The bustling pho stand in a small alleyway of Hanoi has been crowded for 40 years

Guests must navigate through the narrow passage of Dong Xuan market alley to enter the tiny stall.

The bustling pho stand in a small alleyway of Hanoi has been crowded for 40 years

Wandering around the Old Quarter of Hanoi, enjoying delicious food is an adventure. Tasting the long-standing delicacies of Hanoi seems to multiply the excitement.

For those living around the Old Quarter, Aunt Phuong's pho tiu is one of the dishes remembered whenever the weather turns dry, people feel uncomfortable and crave something quick, cool, sour, and sweet. Pho tiu is similar to Hu Tiu but uses fresh pho noodles, more broth.

As a dish created early in Hanoi, pho tiu consists of pho noodles, char siu mixed with a sauce similar to honey, some minced meat combined with Lang herb, mint, lettuce, coriander, roasted peanuts, fried shallots.

Pho tiu Phuong Beo is a family-run eatery that has been selling food in Dong Xuan Market for generations. Previously, the shop also tried selling bun thang but it didn't take off.

Customers can walk from the beginning of Hang Chieu street into Dong Xuan Market alleyway – a miniature culinary world in the heart of Hanoi, then park their vehicles at the entrance, although the parking fee is high. Nevertheless, this is still a place worth visiting, as it has been around for a long time, selling dishes associated with the name of the person who created them.

The narrow alleyway leads into a bustling space, with stalls packed closely together – a characteristic of Hanoi cuisine. The shop has long benches that can only accommodate a few people, so customers often have to stand and wait. However, the shop still knows how to impress with its distinctive sauce, created by the owner since the 1970s.

To get the sauce into the pho tiu bowl, there are up to 5 small pots on the stove and on the table. Different sauces are poured in one by one, in the bowl there are pho noodles, raw vegetables, char siu meat before being topped with fried shallots and peanuts.

Observing from the outside, the shop's vegetables look clean, from lettuce, coriander to basil, Lang basil. The pho noodles are soft, combined with various sauces. Before chewing on the tender and fragrant char siu meat, the taste of fried shallots and crushed peanuts awaken the taste buds, bringing the diners a very Hanoi flavor, just right.

Over time, many things had to be modified to survive, but the younger successor still keeps the original marination formula, char siu grilling, onion frying, soup boiling, sauce making, seasoning... intact here.

Numerous attempts to mimic it have ended in failure. Nowadays, many seek the 'authentic, full-flavored' bowl of pho tiu only in the alleys of Dong Xuan Market. 'I'm really pleased with my choice, and I usually finish every last bit of the pho tiu in the bowl. The flavor of pho tiu seems familiar yet strange, like something new but also familiar,' shared a longtime customer.

Source: Viet Nguyen/Vnexpress

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Reference: Travel guide Mytour