After putting together a selection of the best traditional bánh mì sandwiches in Paris and an incredible compilation of the most imperial spring rolls in the capital, our expert in Vietnamese cuisine dipped his chopsticks into Southeast Asia’s most iconic soup… phở! This pot-au-feu-like dish that hails from Hanoi conquered the stomachs of southern Vietnam after the country gained its independence in 1954, and then the entire world after the end of the war with the United States.
Our phởcus? The original phở bò dặc biệt, which must meet all of the following requirements:
* A phởnomenal broth made with beef shank, bone marrow and oxtail, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, cardamon and charred onions, which gives the soup its characteristic caramel color. Stripped of all impurities, the potion should be a little fatty and give off an intoxicating scent!
* Loads of fresh herbs: traditional cilantro, long cilantro (known as ngo gai), Thai basil, mint, spring onion, chives…
* Quality beef, phở real. Your choice of: bò vò viên (Vietnamese meatballs), slivers of raw beef, fatty flat ribs or, for the true phở heads, beef tripe.
* Tender, good-quality noodles that have been cooked to perfection.
* Balanced add-ons to perfectly complement the special brew: soybeans, bird’s eye chilies, lime, sriracha and hoisin sauce for that southern touch.
The very important phở
Alain Ducasse supposedly nicknamed him the “Chinese Robuchon”: Te Ve Pin has been a key player in the phở game since the eighties. If you want a bowl of this incredible soup (€11) at his restaurant with bright lighting, you’ll have to wait in line like everyone else! Slightly sweet and loaded with slivered herbs (tons of cilantro and chives), this is the ultimate flavorful broth. Our only complaint? The noodles were a little overcooked and the slices of beef were slightly too fatty.
Pho Tai – 18 rue Philibert-Lucot, 75013 Paris
The senior phở
In this old-timers’ hangout, people quibble over chopsticks while playing cards and watching TV with their noses in one of the legendary soups of the day – during our last trip there, it was a bún bò huế with pork trotters. Personally, we opted for very fresh phở (€13), made with simple but intensely flavorful ingredients: beef meatballs and slices of raw beef, which you can dip into a mixture of hoisin sauce and sriracha. With its somewhat fatty yet not-too-fatty broth, plenty of fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, chives) and a wedge of lime combined with bird’s eye chili pepper, it’s the ideal hangover remedy.
Ngoc Xuyen Saigon – 4 rue Caillaux, 75013 Paris
The fieriest phở
People have been coming to this Belleville institution since 1984 for its incredible broth! Despite the factory pace, (very) big dining room and very speedy staff, you can savor ten different high-quality pho soups here, including a dặc biệt (€11.50), made with a slightly fatty and extremely minty broth, and a phởrmidable mix of hoisin / chili sauce. All that remains is to decide if you want a big or small bowl, with or without the combo of tripe and meatballs. The most gourmet among you will order phở satay with prawns (€13.50), which is wonderfully comforting, made with chili and peanuts…
Dong Huong – 14 rue Louis-Bonnet, 75011 Paris
The most homecooking-style phở
“At Comme au Vietnam, you eat just like you would in Vietnam,” our lovely tablemates repeatedly tell us, who are fans of Monsieur Truong, once a judo champion and personal bodyguard for the South Vietnamese president. The phở (€12.40) is light and divinely sweet, featuring a broth that has strong cinnamon and star anise notes, into which you can dip tender slices of beef. In short, a broth that means to do you good.
Comme au Vietnam – 195 avenue de Choisy, 75013 Paris
The most action-packed phở
In the 13th arrondissement, insiders only have taste buds for this place: in just a few years, Phở Bờm (discovered during our imperial hunt for the best spring rolls) revealed itself to be one of the neighborhood’s most essential Vietnamese restaurants. Its magic potion? The “PH3” (€12.90), a lesson in balanced flavors, which you select from the laminated menu: noodles cooked to perfection bathed in a meaty and herbaceous broth (generous amounts of cilantro and chives), served with very finely minced onions and quality beef. A friendly piece of advice: ask for the jus de gras or the “fat juice,” which you pour directly over the broth.
Phở Bờm – 71 avenue de Choisy, 75013 Paris
According to Chinese astrology, François Phan (the Parisian-Vietnamese author of this article), is a fire rabbit – a “sensible, discrete and refined” being. You can find him putting together lists of the best spring rolls in the city, or the most bánh mì-thical spots in Paris.