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Pronunciation of Pho and Other Vietnamese Words and Phrases, Part 2

Here’s Part 2 of How to pronounce certain Vietnamese words. Leave a request and I’ll post an audio file so you can hear Vietnamese pronunciation of your words, in both English and Vietnamese conversational speech.

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Pho Cali, Pho HoaCali, Pho Cali & Grill, Pho T Cali, Pho Cow Cali – What’s in a Name?

Pho Cali, Pho HoaCali, Pho Cali & Grill, Pho T Cali, Pho Cow Cali, Pho Cali Restaurant. When it comes to naming a pho restaurant, it seems we Vietnamese have a problem with good, creative English names. But what’s with Cali in the names? Well, we love our Cali and everybody loves our Cali too.

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Thumbnail image for The History and Evolution of Pho: A Hundred Years’ Journey

The History and Evolution of Pho: A Hundred Years’ Journey

April 8, 2009

A fascinating and definitive discussion of history and evolution of Vietnamese pho. The history of pho spans over a hundred years, from unification of Vietnam under French rule in 1887, to North and South Vietnam separation in 1954, and the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and beyond.

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Thumbnail image for Vietnamese Pho With No Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)? Sure You Want It That Way?

Vietnamese Pho With No Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)? Sure You Want It That Way?

November 17, 2010

Many people have problems with consuming monosodium glutamate, or MSG, in their foods. Chinese cuisine and many other restaurant foods are notorious for having lots of MSG in them. Restaurant pho is no different. In fact MSG use in many pho restaurants can be dominant and unmistakable. Here are some real insights about MSG in Vietnamese pho, from a roundtable of food industry experts. Vietnamese Pho with no MSG? Sure you want it that way?

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Thumbnail image for Want the Lime Taste in Your Pho? Don’t Serve It Like This

Want the Lime Taste in Your Pho? Don’t Serve It Like This

November 5, 2010

There are some great pho broths out there. Some are good enough so you don’t even have to enhance with fish sauce or hoisin sauce. Regardless of the quality, though, I must have my squeeze of lime juice in my pho. Unfortunately, for such a simple thing, there are more than a few pho photos out there showing lime and pho in some deplorable relationship. Yuck. Check out these sins.

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Thumbnail image for How to Say Bánh Mì (Banh Mi) Vietnamese Submarine Sandwich

How to Say Bánh Mì (Banh Mi) Vietnamese Submarine Sandwich

October 19, 2010

Vietnamese bánh mì or banh mi really has two main meanings. In a Viet sandwich shop, you can buy not only the whole baguette banh mi, but also order the bread stuffed with meat submarine sandwich kind of banh mi. Here are the pronunciations for various types of Vietnamese sandwich bánh mì, the sandwich kind.

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Thumbnail image for How to Order Extra Bánh Phở Noodles With Your Pho

How to Order Extra Bánh Phở Noodles With Your Pho

October 16, 2010

Here’s how you order extra pho noodles with your pho (audio files.) The best thing to do is to have bánh phở noodles added to your bowl in the kitchen before they pour in the hot pho broth. Some may prefer a side bowl of just blanched bánh phở at your table, but if you think about it, you’ll want the everything in the bowl when the broth is poured in. Here’s why.

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Thumbnail image for An Injustice to Pho: Rachael Ray’s “Phunky BBQ Pho with Pork” Recipe

An Injustice to Pho: Rachael Ray’s “Phunky BBQ Pho with Pork” Recipe

October 8, 2010

The dish/program name itself, Phunky BBQ Pho with Pork, is enough to send chills up my spine. What’s really annoying to me is the casualness that these inaccuracies are presented by Rachael Ray and her program. The show, and Rachael Ray herself, not showed total disrespect to Vietnamese (and Thai) foods, but also to their own audience’s intelligence, though I could be wrong here since there are 578 Facebook Likes for the recipe as of the date of this post.

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Thumbnail image for What Makes a Great Pho Restaurant?

What Makes a Great Pho Restaurant?

September 28, 2010

We all have our own reasons why we like Vietnamese pho, and we have our own reasons to keep coming back to our favorite pho restaurant(s.) The reasons we like our pho restaurants can be as varied as pho recipes themselves, but when one boils it all down (no pun intended) to the pho essentials, there are really a finite number of reasons why a pho restaurant deserves your business and my business. Here’s my take on what makes a great pho restaurant based on the pho polls.

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Thumbnail image for How to Eat Pho and Finding Your Own Pho – A Primer For First-Time Diners

How to Eat Pho and Finding Your Own Pho – A Primer For First-Time Diners

March 10, 2010

When it comes to pho, a Vietnamese would have the distinct advantage of knowing how to enjoy the noodle dish. Eating pho is always an adventure, even for those who have had it all their lives. For first-time diners, the key is to relax and enjoy. You’ll find your own pho in no time.

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Thumbnail image for Pho Is Changing – Chinese, French and Now American Influences

Pho Is Changing – Chinese, French and Now American Influences

November 22, 2009

Pho is changing. Regardless of if you’re for or against it, or maybe don’t even care, you can’t stop it. The only thing you and I can do is to help control it through our own pocketbooks. I know we have urges to try something new all the time, but I also know I need to give my continued business to good authentic pho restaurants who go out of their ways to do it right. Who cares, you say? Well I hope at least some people do.

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Thumbnail image for What Is Great and Authentic Pho? Here’s One Example

What Is Great and Authentic Pho? Here’s One Example

November 17, 2009

My intuition told me I needed to pick up the spoon and try the broth immediately. All I can say is: it is what pho broth should be. So then on this rare occasion, I finished this huge bowl of pho without adding the hoisin sauce for pho and the red hot sauce. No I didn’t forget. I just didn’t need them. I normally only do this for authentic Pho Bac, the northern kind. Read the rest of my Pho Lu review.

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Thumbnail image for Pho Nam Dinh: Pho Hanoi by the Multigenerational Co Family from Town of Nam Dinh, Part 2

Pho Nam Dinh: Pho Hanoi by the Multigenerational Co Family from Town of Nam Dinh, Part 2

October 31, 2009

This is part 2 of the story of pho Hanoi and how the Co family pho dynasty keeps its pho through 5 generations. We meet one of the two remaining members of the second generation, who demonstrates traditional pho techniques at festivals and visits his descendants’ pho shops to pass on his experience and encouragement.

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