 |
| The 2025 Phở Festival lures the nationally best restaurants to Hà Nội on April 18-20. VNS Photo Thanh Hà |
HÀ NỘI — All eyes are on the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long where the nation’s best phở restaurants gather together for the annual Phở Festival.
More than 50 booths of businesses, enterprises and giant phở brands will introduce and popularise the national dish during the three-day event which was officially launched on the night of April 18.
In a special area of the citadel, diners and visitors have opportunities to taste typical phở styles from different parts of the country such as the Northwest, Nam Định, Hà Nội, Central and Southern regions.
 |
| There are different styles of phở, but phở with chicken and beef are the most popular ones. VNA/VNS Photo |
Among the big names are Phở Thìn Bờ Hồ and Phở Tư Lùn from Hà Nội, Phở Hoàng Gia and Phở Vân Cù of Nam Định.
In addition to enjoying phở, visitors will also witness chefs directly demonstrate the cooking of phở and frying of quẩy (dough sticks). They will introduce every step from choosing ingredients, making noodles, to cooking broth and serving a delicious bowl of phở.
 |
| A chef prepares a bowl of phở, a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. VNA/VNS Photo |
Participating in this year’s festival, Phở Thìn Bờ Hồ stall attracted a large number of visitors on the opening day.
Bùi Chí Thành, the third generation owner of the restaurant shared that he prepared about 500 bowls on the first day and may increase in the following days.
Each bowl cost only VNĐ40,000 VND, about two thirds of the price at the restaurant, but he was happy to serve a larger number of people.
“By participating in the festival, we hope to promote and introduce the quintessence of Hà Nội cuisine to a large number of people and tourists. The price is lower than usual but the quality and food hygiene and safety are guaranteed,” said Thành.
Artisan Lê Thị Thiết, chairwoman of the Nam Định Culinary Culture Association, was also busy serving diners.
“We introduce famous Nam Định-style phở. All ingredients are carefully preserved and cooked to ensure the best flavour to our customers. The festival is a precious opportunity to introduce and promote the quintessence of phở culinary heritage – a dish that has won hearts of both local and international tourists,” she said.
In addition to Phở Thìn Bờ Hồ and phở Nam Định which have been well-known for decades for their noodles with beef, Phở Đông Kinh was totally a new brand that would be launched in the next few months.
 |
| Many diners test phở Đông Kinh, a brand new phở restaurant that will open in the next few months. VNS Photo Thanh Hà |
“We are a group of five chefs and artisans. After a long time of discussion and preparation, we decided to present diners our phở with chicken which is cooked as traditionally as what our ancestors did in the past,” artisan Nguyễn Thị Ánh, vice chairwoman of the Hà Nội Professional Chefs Association told Việt Nam News.
“Taking the name of Đông Kinh we hope to revive the heritage of old Hà Nội with our traditional recipes in a space of history in our place.”
At the festival, people will also find different varieties of phở such as phở made of corn from Hà Giang Province, phở with roasted duck from Lạng Sơn, phở with burnt livers from Bắc Ninh, and phở made of artichoke flowers from Đà Lạt.
Trần Thanh Mai and her family really enjoyed their special meal at the citadel.
“We come here early and visit all booths before choosing the Vân Cù restaurant. Here we can see a chef preparing our phở and have a great dinner with national dish at this Imperial Citadel, a rare chance that we may not have in the future,” Mai said.
 |
| A chef cuts phở sheets into thin slices before serving. VNS Photo Thanh Hà |
Many international friends were also excited to have their phở in an outdoor area with music and performances available.
“I got in the festival by chance and am really lucky to taste phở this way,” said John Sullivan from the US.
“I checked in many stalls and decided to have phở with chicken, so good!. I will be back here again for other options before the festival ends.”
 |
| Phở Ngô Hà Giang with noodles made of corn is one of special stalls at this year’s Phở Festival. VNS Photo Thanh Hà |
A highlight of the festival is that all booths apply a common price of VNĐ40,000 per bowl. Customers will buy tickets from the chatbot which will help them to find restaurants and choose the right phở flavour and style that they expect.
This is the first time AI technology has been applied in a culinary festival in Việt Nam.
Within the framework of the festival, locals and tourists can also visit the exhibition “Phở Story”, recreating the development journey of Vietnamese dish through each historical period.
 |
| A foreign diner at the festival. VNA/VNS Photo |
Visitors will see its development from the old phở stalls on the streets and the subsidy-era phở restaurants to the world-class phở brands. In addition, there is also a space for Hà Nội lotus tea and an old-style beer stall, which recreate the culinary culture of the old capital.
In particular, the festival also includes a conference where experts discuss the plans to turn phở into a global culinary heritage, as well as the process and challenges in building a dossier to submit to UNESCO. VNS
Read original story on Vietnam News