How to order your first bowl of pho
Beef or chicken, rare or well done, and what to do with the plate of herbs. A short guide for your first morning.
Pho is a breakfast first. The best shops open before six and are sold out by ten.
Choose the meat
Pho bo is beef, pho ga is chicken. For beef, tai is rare slices that cook in the broth, chin is well-done brisket.
The herbs
In the south a plate of basil, sawtooth herb and bean sprouts comes with the bowl. Tear them in. In Hanoi you will get less on the side, and that is the point.
The table
Lime, fresh chilli and chilli sauce. Taste the broth before you add anything.
