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Jun 12, 2018 / 17:26

Vietnamese pho named among the world’s best cheap eats

Pho, Vietnamese iconic traditional food, has been listed among the world’s 15 best foods that are easy on a globetrotter’s pocket, according to UK-based travel site Rough Guides.

Pho’s ranking came after India’s Thali on the list of Rough Guides. Pho is a bowl of flat, soft rice noodles dipped in a fragrant beef or chicken broth flavored with different condiments. It is served with beef or chicken, shallots and chili and lemon to taste.
 
Pho, Vietnamese traditional food.
Pho, Vietnamese traditional food.
“The warming broth is eaten at any time of day, and is best bought from a hole-in-the-wall vendor, where it probably costs less than the raw ingredients back home,” Rough Guides wrote.
In 2017, Pho has been listed among the world’s 50 most delicious dishes by CNN, based on a vote of 35,000 people.
Pho, which was in 20th place on the list, is virtually the national dish and can be found all over Vietnam, though it is more of a Hanoi specialty and may taste a little sweeter and thicker in the south. It is a bowl of soft rice noodles in a broth carefully prepared with different herbs and served with beef or chicken, and shallots, with chili and lemon on the side. “But it’s greater than the sum of its parts - fragrant, tasty and balanced,” CNN said.
Eating Pho in Hanoi was also found on a bucket list of 50 travel experiences to try in Asia by US news site Business Insider in 2016. According to the site, the dish is considered one of the most nutritious in Vietnam and possibly its best hangover cure. It is loved by locals and tourist alike, so much so that there were heated online debates last year about how it should be served.