552754 Wed Aug 27 14:53:17 -0700 2008 19 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3977017 What is the correct etiquette for eating PHO? Thu Aug 21 19:23:39 -0700 2008 219031 Chili 1 3978467 Etiquette? Uh, it's about the same level of formality as pancakes. You pretty much eat it any way you want. Standard is: throw in bean sprouts, rip up and throw in every sort of herb you can, squeeze in some lime juice, and scoop up a little broth and take chopsticks and grab some noodles and then either eat then slurp, or lower noodles into spoon and sort of chaw/slurp all at once, or whatever makes you happy. More important than etiquette, though: at the really good, clean-limpid style broth places, try not loading the broth with hoisin and shiracha. Try not putting any in. Put a little in a dish on the side to dip your meats in, but have the broth pure. The delicacy is such such that, as you eat it, you'll kind of sink deeper into broth-mind, and see more and more, etc. Hoisin/spice load will just block off access to delicate beef flavors. You might see, if you watch the face of the proprieter as he watches somebody dump loads and loads of hoisin and siracha into his beautiful broth, a flicker of an expression come across his face that might be despair. It's akin, in my mind, of watching somebody take an utterly perfect slice of yellowtail sashimi and rolling it in soy and wasabi until it develops a pasty crust. Fri Aug 22 10:25:14 -0700 2008 3977017 14404 Thi N. 2 3978476 Also, I have seen hidden, pleased smiled on the faces of pho shop proprieters when the broth is so good that I'm compelled, at the end, to pick up the bowl and slurp the last bits of broth into my face. So feel free. They'll take it as a compliment - sort of like getting up from a massage table and then falling flat on your face with a happy gurgle. Fri Aug 22 10:29:07 -0700 2008 3978467 14404 Thi N. 3 4011348 Thanks Thi N. I am so happy to learn I can turn up my bowl and drink my broth. I often wondered if that would be a breach of etiquette. But ohhhh it's so good:-) Fri Sep 05 11:29:42 -0700 2008 3978476 135170 kpaumer 4 5023033 yeah drink it all [if it's good of course]. i can eat soup any time of day, every day, and slurp all the broth. like this :D (http://bonvivantnl.fotopic.net/p46469718.html) wherever i go. Fri Sep 11 14:07:09 -0700 2009 4011348 292258 Pata_Negra 2 3978586 Yes, cloudy broth = lots of siracha and hoison + lime until you can't taste the broth anymore clear broth = a touch of lime and enjoy :) Fri Aug 22 11:03:54 -0700 2008 3978467 91179 ns1 2 3978933 I couldn't agree more and LOL at the owner of Blossom telling me to add shiracha like I was a Pho novice. In hindsight, Blossom's Pho probably would have benefited from some siracha. Fri Aug 22 12:49:23 -0700 2008 3978467 10883 JAB 2 4012090 Thi N., I tried not loading the broth with hoisin and sriracha as you suggested, and just dipped in my meats in the sauce. I am very glad I tried this! I really got to fully appreciate the art of the broth at my favorite pho place. I am about to start on a pho tasting tour in my city. I will be using this technique to assess each broth I encounter. I'm thinking, any broth that needs these sauces to taste good are probably not worthy broths. Thanks! Fri Sep 05 16:27:23 -0700 2008 3978467 89969 moh 2 5021612 "Broth-mind." I love it. Always have hoisin/sambal in a little saucer for dipping, but I love it when the sliced peppers are really spicy and infuse the broth with non-vinegary heat. Fri Sep 11 06:29:02 -0700 2009 3978467 10322 the_MU 1 4003381 Eat it as quickly as you dare and clear the table for the next person. Me, I prefer to mix ground black pepper and lime juice in a dish for dipping the meat but otherwise do what you want as long as you eat pho. Tue Sep 02 10:04:01 -0700 2008 3977017 10811 Das Ubergeek 1 4003387 Make loud exaggerated slurpy noises as you eat the noodles and soup. It just makes everything taste THAT much better. :-) Tue Sep 02 10:07:09 -0700 2008 3977017 11583 ipsedixit 1 4012112 Best is sitting on one of those kid's plastic chairs or low wooden stools and eating at a low plastic sidewalk table in Vietnam. The chairs and tables make you hunch over your bowl where you simultaneously eat with chopsticks and spoon, making "...spllurrgghurracglg .... schoouuppp .... smksmksmksmk... " noises while sucking up herbs and sprouts, slurping the broth, and eating the variety meats. Fri Sep 05 16:39:30 -0700 2008 3977017 36661 Sam Fujisaka 2 5021388 dang, you bring me back. Fri Sep 11 02:12:30 -0700 2009 4012112 74905 jaykayen 1 4012520 Don't know if it's correct, but I add my bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, etc. as I eat it so it doesn't get soggy and dilute the broth. Fri Sep 05 20:46:50 -0700 2008 3977017 10763 Miss Needle 2 4012686 It is generally a matter of preference with pho, but in most other Viet dishes the herbs are eaten fresh. This is a good way to taste the broth and "tweak" the dish as you progress through the meal. The meat is allowed to finish "cooking" in the hot broth, then you can add your sauce of choice to each bite, and add the herbs you want to your mouthful. This way you are not stuck with a homogenous taste from the get go. But again, it's a preference, and from watching other diners, some make it a ritual. Sat Sep 06 00:02:13 -0700 2008 4012520 140436 fresnohotspot 1 5021381 Here are some pho etiquette for the whole pho experience, because it's not just about eating. From my blog but I'm sharing them here. Sorry for the long post. "Sitting” Etiquette And you thought it’s just about eating pho right? Not so fast. Before everyone sits down, look at your table and the arrangement of the chairs. Decide where the head of the table is (or the most important sitting position) and yield to the eldest or most respected person in the group. But it gets more complicated. If there’s a very respected male (regardless of age,) then he may be the one to get “the chair.” More... “Ordering Pho” Etiquette Etiquette for ordering pho is fairly straightforward. For first-time pho diners finding yourself alone in a pho restaurant, a little help from the order taker is obviously required. Needless to say, if you’re in a group then assistance from an experienced friend is obvious. For the experienced pho diners, you probably already know what you’re doing. In any case, however, it’s proper to let the more senior member of the group order first. This is consistent with the “respect for the elders” consideration discussed earlier. Everyone else can select their orders in turn, and the youngsters’ foods can be ordered by one of the adults. More... “Wiping Down Your Chopsticks and Spoon” Etiquette It’s a habit for most Viet pho diners to wipe their chopsticks and spoon before eating their pho in restaurants. Some will start doing this as soon as they sit down at the table, even before ordering. This is an old habit of pho being a street food for the working class in Vietnam, and old habits die hard. But don’t worry, your typical neighborhood restaurants are used to Viet clientele doing this. They do not mind as it does not necessarily reflect on the restaurant’s sanitary condition. In fact it can be a sign of the client “making himself/herself at home,” and it is good for the restaurant, especially if it’s a repeat customer. More... “Personalize Your Pho” Etiquette Once your pho is at the table, everything you do from here on out is your own business. There normally are 2 things you may want to do before digging in: adding the garnishes (sprouts, culantro, basil, lime and sliced peppers,) and adding the sauces (hoisin sauce for pho and hot chili sauce, mainly the Sriracha brand in the U.S.) that are already at the table. Whatever your preferences, don’t let anyone tell you “you must have this or you must add that.” These are entirely optional per your own taste. Pho does not require you to have anything added, but adding some of these can enhance your pho. More... “Slurping Your Pho” Etiquette You’ve done everything correctly up to this point, Your original intent to simply grab a quick bowl of pho seems ages ago. But finally, this is the moment! Chopsticks in one hand (left or right,) spoon in the other. You go for it, with gusto. Of course it’s really not “anything goes,” because civility still counts in any culture. In Asia eating noodle requires slurping, and pho is no exception. So go ahead. Slurp. Just don’t overdo it. “Finishing Your Pho” Etiquette The proper way to finish a meal in Vietnam is to put your chopsticks across your bowl, like making a bridge. This may conflict with Japanese convention to never bridge chopsticks over a bowl, but Viet traditions follow many Chinese traditions, and this is one of them. While second and subsequent Viet generations outside of Vietnam begin to lose this tradition, it still is the accepted way to end a meal. More... “Paying and Tipping” Etiquette Tipping Except for more expensive restaurants where service charges or tipping may be added or expected, servers at most “typical” pho shops in Vietnam do not expect tips as part of their service. Tipping, to the common Vietnamese (the working class,) is not what a Westerner may think. Tips are normally looked at as “spare change” or handouts that a worker would rather not accept. Except for beggars, workers, including those providing a service, do not want to be seen as accepting handouts. Tourism to Vietnam will change this over time, but for many places not impacted greatly by foreign visitors, tipping will probably continue to be nonexistent and not expected. So what do you do? For U.S. restaurants, definitely leave tips. But if you’re in Vietnam, leave tips if you’re in a big city. If you find yourself in a place out in the boondocks, then tipping is not expected. But if you still must do it, then give it to the server directly and separately, with sincerity and friendliness. Or if the owner and server are one and the same (or family members) then just add more to your payment and ask them to not return the change. Not “keep the change,” but “no need to return the change.” More... Paying for your meal Americans and other non-Viet diners may have noticed that most Viet restaurants do not present checks at their tables. This is not bad service. It’s just because the restaurateurs do not want to look like they’re trying to shove you out the door by asking you to hurry up and pay. This is the common Viet restaurant way and it exists here in the U.S. too. There have been major misunderstandings on both sides. The restauranteurs could have learned that western diners expect checks at their tables. But most restaurant operators never had a chance to be in American social environment and did not understand this. Likewise, Western diners never understood that most Vietnamese restaurants do not ask customers to pay this way for a reason. What we have is a perfect example of clash of culture. Fortunately, Viet restaurateurs and the younger generations are making headway, while non-Viet diners are making progress as well. So what do you do knowing all this? Just do what the “regulars” do. Sometime knowledgeable servers will recognize a non-Viet customer and will present a check after your meal (while not necessarily doing the same for Viet customers.) But if this is not the case, then you (and everybody else) just go to the register and pay there. No more confusion. Fri Sep 11 01:43:21 -0700 2009 3977017 279957 chuynh 1 5023228 This is the 42nd anniversary of the battles of Con Thien. It was then that we surprised an NVA encampment just over the DMZ. A pot of pho was hanging from a tripod over a fire, still hot. We had run out of c-rats and couldn't be resupplied. I dipped my mess kit pan into the Pho and no pho has ever tasted so good. What etiquette? Fri Sep 11 15:35:32 -0700 2009 3977017 93538 Passadumkeg 2 5024003 @Passadumkeg: Fair comment and point well taken. I do want to say: thank you for your service. Sat Sep 12 01:54:54 -0700 2009 5023228 279957 chuynh 2 5024010 Wow, that's just wild. Now you are a true Chowhound if you are nabbing pho on the battlefield. Yes, thank you for your service. Sat Sep 12 02:14:11 -0700 2009 5023228 118120 luckyfatima 3 5025235 We could not be resupplied. The pho was Godsent. The little leave I got in Vietnamese cities was indeed the beginning of a chowhound life. (Good cooking Russian grandmothers and mother didn't hurt either.) This experience has made me grateful for everyday and to appreciate and give thanks for every meal. God bless our troops in the middle east. I was drafted, but volunteered for the Navy Medical Corps and I have never, in all the years since Nam been thanked for my "service" as since the start of the Iraqi War. Funny. Corpseman Up! PASSADUMCORPSEMAN! Sat Sep 12 15:53:56 -0700 2009 5024010 93538 Passadumkeg