The best Vietnamese pho soup, pho Hanoi or pho Saigon?

Winter is a good reason to warm up to the hot and succulent noodles that a pho bowl invites. For those who have had the opportunity to taste Vietnamese pho in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), many of us recognize a certain disparity between the versions of two great gastronomic destinations of the country.

Sonny admits that he prefers pho Hanoi because of the less sweet broth and the mouthwatering smell of beef while Andrew enjoys Pho Saigon better for its delicious flavors... Debate on the best Vietnamese pho soup under the angle of two travelers who fall in love with the pho.

Sonny Side is well known as a culinary blogger who can be followed on his Youtube channel Best Ever Food Review. Expatriate in Saigon, this American traveler regularly shares his videos of culinary experiences including typical Vietnamese dishes, but also original, attracting millions of views. One of his successes highlights his experiences on the fabulous pho Vietnamese compiled through his journeys in two regions to the north and south of Vietnam. Follow his tasting trips, accompanied by Andrew, his companion to put under the magnifying glass our national dish that is indeed a universal soup.

In the capital, they chose phở Bát Đàn, reputed to be one of the best places to eat pho in Hanoi. In front of this restaurant more than 70 years old, they advance with patience, of course, in single file like everyone by evoking, with humor, the Vietnamese, that to eat, it is necessary to launch oneself in the kitchen. Pho Bat Dan offers three variants of pho to beef, half cooked, rare and cooked for a price between 40,000 - 50,000 VND. Sonny and Andrew order two bowls of mid-cooked beef pho that cost a total of 100,000 VND.

The soul of the Vietnamese pho recipe lies undoubtedly in broth. Sonny realizes that the broth in the north comes from simmering beef bones, grilled onion and ginger, seasoned with spices. The ingredients vary in each region.

In Saigon, they opt for Phở Ngọc, a canteen that has been standing for half a century and known for its "interminable" bowls. It is also the occasion for these gourmets to take knowledge of the phở gầu and phở nạm. "Nam" means meat flank meat, tender, rather lean while "Gau" is flank meat from the feet to the breast of the beef, greasier than "nam". According to Sonny, the biggest difference between pho soups in the North and in the South must, at first sight, be broth and also herbs. If the Pho Saigon is rather sweet, the pho Hanoi is perfectly purer.

On the seasoning side, the Hanoiens mainly decorate the pho of spring onion and lemon. The Saigonese, meanwhile, never feast on pho without a basket of vegetables composed of all kinds of herbs, soy sprouts and lemon. Northern pasta is thinner and thinner compared to its southern counterparts. At the level of the broth, this taste of the people of the south is, undoubtedly, sweeter.

I say to myself, at first glance, that it is simple to conclude that the pho in the North prevails on the pho in the South or on the contrary. In fact, they are two entirely different versions, according to Sonny. His point of view is also shared by Andrew.

When he has to decide to elect his star, Sonny leans in favor of pho Hanoi since he appreciates the less sweet taste. In the capital, this soup is licking it with a delicious scent of beef, although the southern version gives it a touch of spilling herbs that balance the caloric content of noodles and meat, Sonny says. The other gourmet, Andrew opposes the opinion of his friend who is, according to him, almost personal. As for him, he prefers the pho Saigon.

Sonny previously interviewed Peter Franklin, head of a pho restaurant in Saigon about the peculiarities of this famous soup in two regions. Peter reveals that pho in the North requires a long and refined organization whose ingredients are largely prepared manually. The broth is ideally based on a traditional charcoal stove. The manufacture and the cutting of the pasta, are not left, being done all according to the artisanal stages. In the south, we privilege a bowl of pho garnished with different ingredients. Which gives it a more colorful recipe and plenty of flavors.

Sonny shows that he is a connoisseur of Vietnamese pho by surveying several regions to test a wide range of variants, from pho kho (dry) to pho kho (dry) through parpho xao (jumped). A version that impresses him particularly is that tasted in a mountainous soil of the North-West. There, he experienced an atypical culinary escape by tasting, for the first time, a pink noodle pho in a sweet broth, added local sausages and soya beans.

Where we meet the Vietnamese, where the pho invites. A symbol of traditional Vietnamese cuisine, this dish has its own day, December 12, adopted by the newspaper Tuoi Tre Jeunesse during a seminar in his tribute gathering a large number of lovers of Vietnamese pho.

And you, what is your opinion? The pho soup in Saigon or Hanoi is the best? Another idea? Let's try it when doing Vietnam Food Tour in Hanoi or in Ho Chi MInh or during your tour in Vietnam.