Favorite Foods: Vietnamese Pho

Sweet, spicy and delicious pho bo.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia, because I'm too busy devouring
my pho to take a photo.

One of the key advantages of living in Singapore is ready access to an infinite variety of Asian cuisines.

Yes, Chicago and other major U.S. cities have go-to options for Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian and Thai. But, living in Singapore means you have access to not only "Chinese" but Cantonese, Sichuan, Hokkien, Shanghainese, etc., for example.

Same goes for Vietnamese. Louis and I paid many a visit to Chicago's Viet-Town on Argyle Street for pho ga, bahn mi and vermicelli noodle soups. Not bad. In Singapore, one of my top meals: pho bo at Viet-Inn in Boat Quay.

What is pho? It is a Vietnamese noodle soup served with beef (phở bò), though I also like the pho with chicken (phở gà). Made from rice noodles, a richly complex and flavorful broth, and topped with heaping handfuls of bean sprouts, Thai basil, cilantro, mint, fresh lime and chili padi, it is the ultimate comfort food. Some places serve it also with tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken, organs, or tendons.  

Typical garnish -- bean sprouts, chili, basil/mint/cilantro,
lime. I like mine with LOTS of chopped chili.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

The best part is the broth. It is, simply, a beef broth, but unlike beef broth you buy in a U.S. grocery store or eat with French onion soup. This broth smells mysteriously sweet, spiced and herbal,  and typically is made with cinnamon, star anise, fresh ginger, cardamom, coriander seed, fennel seed, clove and who knows what else. 

It's just delicious.

I've booked my first trip to Vietnam -- Saigon, over the Singapore Labour Day holiday -- and can't wait to sample as much pho as possible.

More to come.