The Top Ten

The last post on pho marked a milestone. It was the tenth in the Hanoi pho swoop, which sounds 'piddly-like-whoopie-big-deal-so-I've-eaten-ten-bowls-of-soup', but I can tell you for every bowl I've blogged, another ten have gone south of my mouth. The problem with pho mapping Hanoi for me is that I keep returning to my favourites rather than following a systematic approach to a process that I've realised will never end.

I do like pho, though, much more than a bowl of soggy cereal or a slice of toast with vegemite for breakfast. I like a wet breakfast and I will persist with the noodle slurping in perpetuity, it seems.

But let me summarise the very subjective findings so far.

THE STICKYRICE 'HANOI PHO SWOOP' TOP TEN SLURPS:
(as at 22/11/06)

1. Best Pho Ga By Far So Far (posted 26/7/06)
   "Get me a whole bird in my soup!"

2. Would You Queue for Pho? (2/8/06)
    "...a joint that Hanoians spruik up as one of the places to slurp one's noodles."

3. Pho Corner (12/9/06)
    "...cleavered chicken pieces, diced up hearts and livers, sliced fillets of breast covered  in lime leaf needles, a huge pile of fresh pho, a pot, a sieve, a ladle and some bowls."    

4. Pho Franchise (9/11/06)
    "classy, almost minimalist, a far cry from the cluttered detritus of the average family pho show in Hanoi."

5. Up-Market Pho (7/10/06)
    "...no slap-dash affair. Someone cares."

6. Pho Ga Blur (8/8/06)
    "...this rambling kerbside affair is an evening only slurp in a dark section of the Old Quarter."

7. Pho Poser (10/7/06)
    "...there's half a cow on board this bowl..."

8. Friendly Grotbox (17/11/06)
    "...bargain basement territory..."

9. More Pho Tails (20/8/06)
    "...a definitive little pinch me moment of "bloody hell, I live in Vietnam!"

10. Pho Map Installment No 2 (18/8/06)
      "...chewy, fatty and if I think too hard I might be forced to spit it into a serviette."

What about those of you who live in or have vistied Hanoi? What do you reckon? Am I out of my tree or not? I'd be much more motivated to branch out a bit if some recommendations were forthcoming.

*On a completely unrelated note, Hannibal Lector seemingly landed on this blog after conducting a search for the following: "restaurants that used human bones to make food delicious." He must be doing a thesis.
            

Comments

[Preya]

I'm impressed! I was never much of a pho aficionado, as you know, so I can't say, but I will certainly try some of these places in the future.

[Ourmanintokyo]

Great job! We love your reviews - keep 'em coming!

Just got back to Tokyo after a week in Hanoi. How did you survive the APEC madness?

[Sticky]

The four or five at the top are definitely worth it, Preya.

OMIT:
APEC was actually not as bad as ASEM a couple of years ago. Bush was staying a stone's throw from me at the Sheraton, so lots of SS, tinted windows, black mercs - even a couple of tanks! Did not interrupt my routine one iota, though. I was bracing myself for it but it never happened, I'm happy to say.

[Marianne]

Stickyrice, I can't thank you enough for your very diligent research. I intend to spend the next month testing out the pho shops you've written about :)

[Michelle]

Just back home after a month in Vietnam where I had a bowl of pho to start the day almost every day. Best two I tried were both in Hanoi.
I can't remember the name of the place but the best pho ga was at the shop next door to Cafe Trinh on Bat Su; and the best pho bo was at a place called Pho Thin but I can't remember the address - I realise "somewhere in the Old Quarter" isn't very helpful!