Hanoi chicken pho has recently become a hot topic on Xiaohongshu, a social media platform popular among young people in China, with Chinese travelers sharing photos, reviews and recommendations of the Vietnamese capital’s best-known chicken pho restaurants.

Hanoi chicken pho becomes a trending search

Photos of steaming bowls of pho piled generously with chicken, alongside glimpses of restaurants tucked into Hanoi’s busy streets, have been appearing frequently in posts by Chinese visitors, drawing considerable engagement.

Some travelers said they returned to the same chicken pho restaurant several times during their Hanoi trip because they enjoyed the dish so much.

Among the most frequently mentioned places is Pho Ga Nguyet on Phu Doan Street in Hoan Kiem. A long-established restaurant known for drawing large crowds, Pho Ga Nguyet has been included in the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand selection, which recognizes establishments offering good food at reasonable prices, for four consecutive years.

In June, during a brief interview with VietNamNet, LiuXin Chen, a 23-year-old Chinese tourist visiting Vietnam, said Pho Ga Nguyet was widely known on Chinese social media. Soon after arriving in Hanoi, Chen headed to the restaurant to try it for herself.

“It was just as I expected. The pho was delicious and well-balanced, the noodles were soft and pleasantly chewy, and the broth was light and delicate,” she said.

A much-praised Hanoi address

In December 2023, the Michelin Guide published an article praising Pho Ga Nguyet, describing it as a “gem” for chicken pho lovers in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

The restaurant was opened in 2009 by Le Thi Minh Nguyet, born in 1967.

At the entrance are two large stainless-steel tables and a glass display case filled with trays of chicken with glistening golden skin. Nearby, a pot of broth sends steam into the air, while pho noodles, spring onions, fried shallots and other ingredients are neatly arranged for service.

Nguyet said the restaurant uses crossbred Vietnamese hens that have laid eggs twice, giving the meat a firm texture and fragrance, a moderate chewiness and crisp skin. Each chicken weighs an average of 2.7 to 3 kilograms.

For the broth, Nguyet simmers pork leg and other pork bones for 10 to 12 hours. Chicken bones are added to the pot as the meat is prepared. Grilled onions and ginger, along with a small amount of shiitake mushrooms, are essential for giving the broth its distinctive aroma and golden color.

Alongside traditional chicken noodle soup, the restaurant’s dry mixed chicken pho is another bestseller.

A bowl combines freshly blanched pho noodles with a rich sauce, shredded chicken, roasted peanuts, blanched bean sprouts and crisp fried shallots. The sauce is made from soy sauce, sugar and pho broth.

Nguyet said the number of international customers rose sharply after the restaurant was featured by Michelin, with particularly strong growth among Chinese visitors.

According to posts on Xiaohongshu, many Chinese travelers have praised the restaurant’s mixed pho topped with chicken thigh and back meat. They describe it as a harmonious combination of soft noodles coated in savory sauce and fresh chicken with a pleasantly firm texture, calling it a dish worth trying in Hanoi.

Pho at the restaurant ranges from about $2.10 for a bowl with chicken breast to around $4.60 for a meat-heavy serving with thigh and back meat. Adding chicken giblets costs approximately another $1.

However, many Chinese visitors have also been candid about the prices, saying they are relatively high for the portion sizes. A small number said the restaurant’s traditional chicken pho did not differ significantly from versions served at other street-side eateries around Hanoi.

The restaurant can also become crowded, meaning customers may have to wait for a table or to place their orders during peak hours.

Pho Ga Nguyet is not the only Hanoi chicken pho restaurant attracting attention on Xiaohongshu.

Many posts also mention Pho Ga Huyen Huong on Bao Khanh Street in Hoan Kiem. Pho Ga Huyen Huong was among nine new establishments added to Vietnam’s Michelin Selected list in 2026.

Chinese visitors have praised the restaurant’s spacious and polished interior, air conditioning, good service and a window-side area offering attractive views of the surrounding streets.

One of the restaurant’s most striking features is the preparation counter directly inside the ground-floor entrance. Freshly boiled chickens with glossy golden skin are neatly displayed there. When customers choose a particular cut, skilled staff swiftly chop the meat and remove the bones.

Traditional chicken pho is the restaurant’s signature dish.

A bowl costs from about $3.40 for chicken breast to around $6.10 for a special serving containing chicken, immature egg clusters, liver, gizzard, blood pudding and Vietnamese pork meatballs.

Most Xiaohongshu posts point out that the restaurant is not cheap, with a bowl of chicken pho costing as much as roughly $5.70. Still, many reviewers say the quality largely justifies the price.