The pandemic hasn't slowed the spirit of entrepreneurs, especially in the food business despite the odds.
Bringing a taste of 70s Saigon to Bangkok is Pho Aroi, where cook-patron and American-born Vietnamese Anthony Le ensures quality that one would expect from a US Vietnamese restaurant. "Pho Aroi serves the original taste of Saigon, which has changed since the merging of the northern and southern styles of Vietnamese cuisine," says Le.
"I've been in Thailand for 14 years and never had real Saigon-style pho. The concept of Pho Aroi is that I wanted to bring that taste to Bangkok -- we are going for the US flavours of Saigon food. To me it was very personal; we are talking about the culture pre-war. My menu is made up of dishes that you found during those times," adds Le. Pho Aroi, located at The Walk Kaset-Navamin and For You Park complex in Bang-Na, serves a menu that was cooked by Le's parents and grandparents in Vietnam before the war.
Fresh rolls or goi cuon (B130) are always a good way to begin a meal and here they are made with rolled rice paper with pork belly, shrimp, noodles, lettuce, mint, coriander and the special peanut sauce on the side. "The sauce is the Vietnamese peanut style sauce that is popular among the immigrants and refugees who fled the country. If you go to Vietnam today, you will not get the same type of sauce," adds Le. A must for me at most Vietnamese restaurants is the Bo la lot (B190) or the beef in betel leaf. Betel leaves are filled with pan-fried beef and served with toasted peanuts and some vermicelli rice noodles.
Banh cuon (B120) is made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with a mixture of seasoned minced pork, minced wood ear mushrooms, fried shallots and minced onion. Topped with fermented pork sausage. "This is a dish that's normally eaten for breakfast and on the streets of Vietnam, it is common to see this being served in the mornings," says Le. While in Vietnam, it may not be that special, in Thailand it was hard to find the soft and chewy fermented rice roll, according to Le. "We source our fermented sausage locally though it took many tries to get the one we wanted to use," he laughs.
One of my favourite Vietnamese dishes is the Banh xeo (B150), which is the Vietnamese pancake made with rice flour and turmeric filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. Another fav is the Banh mi (B110), which is a hot item on Pho Aroi's menu. "We have a central kitchen in Lat Krabang where all the major prep like the bread, meat and soups is done. I make the baguettes myself and usually it's 80 a day, especially with us having two branches. The dough is proved for two hours and is light and fluffy, making sure the inside is hollow while the crust is crisp. It is filled with duck, pork and chicken pâté, spicy ham, housemade butter and pickled carrots. Wash this down with a simple Vietnamese coffee (hot B80, cold B90), served traditional style.
Off the special menu, the Com tam or broken rice with grilled pork (B180) called out to me. The egg that accompanies the dish is duck egg cha trung, which is a Vietnamese steamed omelette with minced pork, wood ear mushrooms and glass noodles and has the texture of a sponge. Do garnish with the scallion oil and the mixed fish sauce, an important component, for a flavour punch.
I'm saving the best for last and if there is one dish you have to eat at Pho Aroi, it is its namesake. With a choice of four types of beef and a chicken, the pho is priced from B90-B240. "I wanted to make pho the right way, down to the long and slow cook of the marrow bone. We made our broth from slow-cooking beef marrow bones for 22 hours, which lends the broth a certain sweetness. We use trace amounts of MSG, because if you boil the broth for so long, flavours develop and one doesn't need that much. All the beef used is imported Australian beef, except for the meatballs. Using a premium cut of beef is to ensure that the taste is closer to American and Australian beef," emphasises Le.
Needless to say, I chose the Special XL beef pho (B240), which gives you the luxury of all types of meat -- Australian brisket, shank, tenderloin and Thai beef meatballs -- with green onions, white onions and sweet basil. The Siracha sauce that accompanies the pho is imported from the US. And a word of warning: The special bowl is a US size bowl and is a normal serving there. Due to the richness of the broth and the size of a "normal US serving", the pho is a meal in itself! "We opened Pho Aroi in April 2020, making 20-30 litres a day and now we make 40-50 litres, with 100 litres a day on the weekends," Le adds.
Do not leave without a taste of Le's wife Banh flan (B50) or Vietnamese creme caramel, one of the best I've had this side of the world! "To be able to have the flavours of my mum and grandma here in Thailand, makes me proud," beams Le. A complete family affair! Visit phoaroi.com.
