I've a friend arriving in BKK soon who is a pho freak.  Any recommendations where we can find top notch pho hereabouts ?

 

Thanks !

First off I'll try to figure out what ...pho....is ?

What is a pho?

Phở : Vietnamese noodle soup, usually with beef  (Phở Bò), but can also have chicken (Phở Gà). Great stuff if well made. 

Best pho for me was at Mui Ne. It’s in Habito mall at OnNut.

Pho, pronounced foo, is really no different essentially, from Thai noodle soups. Its just got a more marketable name is all.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g293916-c41-Bangkok.html/

I go to Vietnam every year and do food tours but the only Vietnamese restaurant I've been to in Thailand was in Ubon Rachathani which was excellent but I did not bother with the Pho. Too many other good things to eat

I live in Calfornia most of my life and I love pho from CA... when I moved to Thailand I figured the pho has to be good and be easy to find due to the close proximity of Vietnam... however as it turns out decent pho seems to be pretty difficult to find in Bangkok. (I eventually gave up on looking for good Vietnamese food that isn't overpriced)

 

59 minutes ago, speckio said:

I live in Calfornia most of my life and I love pho from CA... when I moved to Thailand I figured the pho has to be good and be easy to find due to the close proximity of Vietnam... however as it turns out decent pho seems to be pretty difficult to find in Bangkok. (I eventually gave up on looking for good Vietnamese food that isn't overpriced)

 

The best pho I have found, which is almost indistinguishable from what I've eaten in Seattle, California, and Viet Nam is at Pho An in Chiang Mai. 

1 hour ago, The manic said:

Pho, pronounced foo, is really no different essentially, from Thai noodle soups. Its just got a more marketable name is all.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g293916-c41-Bangkok.html/

I go to Vietnam every year and do food tours but the only Vietnamese restaurant I've been to in Thailand was in Ubon Rachathani which was excellent but I did not bother with the Pho. Too many other good things to eat

That's ridiculous. A true long cooked distinctively spiced Pho broth is very different than the simple (often chemical) broth of a Thai noodle soup. The origin of Pho is French beef pot au feu. Also Pho is mostly with beef cuts and balls (less common in Thai noodle soups). 

6 minutes ago, gbob said:

The best pho I have found, which is almost indistinguishable from what I've eaten in Seattle, California, and Viet Nam is at Pho An in Chiang Mai. 

Yeah, I've never had anything close to decent Pho in Bangkok or Pattaya. I've given up in Pattaya but I have heard there are a few places in Bangkok. 

https://www.facebook.com/vietnamesebowl/

 

Vietnam Bowl on soi 33 is very good.

When I stayed out at Soi 22 not far was an upscale Viet restaurant in a house behind a wall with a semicircular driveway and valet parking. I had river prawns but chances ate you could get what you want. Can't remember the name but ask at your hotel, or hired driver. They may know that or another place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, The manic said:

Pho, pronounced foo, is really no different essentially, from Thai noodle soups. Its just got a more marketable name is all.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g293916-c41-Bangkok.html/

I go to Vietnam every year and do food tours but the only Vietnamese restaurant I've been to in Thailand was in Ubon Rachathani which was excellent but I did not bother with the Pho. Too many other good things to eat

 

No. This is so wrong, I don't know where to start. Viet noodle soup requires 6 + hours of simmering with bones and seasonings. Thai soup is a quickie, with loads of MSG and a few other things. I know from my ex-GF who sold soup from a cart in the Soi Buakhao market. Also, it's not pronounced "foo". It's like "fur" without the "r". It's a quick rising tone, then falling, then rising tone, indicated by the "?" diacritic. 

 

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

That's ridiculous. A true long cooked distinctively spiced Pho broth is very different than the simple (often chemical) broth of a Thai noodle soup. The origin of Pho is French beef pot au feu. Also Pho is mostly with beef cuts and balls (less common in Thai noodle soups). 

 

Exactly. Key phrase: "Often chemical". There's no comparison. Viet pho can be superb, if done in the traditional way. It started in the north. The central highlands (especially Hue) did their own thing with pho, and the south did their own interpretation. 

 

To add: Several Viet restos have come and gone in BKK. Good ones. Not much left to recommend. 

Pho 24 Resturant in the Emporium  -  Good Vietnamese food - forget Viet Cuisine on 7th fl MBK, not even a good facimile of Vietnamese food.  Ate there for the first time today, I don't recommend it.  The cook doesn't even speak Vietnamese  (haha)

12 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The origin of Pho is French beef pot au feu.

 

Pho is not pronounced "foo". It is interesting to speculate that the word comes from the French "feu" because, come to think of it, the word does sound very much like the French word (for fire). Best English transliteration might be "fuhh" or simply "fuh".

 

Vietnamese food is great! When last working in Hanoi I got introduced to "bun cha" which also quickly became one of my favorites, but rather hard to find good renditions outside Vietnam. The closest I have come is a great French-Vietnamese place on Street 136 in Phnom Penh just a few doors away from the riverfront.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm not surprised that most don't have a stand by recommendation. I had been told by some long time BKK residents that good pho was pretty much missing in BKK. A pity.

Vietnamese and more behind Rama 4 close to sukhumvit 24

saigon recipe on sukhumvit 49

 

15 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Pho 24 Resturant in the Emporium 

where is this at emporium ?  i don't think i've seen it.  they have 'le dalat', which is where i get pho.  but it isn't all that great.   i've eaten at alot of Pho 24's in vietnam, love the pho they make with the beef brisket.

Very authentic to have a NUMBER in a Pho restaurant name. Always a good sign. 

Go on Facebook

Search for "Smalls Bangkok" It's on Suan Phlu soi 1 (I think)

Look for their "Pho Night"

I think it's once a month

On 04/01/2018 at 1:11 AM, TunnelRat69 said:

Pho 24 Resturant in the Emporium  -  Good Vietnamese food - forget Viet Cuisine on 7th fl MBK, not even a good facimile of Vietnamese food.  Ate there for the first time today, I don't recommend it.  The cook doesn't even speak Vietnamese  (haha)

A Pho 24 in Emporium?  Is it related to the Pho 24s in Vietnam?  If so that would be worth a try.

 

Agree with the rest of the comments that there is no good Pho in Bangkok otherwise.   Was quite interested when I saw a Pho place called PhotyNine open in Ekamai......but it was rubbish.

On 03/01/2018 at 5:21 PM, speckio said:

I live in Calfornia most of my life and I love pho from CA... when I moved to Thailand I figured the pho has to be good and be easy to find due to the close proximity of Vietnam... however as it turns out decent pho seems to be pretty difficult to find in Bangkok. (I eventually gave up on looking for good Vietnamese food that isn't overpriced)

 

Overpriced it is for soup which in Vietnam is about 70 baht. There is a whole new food area near Ploenchit which has Vietnamese restaurants.

Guys come on, obviously you haven't tried enough Vietnamese food places in Bangkok.

 

I recommend the Pho in Mui Ne, Habito mall.

Just fly to Hanoi for the weekend Jellybean ya skinflint. 

7 hours ago, RonniePickering22 said:

Just fly to Hanoi for the weekend Jellybean ya skinflint. 

My buddy, the pho fiend, is going to do just that.

30 minutes ago, jellydog said:

My buddy, the pho fiend, is going to do just that.

 

You joining us Jellybean?

 

Or will we do a curry soon??

 

PM me old chap. 

This article is a year old but worth a look.

http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/news/bangkok-best-vietnamese-restaurants

 

I was surprised during a visit to Nong Khai a few years ago to find several  Vietnamese/Thai restaurants downtown on the riverfront.  

Apparently, there is a sizable Vietnamese community there dating back to the days of heavy river trade on the Mekong. 

Same magazine as above just reviewed this new place in soi sala daeng. Beef pho looks good. 

http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/bangkok-restaurant-reviews/happy-endings

2 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

Same magazine as above just reviewed this new place in soi sala daeng. Beef pho looks good. 

http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/bangkok-restaurant-reviews/happy-endings

As a Pho-x-pert it doesn't look all that good to me at all.

 

But it is good they are using imported beef and you can't taste a picture. 

 

Now, here is some Pho --

 

 

I'd have been willing to try it until I saw the photos. Neither the bahn mi nor pho look all that desirable. Still, photos can lie.