No matter when you make your way on a trip to Vietnam, whether its winter or summer, there is always a melted mouth for what is called Pho Bo, a Vietnamese noodle soup. Is not yet light and a group of women is doing tai chi beside Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake, their cheeks red from the cold. Dressed in padded velvet jackets and black trousers, they raise their arms in unison, watched by an old man who sists at a sidewalk stall, eating a bowl of steaming beef soup. Pho Bo says a hand a hand-lettered sign hanging nearby, where a woman stands over a huge cauldron, warming her hands. Hunched on an ankle-high plastic stool, the old man is joined by other diners: office workers stopping for a quick breakfast; school kids bundled up against the January chill; two old friends who’ve worked up an appetite over an early morning game of badminton. What is Beef Noodle?Pho, a clear broth poured over rice noodles and beef or chicken, is as much as ritual of Hanoi life as are early morning exercises. In the early decades of the 20th century, the best pho bo (noodle soup) in Hanoi was served by mobile street vendors, who carried a charcoal burner, a pot of soup and serving bowls strung from bamboo shoulder poles. Today, any time of day or night, you’ll find Hanoians seated at sidewalk stalls or in plain, open-fronted restaurants enjoying simple yet delicious meal. Often identified as the quitessential Vietnamese food, pho is served throughout Vietnam. Hanoians, however, refer to pho as “Hanoi-Soup” and insist that phi found outside of the capital is but a poor imitation of the real Vietnamese cuisine. |
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February 2017
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