HO CHI MINH CITY – The flame in the pan swept over the bowl of pho in an instant, just enough to lightly burn the herbs, thereby enhancing the unique flavor.

For more than a year, the restaurant on Le Quang Dinh Street, Binh Thanh District, owned by Mr. Tran Van Thuong has been known to many people for its fire noodle soup. The unique feature is that the beef noodle soup before being brought to customers will be brushed through the fire pan for about 2 seconds.

For more than 20 years as a chef, a few years ago, Thuong opened his own restaurant. The restaurant’s menu has more than 30 dishes, of which pho and fire noodles are the most impressive. “It took me many months to find a new way to cook, many times I burned my hands when trying with a burning fire,” said the 40-year-old man.

To have a bowl of pho, the chef uses a broth for more than 4 hours from beef bones with his own recipe. When customers order, they weigh the beef before making it rare.

The rare and encrusted beef will be lightly sauteed with cooking oil and seasoning for about 40 seconds in high heat to enhance the flavor. Each bowl contains more than 200 grams of meat, all originating from Australia.

The meat is cut large, the rare part is only slightly cooked on one side so that it is not chewy and has a fishy smell. The noodle soup will quickly boil in the boiling water before being placed in the bowl.

After putting all the ingredients into the bowl of pho, the owner stood nearly 2 meters away and sprayed cooking oil into the pan to create a fire.

The flame in the pan swept over the bowl of pho in an instant, just enough to lightly burn the herbs, thereby adding more flavor to the dish. Mr. Thuong said it took about 2 years to control the fire properly.

Because of cooking less, the owner of the kitchen kept the broth in the super, the guests just heated it up. This dish must be eaten immediately, so the restaurant does not sell it to customers. To ensure the original taste, diners are not served lemon, chili sauce, bean sprouts… like a normal bowl of pho.

A bowl of pho costs 120,000 VND, customers usually have to book in advance and the owner only sells about 10 servings per day. “I also make many other foods, not only pho. This dish is processed with great care and is delicious only on the spot, so it is quite picky and has not been sold in large quantities,” said the owner.

From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on business, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh pre-ordered fire noodle soup for dinner. “I’ve been here twice, the bowl of pho has a very unique aroma and impressive processing. The price is high, but it’s worth it for the quality of the food,” he said.

In addition to pho and fire noodles, this place also has many other dishes such as noodle soup, fried rice, beef jerky, salmon… for 40,000 – 120,000 VND. The shop is open from 9am to 10pm every day.

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