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The Best Pho In Hanoi

We admit it, we’re Hanoi pho fans. Discover why we ditched the free Hanoi hotel breakfasts and ate big bowls of the best pho in Hanoi instead.

Hanoi Pho Bo Breakfast
Image: ©2foodtrippers

As a married couple visiting Hanoi, we didn’t expect to be doing a walk of shame past the staff at our quaint Old Quarter hotel every morning. However, that’s what it feels like when we snook out of the hotel each morning, ditching the perfectly fine breakfast for big bowls of Phở in the city where the iconic Vietnamese food was invented.

We know what many of you are thinking: Why would you skip the free breakfast? After all, breakfast in Vietnam is prime time for soup, especially for Phở in Hanoi. It’s not uncommon to see droves of locals lining up for bowls of hot beef or chicken broth covering fresh, flat Pho noodles.

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Pho at Hanoi Restaurant
Pho is our Hanoi breakfast of champions. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Probably due to intensely hot afternoons, Vietnamese days rev up early in the morning and it’s not uncommon for a Phở shop to open at 6 am. Add some freshly cooked beef, used to make Phở Bà, or chicken, used to make Phở Gà and you’ll have an extra special eating experience.

So many people, especially lovers of Phở, think they know the ins and outs of the globally popular soup. But there’s a sophisticated history behind Pho and it began, surprisingly, in the early portion of the 20th century with influences that ranged from the Chinese to the French.

We’ve eaten Phở in the United States many times, but always for lunch or dinner. Hanoi Pho is best when eaten for breakfast. Seriously, could there be a better way to start the day than a bowl filled with savory broth, slow-cooked meat and fresh rice noodles???

Discover more great soups around the world.

Hanoi Pho Video

Watch our YouTube video to see what it’s like to eat Phở for breakfast in Hanoi. Plus, you may learn a thing or two about the popular Hanoi creation.

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About The Authors

About The Authors

Daryl & Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their unique taste of the world.

Disclosures

Article Updates
We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Funding
We purchased and ate the pho featured in this article.

Original Publication Date: September 1, 2016

norman

Monday 5th of September 2016

Great! We got a restaurant next door called "Koriander too" which serves excellent Pho. and here is a funny story. Once a couple next to us asked what "Koriander" was. Now why she didn't know what Koriander is, i dunno. BUt anyway, the waiter then said: "It's a vegetable". I found it a hilarious description of vietnamese kitchen :P

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