Thursday, December 9, 2010

Savoring Saigon: Pho 24

When: November 21, 2010

A trip to Vietnam will never be complete without trying its signature dish - phở! I could still remember my first taste of phở at Phở Hoa a few months ago. I fell in love with it, of course, even though the cilantro left an undesirable taste on my tongue. So, on our first night in Ho Chi Minh City, we absolutely came into agreement to try authentic phở in Phở 24.

 I saw the sign!

Phở 24 has a several branches scattered all over the city. The phở restaurants that are closer in proximity to our hotel are Phở 24 and Phở 2000, which are both located near Ben Thanh Market. We were apprehensive enough to try the phở inside Ben Thanh Market or those being sold at the night market outside Ben Thanh. My folks are not that adventurous enough to try street food much less in a foreign country.

Phở bò viên or phở with beef meat balls (45,000 VND or Php 112.50)

We all enjoyed our own variants of phở. My folks picked phở bò (beef phở), BF got phở gà (chicken phở) and I picked phở bò viên (phở with beef meat balls). Each order of phở  came with a plate filled with cilantro, basil, lime, chili, bean sprouts and onions.

Dessert: bánh flan or caramel flan

I love this creamy custard because it's not too sweet like our leche flan. Phở 24 also had a wide variety of fruit juices. Their pineapple juice was surprisingly superb as it came straight from fresh pineapple fruit and not from the can.

Courtesy of the friendly waiter

I couldn't help but noticed that the prices are budget-friendly compared to Vietnamese restaurants in Manila. Nothing beats eating phở in the land where it originated!

Phở 24
134 Le Thanh Ton Street (near Ben Thanh Market)
Ho Chi Minh City

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