Pho is a familiar dish of Hanoi people, but not every restaurant chooses to transform it with cha la xuong song.
At Pho Cha restaurant, the fragrant spring rolls with the scent of Xuong Song leaves combined with a sweet broth have created a unique flavor, attracting many diners to come and enjoy.
Sharing with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Trieu Thi Thanh - owner of Pho Cha restaurant said that the restaurant has been around for many years. After a period of temporary closure due to family work, the restaurant was reopened and still maintains the original recipe from the early days.
“In the past, the restaurant sold from when a bowl of pho was only a few thousand VND. Later, I stopped for a while and then returned. This is also the first restaurant to sell pho in this way,” Ms. Thanh said.
The point that makes the dish different lies in the sausage part. Instead of using betel leaves, Ms. Thanh chooses Xuong Song leaves - a type of leaf with a characteristic aroma. The meat chosen is lean pork shoulder, ground and marinated with honey to create a natural sweetness before wrapping a layer of Xuong Song leaves and grilling. According to the shop owner, wrapping only one layer of leaves helps to retain the characteristic aroma without overshadowing the sweetness of the meat.
Not only the sausage is meticulously prepared, the broth is also a factor creating the restaurant's own flavor. Every day, the restaurant uses about 20kg of beef and pork bones to stew for many hours, creating a natural sweetness without relying too much on spices.
The restaurant's menu includes many choices such as pho bo cha, pho ga cha, pho dot vang cha. Among them, bo cha and ga cha are the two dishes chosen by the most diners. A bowl of pho costs from 35,000 VND, especially a bowl with many cha costs 60,000 VND. For first-time diners, Ms. Thanh often advises ordering a combined bowl to fully feel the flavor without being greasy.
Visiting the restaurant for the first time at the recommendation of friends, Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha (Cau Giay ward) said that what impressed her the most was the aroma of Xuong Song leaves. "At first, I thought it was cha la lot, but when I ate it, I felt a very different aroma. The cha is soft, not dry, the broth is sweet and refreshing, so I ate the whole bowl without feeling greasy. If I have the opportunity, I will still come back to try more dishes from the restaurant," Ms. Ha shared.
With a unique spring roll recipe and elaborately stewed broth, Ms. Trieu Thi Thanh's spring roll pho restaurant has become one of the addresses that many diners come to when they want to change the taste between familiar traditional pho bowls.
The combination of Xuong Song leaves, lean shoulder meat and sweet broth has created a unique flavor, contributing to enriching the culinary picture of Hanoi.
