#1. District Binh Thanh, Local Restaurant Pho Chao Review
Local restaurant Pho Chao is located on Pham Viet Chanh Street in District Binh Thanh, called Ho Chi Minh City's Little Tokyo. This local Vietnamese restaurant was featured in the Michelin Bib Gourmand and serves pho and fusion dishes.
The restaurant was clean for a local restaurant located in an alley in District Binh Thanh where many locals live. Visited for a solo meal on a Tuesday evening and took a seat at an outdoor table.
Pho Chao serves Tra Da(Iced Tea) right after you order your food. The taste wasn't anything special, but many famous local restaurants charge for iced tea, but this one gave it for free, which made me feel good.
For my first meal, I ordered Hanoi-Style Pho. Hanoi-style rice noodles with rich meat broth and plenty of chives, onions, and cilantro are served with various spices, bean sprouts, lime, and chili peppers. You can add whatever you like to it, but chili pepper is very strong, so don't touch it with your hands. It's better to add a few pieces to the rice noodles to let out the spicy flavor, then take it out and throw it away.
It tasted like traditional Hanoi-style rice noodles with a rich meat broth and little sweetness. A few pieces of chili pepper really cut out the greasy taste and the various spices added texture and flavor, making it delicious.
For my second dish, I ordered Pho Chao's signature dish, Photine. Pho Thin, a rice noodle restaurant in Hanoi, is famous for its stir-fried beef in rice noodles, but this is a similar fusion dish made by topping French fries with Vietnamese-style stir-fried beef.
Although it looked incongruous, it tasted surprisingly similar to real rice noodles, and the shallot flakes and cilantro added flavor, making it taste better than I expected. This is a flavor that Westerners will especially enjoy.
Pho Chao is an attractive restaurant that serves authentic Hanoi-style rice noodles and fusion dishes that cannot be tasted at other places such as Photine. The price range is reasonable, so it is a great place to visit without burden. This restaurant definitely has its own unique characteristics and is worthy of being introduced to the Michelin Bib Gourmand.
#2. Local Restaurant Pho Chao Menu
Pho Chao serves regular Vietnamese food such as Pho(Rice Noodles) and Vietnamese-based fusion dishes as its signature menu. The rice noodles here are more than basic, but the impact of Photine, a fusion dish, is overwhelming.
I visited alone for dinner on a Tuesday evening and ordered the following.
Hanoi-Style Pho: 70,000VND
Photine: 90,000VND
In total, I was able to taste delicious local food for a reasonable price of 160,000VND. Pho Chao is a fun restaurant where you can taste high-quality fusion cuisine in addition to regular Vietnamese food. If you live nearby, it's worth a visit at least once.
#3. Local Restaurant Pho Chao Hours and Location
Local restaurant Pho Chao is located on Pham Viet Chanh Street in District Binh Thanh, called Ho Chi Minh City's Little Tokyo. For detailed location, click the Check Location button below to check on Google Maps.
Address: 52 Nguyễn Công Trứ, Phường 19, Bình Thạnh, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
Phone: 0902701208
Hours: 06:30 ~ 21:00