LAUREN LINH: When I first arrived in America three years ago, I was on a mission to find a restaurant that could recreate my to-die-for dish. But finding that authenticity can be hard.
ALI WONG EXCERPT: It's not authentic, okay!? You can tell first and foremost by the name, because it don't got a number in it!
( audience laughter)
LAUREN LINH: I was born and raised in Vietnam. I was 17 years old when I came to the US.
Despite exposure to a culture with rich and diverse cuisine throughout 64 provinces, pho has ALWAYS stood out as my FAVORITE dish, no matter, where I go.
I always ate at THUY HA NOI. My usual pho spot down the alley for breakfast, every weekend.
I can still smell the cinnamon, the cloves and star anise in their broth. They have been cooking their pho for decades, only focusing on the authentic Hanoi pho flavor.
So whenever I craved pho, I knew I couldn’t go wrong with this place.
That’s why when I go to a restaurant that has the word "pho" in their name, I expect to see a menu with a variety of pho, or an assortment of similar dishes, such as other types of noodles like bun bo, hu tieu, banh canh…
But when I came to the US, all the pho restaurants offered so many dishes! Entrees, like, spring rolls, chicken wings ... and even boba?
If these places were in Vietnam, I would refuse to go there.
Because a Vietnamese place with no specialty means nothing about it is special — so don't waste your money.
Vietnamese people, though, still fill up these pho places.
And I’m surprised to find that people like Nguyen Ta are enjoying their pho at Pho San Jose.
Ta says, she recently discovered the place. But it’s become her favorite, because the taste of pho here bears a resemblance to the ones in Vietnam.
The owner of Pho San Jose, Thuyen Van Nguyen, says that it is necessary for them to offer a variety of food. That way, they can make a profit and boost the number of customers.
VAN NGUYEN: You have to offer different things to bring in more customers. So let's say you ask your friend, hey guys, what do you want to eat? You know, it's hard to get five people to agree to eat pho, right? There's always that one guy that, oh, I don't feel like pho, right? So we have to offer an alternative to Pho, so you can get that big group of people to come.
LAUREN LINH: Nguyen says, one of the biggest differences, between running a pho restaurant here versus in Vietnam, is that in the US, the owner has to fight so much cost.
VAN NGUYEN: Pho or a lot of shops in Vietnam, they make a certain amount of food, they serve it for the day and they're done, right, and it's also small.
But here, the cost to build is so much and rent is so high, that you have to bring in different types of income, and so around here you can't just sell pho and make a profit.
LAUREN LINH: Ta says, she actually enjoys the new fusion food that is offered at the restaurant. The restaurant’s new dish, Cowboy Pho, is a combination of thinly sliced American smoked brisket and Vietnamese Pho. It's a unique but delicious combo.
I finally went out and tried some pho places here because I’m dating a guy, who says pho is his religion.
Surprisingly, I have to agree with Ta.
Alongside with pho, I tried boba and Filipino fried rice at a place called Pho Mai. I actually like it.
I’ll be honest, the pho here in the US doesn’t strike me as much.
I want to find a place, that offers a similar taste, a similar feeling to restaurants in Vietnam.
But when I miss home, I think it does the job.