Pho noodle soup has been Vietnam’s standard breakfast for centuries, but over time its fame has gradually spread all over the world. Vietnamese expats exported it to California – and now a Vietnamese-American, Ton Lam, has brought a modified version back home.
Known as Pho Cali, it is served in a bowl that is three times bigger than the local version. Beef is put separately on a plate together with the vegetables, herbs and bean sprouts, so diners can add them as and when they like. The noodles are cut into big pieces but they are still made of rice powder, just like the original pho noodles. Lam has made a career in hospitality since he returned to his homeland 16 years ago. He decided to add Pho Cali to the menu at Anytime, the restaurant of Capital Gardens Hotel in Hanoi where he is the manager, in memory of his long separation from his adopted home. “At first I just made pho in California to cater to the nostalgia of Vietnamese people living there, then American people gradually became fond of it. Now it is a favourite of both locals and expatriates in the United States,” Lam said. “Pho originated in Hanoi, then travelled to the south, where people changed it a bit. I invented Pho Cali to prove that although pho become different again when it arrived in California, the original taste and the major ingredients are still the same.” Every morning at Anytime, cheerful chefs in white hats and blue uniforms serve up the big bowls of hot soup. They pick up the noodles wearing rubber gloves – inspiring rather more confidence than the way food is handled at street stalls. A bowl of Pho Cali costs VND5,000 – a bit more than the local version, but far cheaper than the seven dollars it costs in California. Anytime Restaurant Capital Garden Hotel 48A Lang Ha Street, Hanoi Tel: 835 0373
