Beef Pho @ Pho Suong and Pho 10, Hanoi (Vietnam)

To be completely honest, I have never been very big on pho (soup noodles with meat), the most well-known dish of the Vietnamese cuisine. When it comes to Vietnamese food, there are so many other goodies out there that we haven't really eaten much pho. However, since we were in Vietnam last summer, it would be a real shame to give pho a pass. Therefore, armed with a few recommendations for pho from our hotel's concierge (everything food-related that I write from this trip came from him), we braved the rain and took to the streets of Hanoi for an evening of pho-eating.

The first pho place we tried, Pho Suong, was on the same block as our hotel, a simple hole-in-the-wall kind of place, but popular with the locals. Our hotel's concierge guy says he often comes by this place for breakfast before work. It really is no-frills, but it was clean, and the simple menu made ordering easy. Only four options on the (Vietnamese) menu board: well-done beef, half-done with well-done beef, well-done brisket or flank, and half-done brisket. A bowl of noodles was very cheap, about US$2, and it was tasty even without using the condiments provided on the tables. Pho Suong is open daily from 5:30am to 11:30am, and from 4:30pm to 9:30pm.

We rocked up to Pho Suong at 4:30pm just after it opened for its evening service, so we had the whole place to ourselves for a few minutes:

Some pickled garlic, fresh lime, chilli, ground white pepper, hot sauce and fish sauce - all to add to your bowl of noodles to your liking:

The bowl of beef pho, served:

Stirred:

Pho Suong
24B Ngo Trung Yen,
Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel. +84 9 16 19 76 86

The second pho place we went to was in a busier area than Pho Suong, and catered for a larger number of patrons. The menu has a slightly larger choice of different cuts and combination of beef (flank, brisket, fillet). The two bowls we ordered were tasty, and given Pho 10's bustling popularity, it is a solid choice for good pho.

A large steaming kitchen greeted customers by the entrance to Pho 10:

Simple restaurant-style setting:

We got two different types of pho, but I forget what they were:

Pho 10
10 Ly Quoc Su Street
Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel. +84 4 38 28 44 55