Hanoi's famous pho (noodle soup) brands, such as Pho Thin, Pho Ngoc Vuong, and others, will be on show at Pho Festival 2024.

Held from March 15 to 17 in Nam Dinh City (in the Northern province of Nam Dinh), the festival is designed to celebrate traditional pho-making. It's also an opportunity for tourists and locals to get to know and enjoy the flavors of pho that are associated with regional cultures all over the country.

A long queue of diners at Pho Bat Dan, Hanoi. Photo: Minh An/The Hanoi Times

A series of activities at the festival also aims to promote Vietnamese cuisine and turn pho into a national brand, linked to the development of domestic and foreign tourism. Vietnam is preparing a dossier to be submitted to UNESCO to inscribe Vietnamese Pho as a World Heritage Site.

Le Thi Thiet, President of the Nam Dinh Culinary Culture Association, said the festival will feature a Vietnamese Pho Road with more than 50 booths of pho brands from across the country. The booths will be arranged in three areas, showcasing different types of pho from three regions (North, Central, and South) of Vietnam, as well as ingredients and spices for making pho.

Activities include an exhibition on pho culture, making a giant bowl of pho, pho photobooths, and a discussion on the evolution of pho from the past to the future. Visitors will have the opportunity to make pho themselves.

According to Le Thi Thiet, the event helps to spread the image of Vietnamese pho and the value of Vietnamese cuisine on the map of the world's culinary elite and contributes to promoting Vietnam's tourism potential.

One of Hanoi's specialties is chicken pho. Photo: Bao Chau/The Hanoi Times

Throughout the three-day festival, diners will be able to enjoy pho at one-third the price of pho bowls currently on the market.

Ten best pho shops in Hanoi:

1. Pho Bat Dan: 49 Bat Dan Street, Hoan Kiem District. This place is known not only for the best pho in the capital but also for its long queues throughout the day.

2. Pho Thin: 13 Lo Duc Street, Hai Ba Trung District. The meat is quickly stir-fried with ginger, onions, and garlic before being placed on the pho plate. The broth is slightly thicker than elsewhere.

3. Pho Ly Quoc Su: 10 Ly Quoc Su Street, Hoan Kiem District. The beef here is always fresh and tender.

4. Pho Vui: 25 Hang Giay Street, Hoan Kiem District. Pho Vui sells beef noodles in many variations: medium rare beef, well-done beef, brisket with flank, and beef tenderloin.

5. Pho Suong: 24B Trung Yen Alley, Dinh Liet Street, Hoan Kiem District; 1/26 Nguyen Hong Street, Dong Da District; 36B Mai Hac De Street, Hai Ba Trung District. The light and sweet broth is the highlight of Pho Suong, which is made by stewing beef bones and meat for hours.

6. Pho Nho: 27A Huynh Thuc Khang, Dong Da District. Elastic strings of noodles, tender slices of beef, and the piquancy of onion all combine to create a simple but beautiful flavor.

7. The beef noodle shop at 1 Hang Trong Street, Hoan Kiem District. The pho from this street stall is very ordinary, but the light broth and tender beef are quite addictive.

8. Pho ga Cham: 63 Yen Ninh Street, Ba Dinh District. There are usually 4-5 large pieces of chicken in your bowl, but you can also order eggs, half-boiled eggs, or organs.

9. Pho Ngoc Vuong: 108 - G22 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Dong Da District; 1 Le Van Luong Street, Thanh Xuan District; 349 Doi Can Street, Ba Dinh District; 50 Dao Tan Street, Ba Dinh District. The beef is also up to scratch. Each piece of beef is carefully sliced thin, tender, and succulent. This shop has been in the family for three generations.

10. Pho ga Nguyet: 5 Phu Doan Street, Hoan Kiem District. It's all about chicken pho, recommended by the Michelin Guide.