From steamed noodles to pho paired with cold rice, these five popular restaurants in Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung Ward put distinctive spins on Vietnam’s iconic noodle soup.
Steamed pho on Ngo Thi Nham Street
A steamed pho restaurant on Ngo Thi Nham Street in Hai Ba Trung Ward, run by the family of Nghiem Ngoc Anh, 44, has recently attracted attention with an unconventional take on the Vietnamese staple.
Instead of briefly blanching the rice noodles in hot water as usual, the restaurant steams them in a bamboo basket for about one minute, much like bao buns or mantou. The noodles are then served with fragrant garlic-seared beef, fried shallots, roasted peanuts, fresh herbs and two sauces.
An unusual steamed pho dish served in Hai Ba Trung Ward, Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Huy
Ngoc Anh said that instead of using the usual thin strands, the restaurant opts for wide rice noodles - about three finger-widths across - that remain thin and soft.
When an order comes in, the noodles are placed in a bamboo steamer for about one minute. The technique makes them softer, silkier and piping hot while retaining their pleasantly chewy texture.
At the same time, the restaurant prepares beef stir-fried with garlic until aromatic. The beef comes from the chuck eye, a cut with coarse muscle fibers interspersed with marbling, allowing it to remain tender when cooked just right.
The restaurant uses two sauces: a sweet-and-sour fish sauce made with fish sauce, sugar, MSG, pepper and vinegar, with a distinctly sweet profile; and a soy-based sauce blended from four different varieties of soy sauce from Vietnam and China.
When the dish is mixed for diners, the sauces are combined at a ratio of roughly two parts fish sauce to one part soy sauce.
Chi chicken pho on Yet Kieu Street
For pho lovers in Hanoi, Chi chicken pho on Yet Kieu Street in Hai Ba Trung Ward is another dining spot that is difficult to overlook.
Many diners say the chicken pho here stands out for its clear, delicately sweet broth, simmered from chicken bones for hours and infused with familiar spices including cinnamon, star anise, ginger and cloves.
The rice noodles are made from high-quality rice, carefully steamed into thin, chewy sheets before being cut into slender, bite-sized strands.
The chicken is also carefully selected to ensure flavorful, firm meat that does not become mushy, along with golden skin.
The restaurant opens only in the morning, with each bowl priced at around $1.70-$2.10. Diners can choose from different cuts of meat and other ingredients according to their preference.
Thanh Beo beef pho with cold rice on Nguyen Du Street
In recent years, Thanh Beo pho restaurant on Nguyen Du Street in Hai Ba Trung Ward has drawn attention for an unusual detail: every table comes with a bowl of complimentary cold rice to accompany the pho.
Pho served with cold rice has become a popular draw for diners in Hai Ba Trung Ward. Photo: Linh Trang
Owner Hoang Minh Thanh, 48, said the idea of serving cold rice with pho stems from a childhood memory of pouring pho broth over rice and eating the two together.
He hopes the combination can bring diners back to a familiar taste of childhood.
Thanh said he uses Dien Bien fragrant rice to prepare the accompanying rice. Once added to the pho broth, the grains absorb the liquid, swell and become soft, supple and flavorful.
He stressed, however, that good pho remains the most important element. The restaurant continues to simmer beef bones for 20 hours, preparing around 50kg of bones, boiling another 20kg of cooked beef and blanching 15kg of rare beef each day.
The beef comes from cattle raised in Hanoi’s Mai Dong area and is sliced by hand.
The restaurant currently serves a variety of options, including rare beef, rare beef with brisket point, flank, beef shank, tendon shank and sauced beef shank. Bowls range from around $1.50 to $3.80 and can be accompanied by poached eggs, fried dough sticks, lime, chili paste, satay and other condiments.
Mai Anh chicken pho on Le Van Huu Street
One of the oldest and busiest pho restaurants in Hai Ba Trung Ward, Mai Anh chicken pho on Le Van Huu Street gained wider attention after appearing on South Korean broadcaster MBC in 2019.
The owner said that producing a flavorful pot of pho broth requires simmering chicken and pork bones for hours, along with traditional aromatics such as shallots, onions and ginger, which are roasted beforehand to bring out their fragrance.
Diners will notice the broth’s naturally delicate sweetness and a glistening layer of chicken fat on the surface.
In addition to chicken meat, the restaurant serves ingredients such as chicken intestines, gizzards, liver and immature eggs, adding variety to the dish and catering to different tastes.
Lanh pho on Nguyen Thuong Hien Street
Unlike more traditional pho restaurants, Lanh pho on Nguyen Thuong Hien Street in Hai Ba Trung Ward draws diners not only for the quality of its food but also for its distinctive presentation.
Each special bowl of pho at Lanh comes with 350g of beef ribs and 100g of assorted beef, including rare and cooked beef, flank, brisket point and tendon. Diners also receive a bowl of poached egg and a plate of fried dough sticks. Photo: Lam Hoang/Pho Lanh
Instead of conventional bowls, the restaurant serves its special pho in a large 30cm-diameter ceramic bowl. The bowls are custom-made, with artisans from Hanoi’s Bat Trang pottery village spending eight hours hand-painting each one.
The bowls come in five colors representing the five elements in traditional Eastern philosophy. Diners can choose a color they like or ask staff to recommend one associated with their personal element. The restaurant also provides a dedicated spoon and chopsticks for each special bowl.
According to the owner, besides creating a visual highlight, the oversized bowl is designed to accommodate the generous serving and its many ingredients.
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