With China gone it was time to enter Vietnam, which in the culinary scheme of things isn't too much of a hardship as what I've had of their food in London's Vietnamese establishments is pretty special.
If you had to think of one dish as being Vietnam's most famous then I think few would argue against pho (pronounced nearer fer, with its 6 or 7 tones Vietnamese is a challenging language to say the least), the noodle soup that takes its name from the tagliatelle shaped rice noodles in it. Normally coming in bo (beef) or ga (chicken) varieties, along with the noodles and meat spring onions and various herbs - coriander/cilantro, Thai basil or mint - tend to make an appearance. The stock is always meaty and savoury - due to the preponderence of boiled meat here it has normally had had a good few joints of meat boiled in it - and flavour is added from barbecued ginger and onions too.
In London a pho tends to be an elaborate affair, alongside your noodle soup you get a separate bowl with beansprouts, chillies, lime wedges and the aforementioned herbs. In the north of Vietnam, where the best pho is meant to come from, it's a much simpler affair. A bowl of noodle soup with chili sauce on the table, you're either given lime wedges of there's a jar of squeezed lime on the table. I'm guessing London's Vietnamese are of the southern variety.
Either way, once your lime and chili are in you're left with a hot sour noodle soup that is one of the world's greatest. Best of all it is your de facto Vietnamese breakfast so you don't have to wait too long after getting up before getting your first of the day in. I'm a big believer in spicy noodle soups as hangover cure - lots of salty liquid to rehydrate, carbs from the noodles and a burst of chili to wake you up and clear the throat - and with Hanoi's local brew 'bia hoi' costing about 10p a glass (literally, 3000 dong at 29,000 dong to the pound) it came in handy on a few occasions.
Our first two phos were within an hour of crossing the border. My lack of Vietnamese meant I'd have to wait for the archetypal beef pho but the chicken was good still and the crisp skinned pork belly slices in the pork pho were a revelation. The yearning for China was starting to wane already.
Shortly into our trip a new food obsessed German friend, who'd I'd first met in China two months back and happened to be passing through Hanoi from the south as we entered from the north, suggested a trip to Pho Gia Truyen. He'd read it was the best pho in Hanoi and as Hanoi has the best pho in Vietnam and Vietnam the best pho in the world... You see where I'm going.
The establishment is at 49 Bat Dan, right by the tourist centre of Hanoi, but when we went it was all locals, all pushing to get to the front of a queue to place their order, take their pho and find somewhere to sit. This is a purist establishment serving simply pho bo, no chicken or pork, but you do get the choice of 3 types of beef. Most places just have raw beef, which gets a quick swilling in boiling stock prior to a near raw addition to your bowl. Alongside this Pho Gia Truyen also sold thin slices of cooked beef and thicker slices of a more striated beef, a brisket maybe, simmered till near falling apart. Being a greedy Westerner I took all three. It was damn good pho, greatly helped by the 3 types of beef and the tastes and texture they afforded. It was all about the beef though, a lot of the Hanoi pho have a plain - albeit it very good - stock but here the aromatics were more noticeable. Certainly my favourite pho but it's not for me to call the world's best.
WOW! That beef pho looks fabulous. I could murder a bowl right now. I'll have to find a good Vietnamese restaurant soon!
Posted by: Luca | October 01, 2009 at 03:09 PM
It was pretty damn good, complete with steamy south east asian look to the photo due to the effect of my camera having spent the evening in an airconditioned room and the lens only just hitting the hot, moist morning air. My favourite pho in London is Song Que, I think there's a place called Pho in Soho too but I haven't tried it yet.
Posted by: Joshua Armstrong | October 02, 2009 at 01:10 AM
Thanks for that Josh - I shall have a look. There's a Pho in St John Street. Write ups are excellent.
Posted by: Luca | October 05, 2009 at 02:04 PM