Tin du lịch So "curious" - What's inside the $100 bowl of pho from a Michelin chef?

The 100 USD pho bowl (about 2.5 million VND) by a Vietnamese chef who just earned a Michelin star, is sold in District 1, HCMC, leaving diners "astonished" by the difference...

"The unwritten rule of pho is: Don't joke with pho." Those are the words of Peter Cuong Franklin, the founder and head chef at Anan Saigon, a Michelin-starred restaurant, shared with the American newspaper Business Insider.
Leaving Vietnam as a child, Peter Cuong Franklin earned a prestigious degree from Yale and had a career in investment banking in the U.S. However, Franklin decided to take another path: He left the U.S., studied cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Bangkok, worked with some of the best chefs in the world, and opened two Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong.
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The Michelin-starred restaurant located in the Old Market area, District 1

In 2017, he returned to Vietnam to settle down and opened Anan Saigon in HCMC. Six years later, Anan Saigon is one of the 50 Best Restaurants in Asia, earning a Michelin star and being featured in newspapers including The New York Times and Time.
Franklin is leading a movement that he calls New Cuisine, or New Vietnamese Cuisine. As the Michelin Guide wrote in 2018, Franklin's creations "connect traditional cuisine with modern techniques and presentations."
Notably, Franklin's new restaurant sells only pho, the revered national dish of Vietnam. And the pho here is anything but simple, primarily due to the 100 USD price tag—roughly 50 times more than a standard pho bowl in Vietnam.
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The traditional pho dish reimagined with a different style

"A 100 USD pho bowl is no longer a strange concept," said Nguyen Manh Hung, author of five cookbooks and host of a cooking show on Vietnamese television. He noted that for that price, wealthier residents of HCMC are still happy to spend money on new experiences.
How could Franklin open a modern Vietnamese restaurant focused on pho in a city where pho is ubiquitous? Is this a real business venture or merely a marketing gimmick to attract attention?
Pot Au Pho, the new restaurant selling the 100 USD pho bowl, is located in the Old Market area (District 1), one of the city's foundational commercial centers, which has existed for decades and is most vibrant in the morning.
The pho restaurant shares the same building with Anan Saigon, which has a Michelin star, and Nhau Nhau, a cocktail bar headed by Franklin, who oversees all three establishments.
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The appetizer of the 100 USD pho

The dining area is packed with guests engaged in lively conversation, and the clinking of cutlery creates an atmosphere reminiscent of restaurants in central London or New York.
Guests can enjoy the drink "Phojito"—a mojito mixed with herbs and spices similar to those used in the pho. This is one of the beverages included in the price of the pho bowl. The 100 USD pho can serve two people.
Thus, for 100 USD, guests can receive two "phojitos," two pieces of Vietnamese bread, and a bowl of pho to share the meal. This is a fairly typical price for a dinner for two at a high-end restaurant in Hanoi or HCMC.
"This is not just a meal; it's an experience," Franklin asserts.
The pho bowl has an abundance of items, a deep bowl filled with rich broth, featuring six different kinds of beef, including bone marrow and house-made sausage, alongside wagyu beef for the rare portion. A smaller porcelain bowl holds the rice noodles—soft but not soggy, chewy but not tough; a raw egg yolk is placed in a small cup, reflecting the way many Hanoians eat pho: the yolk must be scooped out to eat in one bite.
However, it is the side dishes and dipping sauces that make the meal special, elevating the whole experience: freshly chopped chili, a slice of lime, chili sauce, truffle mushrooms, bean sprouts, red onions, and a salad of greens with basil, mint, cilantro, perilla, and dill.
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The 100 USD pho can be shared between two people

Typically, diners will season their pho right after it's served with lime, chili, and a few herbs. Each bite is somewhat similar in flavor. But this 100 USD pho feels like a sensory acrobatics for the taste buds. It’s a spontaneous series of sips, each bite distinct from the last.
Franklin advocates for traditional pho and believes that tourists should try pho throughout the country to see which type they prefer the most.
At Pot Au Pho, Peter Cuong Franklin has succeeded in crafting a dish made from the core elements of pho while still creating a memorable culinary experience.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-gi-ben-trong-to-pho-100-usd-cua-dau-bep-michelin-185231109085421688.htm