning is more dilute, it is different from that in the evening which is much thicker in taste.

The only common thing is the Pho itself. It is almost paper thin and very thin in width as well. It gives a very smooth texture and it is as if the pho will melt in your mouth.

Most common meat used in Pho is beef, although some uses beef balls while others with Chicken. Just this morning, I have one with a mix of beef and pork which comes with a higher concentration of ginger, giving it a more spicy sensation. The Pho I ate 2 nights before was purely prepared with chicken and a more oily based chicken stalk.

Vegetable wise, spring onion is the most common ingredients. They are not cooked witht the Pho but placed in upnon serving, this makes the spring onions relatively uncooked with a crunchy feelings and a pungent taste. It is in fact quite a good match when blend with the taste of Pho. While many restaurants in Singapore includes Basil and bean sprout, it is not a common sight here in Hanoi, although this is practised in Ho Chih Minh. So I guess this is at least one of the difference between the North and South.

Pho is a must, when you visit Vietnam. Skip the ones served in the hotels and go get one from the streets, they are authentic and richer in taste. I at least never regreted taking the risk, afterall, isn't that one reason why we travel?