What Is Pho? Broth, Toppings and How to Order 2027

Pho is Vietnamese soup built around flat rice noodles, aromatic broth and beef or chicken. Start with pho bo for beef or pho ga for chicken. In 2026, budget roughly 40,000 to 60,000 VND for a neighbourhood Hanoi bowl and 45,000 to 75,000 VND in Saigon, with famous central shops costing more.

What is pho made of?

Banh pho are flat rice noodles: soft ribbons that sit beneath the meat and chopped green onion. Lift a few with chopsticks and take broth from the spoon between bites. Round rice vermicelli belongs to other noodle dishes, so look for the broad, flat strands when identifying a bowl on a menu.

Beef bones and meat form the base of pho bo; chicken gives pho ga its stock. Charred ginger and onion add aroma, while spices scent the liquid. The kitchen cooks the broth before service, then combines it with blanched noodles and toppings when an order comes in. Assembly takes minutes; stock takes much longer.

Taste the broth first. Look for savoury meat flavour, ginger and spice before adding lime or chilli. Pho is a soup to drink as well as a bowl of noodles, so leave some broth in each spoonful.

The meat choice is a useful place to start an order. Photo: Anonymous Cow, CC BY 2.0. Photo: Anonymous Cow, CC BY 2.0.

What pho broth tastes like

Star anise adds a liquorice scent and cinnamon gives a warm, woody note. Cloves, coriander seed and black cardamom also appear in pho recipes. The broth remains liquid, without a curry's thick sauce.

Charred onion and ginger bring sweetness and a roasted smell to the pot. Fresh green onion and coriander add another layer after the noodles go in. Chilli sauce changes both aroma and heat, especially when squeezed directly into the soup.

Andrea Nguyen's pho spice primer explains how the aromatics work in the pot. At the table, take the same measured approach: add one condiment, taste, then add another.

Busy pho kitchens blanch noodles and portion meat beside a stockpot that is already simmering. Tell the server your cut before the bowl is assembled. Ask whether fried dough sticks or other extras are charged separately.

How to pronounce pho

Say “fuh”, with a rising-dipping tone, rather than “foe”. The Vietnamese spelling is phở; its hook-shaped tone mark carries part of the pronunciation. English spelling gives an approximation. Listen to the server say the word, copy the sound and use the written menu to settle the order.

For beef, point to phở bò; for chicken, phở gà. Then specify the cut or ask for the meat fully cooked. A menu photograph also lets you point to the exact combination you want.

Beef cuts and toppings: an ordering cheat sheet

A beef menu lists cuts, not separate soups. Tai means rare sliced beef, chin cooked beef, nam flank, gau fatty brisket, gan tendon and sach tripe. For a first bowl without offal, choose tai or chin and specify no gan or sach.

Gan is tendon, with a gelatinous texture after slow cooking. Sach is tripe, the stomach lining, usually cut into pale chewy strips. Gau supplies fatty brisket. Choose chin if you want cooked sliced meat without exploring every texture in a mixed bowl.

Ask for fully cooked beef before ordering if that is your requirement. Tai arrives as thin slices that cook in the hot broth; pointing to chin makes the cooked option clearer. Tell the kitchen about a medical food requirement directly, and choose another dish if it cannot explain how it will prepare your portion.

Aromatic spices help define the broth, though recipes differ between kitchens.

Northern pho versus southern pho

Hanoi pho generally keeps the bowl spare: savoury broth, rice noodles, sliced meat and chopped greens. Saigon versions commonly have a sweeter broth and a separate herb plate with bean sprouts. The herb plate is an invitation to season your bowl, not a requirement to empty it.

In a northern shop, add a little chilli or garlic vinegar if provided, then taste again. In Saigon, tear basil leaves into smaller pieces before putting them in the broth. Ask for sprouts blanched if you want them cooked.

Use the Hanoi cuisine guide to put pho beside the city's other breakfasts. Leave another morning for a different dish, and eat near the part of Hanoi you plan to walk.

Pho emerged in northern Vietnam in the early twentieth century, with Nam Dinh and Hanoi central to its history. French colonial demand for beef and Chinese noodle traditions both feature in accounts of its development. No single inventor or one borrowed recipe settles the story; the evidence supports a dish formed through several influences.

The proposed link between pho and French pot-au-feu remains debated, as does a Chinese origin for the name. Treat both as explanations, not proven etymology. Migration, especially the movement south in 1954, helped spread northern pho; southern cooks developed the herb-heavy bowls now associated with Saigon.

How to eat pho without drowning the broth in sauce

Take a spoonful of broth before touching the condiment tray. Loosen the noodles gently, lift a small bundle with chopsticks and support it with the spoon if needed. Keep the bowl on the table. Eat while it is hot: the flat noodles soften as they sit in the liquid.

Squeeze lime gradually and keep the seeds out of the bowl. Add fresh chilli in small amounts, then taste before adding more. Tear large herb leaves so they mix with the noodles. For sprouts, ask the kitchen for a blanched portion if that is how you want them served.

Hoisin adds sweetness quickly. Put a little in a side dish and dip the beef instead of squeezing a broad stripe into the soup. Keep the first few mouthfuls plain so you can taste the stock, onion and spices the kitchen has already balanced.

Pho is a breakfast staple, though shops also serve it later in the day. The Vietnamese breakfast foods guide gives alternatives for the next morning.

Before a cave departure, ask Jungle Boss whether breakfast is included and what time pickup begins. Eat in town early enough to return for the transfer. Send dietary requirements when booking so the expedition meals are covered too; a vegetarian restaurant order does not communicate those needs to the trekking kitchen.

Where to try pho in Hanoi and Saigon

Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su operates at 10 Ly Quoc Su Street in Hanoi, close to St Joseph's Cathedral. Its current Michelin listing confirms the address. Order the beef cut you want from the menu and keep the restaurant name with the street number in your map search; other branches share the name.

Pho Hoa Pasteur operates at 260C Pasteur Street in Saigon, with a southern-style herb plate and beef combinations. It is a named city stop in Michelin's chef recommendations. Ask which cuts are included before ordering a special bowl, and read the displayed price rather than applying a neighbourhood-stall budget to this established restaurant.

Check the branch name before setting off for a particular pho shop. Photo: Ailin Goh / Google Maps.

Pho Gia Truyen at 49 Bat Dan Street is another currently listed Hanoi address, known for northern beef pho. These three shops give you two Hanoi choices and one in Saigon without chasing an unverified opening time.

Plan breakfast around the things to do in Hanoi and your next stop. Pho 10 fits the cathedral area; Gia Truyen fits an Old Quarter walk. For budgeting, the 2026 neighbourhood ranges above work out at roughly US$1.50 to $2.30 in Hanoi and $1.70 to $2.90 in Saigon, using 26,000 VND to US$1 as a rounded conversion.

Ask about the cuts in a combination bowl before ordering. Photo: V Man / Google Maps.

Famous shops and central tourist locations can cost 80,000 to 120,000 VND or more, roughly US$3.10 to $4.60 at that conversion. Keep a note of the cut you liked, not just the restaurant: a bowl of fatty gau and one of lean tai will eat differently.

Pho chay, vegetarian broth and dietary questions

Pho chay replaces meat stock with a vegetarian base, often using vegetables or mushrooms, then adds tofu or other plant toppings. Ask specifically about the broth. A beef bowl with the meat removed still contains beef stock, and a tofu topping does not tell you whether fish sauce went into the pot.

The pho chay in Vietnam guide explains the meat-free version. At a restaurant, ask about stock and sauces before ordering, then specify any ingredients you avoid. For a vegan meal, include egg and dairy in that conversation.

Flat rice noodles start without wheat, but sauces and stock seasonings need their own ingredient checks. The Celiac Disease Foundation's ingredient guidance lists hidden gluten sources, including sauces and some broths. Ask the pho kitchen about those ingredients and preparation utensils; the word “rice” on a noodle packet does not describe the whole meal.

For coeliac disease or a serious allergy, give the kitchen a written ingredient and cross-contact request. Ask who can confirm the stock recipe and sauce labels. If nobody can answer, eat somewhere that can.

Visible tofu does not establish what went into the broth.

A bowl supplies starch from noodles and protein from meat or tofu; portions and seasoning determine the rest. Ask for fewer noodles or extra vegetables if the kitchen offers those choices. For a medical diet, obtain information about the actual serving rather than using a calorie figure borrowed from a different recipe.

Pho versus ramen, and what to eat next

Pho uses flat rice noodles; Japanese ramen generally uses alkaline wheat noodles with a springier bite. Pho's ginger, onion and spice aromas also differ from ramen's many stock and seasoning combinations. Identify the noodles first when comparing a photograph: a clear broth alone cannot tell you which soup the bowl contains.

Lift a few pho ribbons with chopsticks and notice their soft surface. Ramen noodles have a firmer, springier texture from their alkaline formulation. Taste the soup before adding heat, and order by its named style and ingredients rather than expecting every Vietnamese or Japanese noodle broth to match.

Use the best Vietnamese food guide to plan the next meal beyond noodle soup. Try a rice dish or a filled baguette for a different texture, then return to pho with the cut you preferred.

For the central leg, choose from Phong Nha's restaurants around your pickup and return times. Tell the expedition team about dietary needs at booking and confirm the included meals. Pack any agreed personal snacks before departure; the ingredients conversation belongs before the group leaves town, not at a cave campsite.