Ms Yang, a blogger from Dallas, tried out Vietnamese Pho, and quoted her friend from Vietnam, that Pho in the US tastes better due to better beef (from Texan cow?).
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2010/10/pho.php
Other people speculated the reason McDonald has yet entered the Vietnamese market (beef barrier to entry?) was because of the price of imported beef (fr Australia?).
I must admit Pho 24 chain in Vietnam has better presentation, and less greasy taste.
The design and ambience of Vietnamese restaurants in the US left something to be desired.
I dined in Hanoi at Pho Vuong, where all the plates and bowls were square.
And recently, I was in Orange County Little Saigon, where Pho was at deep discount (30 – 40 % off), as if they were off-season merchandise.
Since when did people get an idea that Pho, Vietnamese foremost pot au feu, needs to be discounted to lure in customers.
A Lexus is a Lexus. Nice showroom, enduring brand, great customer service.
So why when it comes to Pho, we need to commoditize it, and compete on price?
Even the quality of the waiters at these discounted Pho restaurants left some bitter taste in the mouth.
He asked one of us what he wanted for drinks. The reply, “water”. So he mumbled while scribbling down that we ordered 4 waters.
Not only did the guy not listen to his customers, he also assumed we have no money to order iced tea or coke.
To get back to the question whether Pho tastes better in the US or VN. My answer is, wherever they treat you like home.
As long as it’s hot, cooked with love and served with a smile.
I don’t expect great service at McDonald, except for clean bathroom, but I do expect to soothe my early imprint of going to Pho for breakfast with my Dad
on the weekend, before our weekly stroll to the used book shops.
Pho here or Pho there, tasted good, not because of the quality of the beef. It’s because of friendship, who you share the meal with, and where you eat the meal.
Even in the bustling hot shop of Pho Hoa in District 1, but because I was sitting across from my best friend, then it’s the best bowl of Pho.
Vietnamese cannot be separated from his bowl of pho. So, it doesn’t matter if it’s in France, or West Africa. Let’s see if Pho restaurants opened and run by Viet Kieu,
supposedly trained with US quality and standard, can offer a better experience (Madame ex-VP Ky was up for the challenge).
It’s a challenge, and a race to see who is going to be Pho number 1.
Thang Nguyen 555 