The story
Pho took shape in northern Vietnam in the early 1900s, under French rule, when beef became easier to find at markets. Vendors in and around Hanoi, many of them from the village of Vân Cù in Nam Định province to the southeast, began selling rice noodles in a clear broth simmered from beef bones with charred ginger, star anise and other spices. Hawkers carried it through Hanoi's streets on shoulder poles, and by the 1930s it was a city staple. After 1954, northerners moving south brought it to Saigon, and refugees later took it around the world.
Rival claims
Nam Định province, about 90 km southeast of Hanoi, has a strong claim: Wikipedia and many Vietnamese sources name the villages of Vân Cù and Dao Cù there as pho's traditional home, with cooks from there later making it famous in Hanoi. Andrea Nguyen, a leading pho historian, says most people place its birth 'in and near Hanoi', and Vietnam listed both Hanoi pho and Nam Định pho as national intangible heritage in 2024.
Also known as pho, phở bò, pho bo, Vietnamese noodle soup, Hanoi pho.
On the Meridish menu
Phở was the soup course on menu No. 3 on October 3, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Rice noodles in a clear beef broth scented with star anise. It took shape in the north of the country in the early 1900s.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2018/03/the-history-of-pho.html
- english.vtv.vn/news/pho-of-hanoi-nam-dinh-recognised-as-national-intangible-cultural-heritage-20240814082217322.htm
- vinpearl.com/en/history-of-pho
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
