Pho

Pho is a staple food that typifies Vietnamese cuisine. It’s almost impossible to walk a block in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or any other major cities without bumping into a crowd of hungry patrons slurping noodles at a makeshift pho stand.

The soup consists of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles called bánh phở, a few herbs, and meat, primarily served with either beef or chicken. It’s cheap, tasty, and widely available at all hours. The Hanoi and Saigon styles of pho differ by noodle width, sweetness of broth, and choice of herbs. A related noodle soup, bún bò Huế, is associated with Huế in central Vietnam.