For more than 30 years selling pho on the sidewalk of Hang Chieu Street, Ms. Thoa's pho stall has become very familiar with late-night snacks.
When everywhere is asleep, the Hang Chieu pho stall opens at 3:30 a.m. to welcome diners. The small stall, without an ostentatious sign, has attracted customers for more than 30 years.
In the past, to eat a hot bowl of pho, diners had to line up from 2:30 to 3:00 in the morning. Groups of people sat at plastic tables waiting, and at exactly 3:00, Ms. Thoa carried the pho out. The preparation process took about 30 minutes, at which point the hot bowls of pho were delivered to the diners.
Ms. Thoa's pho stall is very simple with a pot of broth, a pot of pho blanching water, a few plates of pho cakes, and beef placed in the middle. The pho stall here has the standard taste of an old Hanoi pho bowl. The broth is simmered from bones, mixed with large, soft pho cakes and thinly sliced, hot, delicious rare beef.
Compared to other famous traditional pho shops in Hanoi, the pho here that diners remember the most is the beef pho with red wine sauce. The large pieces of meat are stewed until tender but still retain the sweet and fragrant meat fibers, mixed with red wine sauce with the flavor of cinnamon, anise, and cardamom.
The special thing about this shop that no other pho stall has is the pleasure of experiencing a warm night dish in the cold of the early morning. Anyone who comes home late, or has to wake up too early, will have a place to stop and eat a bowl of pho to warm their stomach. It is these things that make this Hang Chieu pho stall known, come to eat, and remember forever...
However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the night pho stall had to temporarily close for a while. After that, the owner reopened the stall but had to leave the pho-selling location where she had spent half her life.
The Hang Chieu street vendor has now moved to a new location at the beginning of Cho Gao Street, and its opening hours have also changed to conveniently serve customers from 3:30-9:30.
Although the restaurant is in a new location, the taste of pho remains the same. The secret to making the broth and choosing the meat and pho has not changed. Instead of having to stay up late and wake up early, now if you want to enjoy a bowl of pho, you can come in the morning.
Diners who love the taste of pho still come here, even though they regret the restaurant's previous characteristic of only selling at night.
Currently, the restaurant is usually crowded when it first opens until 5am. Then, at 7am, there is a new wave of customers until the food runs out. A bowl of red wine sauce, well-cooked, costs 60,000 VND, full, with rich, aromatic cheese sauce.
