It’s all started with Pho 79, which is the name of a famous pho restaurant in Saigon located near Nga Sau Phu Dong Thien Vuong. When the Boat People came to America, they started naming shops after their memories of Saigon: Continental, Rex, Caravelle, Pho 79, etc. After that people just started naming their pho restaurants with numbers to emulate Pho 79.
I remember when the news used to call them "boat people" and no one ever thought anything of it. I lived in a very white town where there was alot of racism. Many of the "boat people" from Laos, came and left because they were not welcome.
Thanks for corroborating (and then some) what my parents told me when I was a kid about the name origin of Pho 79. How did you get the actual location? Also, don’t forget Pho Pasteur.
@@Ela-cw7fiyeah, not everyone came on little boats. I guess more compassionate people would care more for those with such struggles as braving the seas in precarious little boats. Racists probably just use it to look down on people.
@@llnam12 Pho 79 has been around a loooong time. I don’t live in SoCal anymore, and I’m actually surprised to hear it’s still around. The owner would have been like 8 years old at most when it first opened up if they were born in 1979.
I live in Saigon, often the numbers are the street address and are used to stand out, another popular naming convention is using the name of the owners e.g. Linh Anh or something like that. Enjoyed this vid, always interesting to hear the perspectives of people from overseas with Vietnamese heritage!
In Vietnam at least, this seems to be more the case than in Canada and the USA. Here in N. America, it seems to be more about the lucky numbers or important dates, I think
Number 9 doesn’t mean lucky, but the pronunciation of 9 (九) in Sino-Vietnamese (Hán Tự) is Cửu, which is also the pronunciation for the word longevity (久). So many Vietnamese and Cantonese adopted the number 9 as a “lucky number” when they do business. They hope that their businesses will have longevity. It’s just word play. But imagine if you’re being sentenced to 9 years in prison for whatever crime, the number 9 or longevity doesn’t seem so lucky anymore. 😆😆😆
Both of my parents are from the North and migrated to Saigon in 1954. I was born and grew up in a predominantly 54 Northerners area in Saigon, Nga 3 Ông Ta. Suffice it to say, i ate mostly authentic Northern Vietnamese food growing up (all except for the Cầy Tơ which is also available abundantly there!). So I was quite excited to eat the authentic bowl of pho at Pho Thin Lo Duc when I visited Hanoi. But I was definitely surprised, unpleasantly, of how disappointingly it tasted. Bland and full of green onions. I much prefer Pho 10 Ly Quốc Su.
Oh I’ve been eating pho in Saigon since I knew about it. Last year I visited Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su in Hanoi it still tasted weird to me. It was good but not too good, and it felt weird haha.
You should do another one for funny names too. In vietnam it’s also common the owner to name it base on the nick name people around give them. The nick name is based on their physical appearance to distinguish them from another person with the same first name. It’s not viewed as derogatory. So there’re Pho Fat Aunt, Pho Mr. One Leg, etc.
I’ve driven past Pho 79 my entire life and never thought much about it. I’ll be headed there next week to check it out. Can’t believe I’ve been less than a mile away the entire time.
Vietnamese food is awesome. They have so many different flavor profiles together but they match em up just right. I used to just get pho and banh mi but everything i ever tried at viet restaurants has been good.
If you go to Vietnam you'll see a lot of restaurants and other small businesses with numbers for names. It's because they are family selling from their own home and just use the number of the house on that street to name their business. At first they're new they sometimes don't even have name, just a signs that say what they're selling. Then they get more popular and people just start referring to the pho vendor at number x on y street and it sticks.
I'm not Vietnamese but also SE Asian. I love the smell and taste of a newly cooked noodle. I have my own favorite from my hometown. But Pho, is the closest to that. Especially during winter. I can have Pho everyday. I have Pho at least once a week even during heat waves in summer in S. Cal and Texas. Since I know how to cook. I can make my own Pho. But the taste and love is different dining in a Pho restaurant. It use to cost me $7.50 for a large bowl. Now it's $18. It is still worthy. So Pho is my number 1 noodle dish. Japanese and Chinese noodles are good but not close.
Best OC pho rn is Pho VH in Fountain Valley. Deepest beef bone broth compared to everyone else. And the bowls are priced at $12 rn to attract customers as they opened up around 9 months ago. If it were closer to me than 32 mins driving I'd go twice a week.
It’s all started with Pho 79, which is the name of a famous pho restaurant in Saigon located near Nga Sau Phu Dong Thien Vuong. After that people just started naming their pho restaurants with numbers to emulate Pho 79.
That 99999 Restaurant looks fantastic with many unique dishes. I have to visit next time I go north from Oceanside. Ironically, "9" is a very unlucky number if Japan.
Pho 45 is solid. It's got 2k Yelp reviews with 4 stars for a reason not by chance. I personally think Pho Flavor is flavorless. Different strokes for different folks.
My favorite pho restaurant was a combination of both the numbers and the pho pun style. Pho 20 in Avon, CO had (still has? I don't live there anymore) the numbers for, perhaps, the same reasons as any other pho restaurant does, but it also sounds like "Four twenty", a weed joke in a state that loves to flaunt its status as one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana and that sells a bajillion different pot-themed souvenirs to tourists.
A local place has "75" in the name and a logo with the distinctive three thin red stripes against a yellow background of the Republic of South Vietnam. I always assumed it was a political statement of keeping the memory of the country alive which had effective ceased to exist that year. But I suppose now that it could have just also been the year the owners arrived to the United States.
I've heard multiple theories behind the numbers, from the year they came to the US, the number of entries on their menu, to lucky numbers, and whatever. I've been to Pho 54, 79, 2000, and plenty of good ones that don't have numbers, but not gimmicky names. In Little Saigon and surrounding area, all the pho has to be good. If you're not good, people go elsewhere, and you don't survive. Pho in places outside of Little Saigon is pretty good too. Just be careful when you encounter it in the Midwest at an "Asian" restaurant that serves Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese food on the menu.
7:02 ‘54 is when the first migration of people fleeing the communists in the north to the south, bringing the phở recipe with them. There is a differentiation of the ‘54 northerners and ‘75 northerners who migrated to the south… ‘79 is the year that Viet shops starts to sprout up around Bolsa/Brookhurst area which is now known as Little Saigon. 1979 is when this iconic restaurant opened
The Chinese lucky number is 8. So Chinese markets usually have the number 8 in it like 888 Ranch Market near where i live. My cars personalized plate has "999" in it and my wifes car had "888" in it because we are a mixed family, half Chinese half Vietnamese!
@@JWinners24 Thanks! It's hard to tell from the camera angle. He said ox tail but I couldn't catch it. That's some meaty ox tail. It's one of my favorite meats.
That is side dish of Pho. It is beef bones that the chefs use to stew their pho broth. Depending on how the pho styles, some chefs use the most fatty or meaty bones for their broths. So the bones are truly delicious. However, the bones are considered left-over. They are not usually on the menu. At some restaurant, you must know the owners well to order an extra side of beef bones, or you must be a true Vietnamese to order this kind side dishes. 😂
6:05 you lost a lot of credibility when you just squirted in a gang load of H and S sauces DIRECTLY INTO your bowl and broth, instead of into the small saucer to DIP your meat into separately outside of the bowl, to not completely undermine, mask, distort, and change the flavor of the broth they put SO much effort into making. very disappointing to see for someone making a whole documentary on the culture of pho
Okay I live right next to pho 79 and 99999… I always thought 99999 was 100% a drug front. There is never anyone there and the blinds are closed just about every time I drive by and it’s never more than like 3 cars there….
Funny thing is most of the vietkieus talking about traditions etc feel uncomfortable when they go back Vietnam, many of them can't blend anymore with the locals 😂😂😂😂😂 unless they are the old generation who left Vietnam long time ago. Among the vietkieus who can't assimilate with the local vietnamese in Vietnam are often the women especially the young ones who are often "whitewashed" and end up mixing with other vietkieus or caucasian; I guess they feel "vietnamese" when they are in the west and feel foreigner when in Vietnam😂😅😮😢😢😢😢 I live now in Vietnam and have seen that many times.
How do you know if you're in a good pho shop? You cant tell if you're in the kitchen, dining room or storage area because its all the same. Prepare for a sublime dish though.
First of all, there’s no such thing as Southern pho. Many Northerners came in 54 and prior to that to create businesses in the south. My family is one example, our heritage is still Northern, just like the pho. Southerners have great soups like bánh canh.
northern is acceptable because they don't made the way they suppose to. everything is good are south side. northern food are plan and simple. think about this. for them to sing music they have to sing in south way. for them to get people to eat they have to cook or do south way period. nothing about the north are great. i don't care about south and north hate each other in the past but the fact is that north side can't do what south do period. you have to understand this the south people are very very picky eater meaning if the taste isn't right they will spit out. why you see south food have so many complex stuff goes into it. i have been to the north even to this day and not once i enjoy their damn food. im not saying this because i hate the north im saying the north need to come up something in their area. example south break into many area. bun bo hue you have Hue area, you have chinese noodle it in saigon chinatown, and so on, seafood you have nha trang and cam ranh and you want to taste real south home food simple then that deep south like mien tay. as for in America not one state can make real vietnamese food because the stuff they get to made isnt there for them or because to expansive. Texas to Cali the most vietnamese people live in their food isn't compare to real vietnam food. you want real vietnam food you have to cook at home and try to find fresh product and when i mean fresh i don't mean frozen BS. take a look at Banh mi in america look fancy with big portion and nice bread right, but why in vietnam the most simple banh mi it taste so much better. the bread isn't nice, the portion isn't large but why it still better than usa banh mi by far. because there stuff you can't get over here to put it in if you get it, it will cost you lots and you can't make profit out of it. if you want real food from country save money and go to that country and enjoy. america is just a place where people make money and make food look nice.
I have to disagree with your comments. Every region in VN has its own uniqueness of food and ways of preparing them. I know you're just stating your opinion, but you're forgetting the fact that VN as a whole has so much history and culture which trickled down to the food we eat on a daily basis. Whether it's from the south, north or central of the country. Also, the proper grammar/speaking/pronunciations in the Vietnamese language is from the north, not the south nor the central. You could ask anyone that's a teacher or proficiency with the language; they'd totally agreed with me.
It’s all started with Pho 79, which is the name of a famous pho restaurant in Saigon located near Nga Sau Phu Dong Thien Vuong. When the Boat People came to America, they started naming shops after their memories of Saigon: Continental, Rex, Caravelle, Pho 79, etc.
After that people just started naming their pho restaurants with numbers to emulate Pho 79.
I remember when the news used to call them "boat people" and no one ever thought anything of it. I lived in a very white town where there was alot of racism. Many of the "boat people" from Laos, came and left because they were not welcome.
Thanks for corroborating (and then some) what my parents told me when I was a kid about the name origin of Pho 79. How did you get the actual location? Also, don’t forget Pho Pasteur.
@@Ela-cw7fiyeah, not everyone came on little boats. I guess more compassionate people would care more for those with such struggles as braving the seas in precarious little boats. Racists probably just use it to look down on people.
I always thought it was the year the owner was born.
@@llnam12 Pho 79 has been around a loooong time. I don’t live in SoCal anymore, and I’m actually surprised to hear it’s still around. The owner would have been like 8 years old at most when it first opened up if they were born in 1979.
I live in Saigon, often the numbers are the street address and are used to stand out, another popular naming convention is using the name of the owners e.g. Linh Anh or something like that. Enjoyed this vid, always interesting to hear the perspectives of people from overseas with Vietnamese heritage!
appreciate you watching and taking the time to share
In Vietnam at least, this seems to be more the case than in Canada and the USA. Here in N. America, it seems to be more about the lucky numbers or important dates, I think
2:05 love the respect. first said "thanks auntie" then quickly corrected to "thanks sis" making her feel younger
Number 9 doesn’t mean lucky, but the pronunciation of 9 (九) in Sino-Vietnamese (Hán Tự) is Cửu, which is also the pronunciation for the word longevity (久). So many Vietnamese and Cantonese adopted the number 9 as a “lucky number” when they do business. They hope that their businesses will have longevity. It’s just word play. But imagine if you’re being sentenced to 9 years in prison for whatever crime, the number 9 or longevity doesn’t seem so lucky anymore. 😆😆😆
Great content! Love the history behind the numbers, it’s very important
Both of my parents are from the North and migrated to Saigon in 1954. I was born and grew up in a predominantly 54 Northerners area in Saigon, Nga 3 Ông Ta. Suffice it to say, i ate mostly authentic Northern Vietnamese food growing up (all except for the Cầy Tơ which is also available abundantly there!).
So I was quite excited to eat the authentic bowl of pho at Pho Thin Lo Duc when I visited Hanoi. But I was definitely surprised, unpleasantly, of how disappointingly it tasted. Bland and full of green onions. I much prefer Pho 10 Ly Quốc Su.
I guess you don't prefer pho prepared that way in Pho Thin Lo Duc. It is a stir-fried beef pho (tái lăn) compared to other pho spots.
Oh I’ve been eating pho in Saigon since I knew about it. Last year I visited Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su in Hanoi it still tasted weird to me. It was good but not too good, and it felt weird haha.
You should do another one for funny names too. In vietnam it’s also common the owner to name it base on the nick name people around give them. The nick name is based on their physical appearance to distinguish them from another person with the same first name. It’s not viewed as derogatory. So there’re Pho Fat Aunt, Pho Mr. One Leg, etc.
I’ve driven past Pho 79 my entire life and never thought much about it. I’ll be headed there next week to check it out. Can’t believe I’ve been less than a mile away the entire time.
Vietnamese food is awesome. They have so many different flavor profiles together but they match em up just right. I used to just get pho and banh mi but everything i ever tried at viet restaurants has been good.
If you go to Vietnam you'll see a lot of restaurants and other small businesses with numbers for names. It's because they are family selling from their own home and just use the number of the house on that street to name their business. At first they're new they sometimes don't even have name, just a signs that say what they're selling. Then they get more popular and people just start referring to the pho vendor at number x on y street and it sticks.
I'm not Vietnamese but also SE Asian. I love the smell and taste of a newly cooked noodle. I have my own favorite from my hometown. But Pho, is the closest to that. Especially during winter. I can have Pho everyday. I have Pho at least once a week even during heat waves in summer in S. Cal and Texas. Since I know how to cook. I can make my own Pho. But the taste and love is different dining in a Pho restaurant. It use to cost me $7.50 for a large bowl. Now it's $18. It is still worthy. So Pho is my number 1 noodle dish. Japanese and Chinese noodles are good but not close.
Inflation a real killer =(
Best OC pho rn is Pho VH in Fountain Valley. Deepest beef bone broth compared to everyone else. And the bowls are priced at $12 rn to attract customers as they opened up around 9 months ago. If it were closer to me than 32 mins driving I'd go twice a week.
$12 m? Wow inflation- $12 million for a bowl of soup ;)
Nah pho 79 is the goat
Pho Kim Long is hands down the best pho in Las Vegas. Always a wait to be seated. Silly names sometimes is magic.
It’s all started with Pho 79, which is the name of a famous pho restaurant in Saigon located near Nga Sau Phu Dong Thien Vuong.
After that people just started naming their pho restaurants with numbers to emulate Pho 79.
That 99999 Restaurant looks fantastic with many unique dishes. I have to visit next time I go north from Oceanside. Ironically, "9" is a very unlucky number if Japan.
Dope video! Need to see more like this!
Stay tuned!
I eat at a place called Pho 126. Its on 126th st in MN.
1 2 6 adds up to 9.
Funny enough, my local Pho place is called Little Saigon. Had this video playing in the background and had to do a double take
Pho 79 is one of my favorites. But I also go to Pho 101. They are both sister restaurants.
Facts. Same family. Same broth, same meat. Same everything except 101 is newer and cleaner 😂
@@michaelvn9524 I definitely go to 101 more. I live within walking distance to 101. I go to 79 if I wanna eat Bun bo hue
@@michaelvn9524 and they take card. Pho 79 cash only. 😔
But parking situation at both places is dismal.
That was interesting. Always wondered what those numbers were based on when I lived near Little Saigon.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Damn I love living 5 mins away from little saigon. One of my fav to go pho places is pho 45
We’ll have to try them out!
@@foodbeastWhat? Pho 45 is one of the last place I would eat. Go try Pho Flavor or Pho Hoa Soan. This guy don't know what his talking about.
Pho 45 is solid. It's got 2k Yelp reviews with 4 stars for a reason not by chance. I personally think Pho Flavor is flavorless. Different strokes for different folks.
Sure pho flavor is good too but we all have our preferences. I like pho 45s broth. Personally, I'm not a fan of pho hoa soan
@ED-pb3eq Pho 45 meat is ia below 5. I don't know what kind of taste buds you have. Pho Hoa Soan meat is way better quality and there broth is rich.
My favorite pho restaurant was a combination of both the numbers and the pho pun style. Pho 20 in Avon, CO had (still has? I don't live there anymore) the numbers for, perhaps, the same reasons as any other pho restaurant does, but it also sounds like "Four twenty", a weed joke in a state that loves to flaunt its status as one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana and that sells a bajillion different pot-themed souvenirs to tourists.
I never knew those numbers were so significant, that’s cool!
Fascinating video. Thank you. Subbed
Pho 79 is the Ferrari of pho restaurants. Amazing flavor and food.
A local place has "75" in the name and a logo with the distinctive three thin red stripes against a yellow background of the Republic of South Vietnam. I always assumed it was a political statement of keeping the memory of the country alive which had effective ceased to exist that year. But I suppose now that it could have just also been the year the owners arrived to the United States.
many Taiwanese/Chinese Restaurants have 66 or 88, in their names for similar reasons. it means prosperity, good luck.
Thanks for explaining this pho-nemomenon
Can confirm Pho restaurants with numbers are better than those crazy pho puns
“That’s that lucky mathematics” 😂. I live down the street from here mite have to check it out now
Had the most incredible Vietnamese food in Paris just now: Dong Huong
its winter here. Could sure use a bowl
Damn the food in this got me starving
I've heard multiple theories behind the numbers, from the year they came to the US, the number of entries on their menu, to lucky numbers, and whatever. I've been to Pho 54, 79, 2000, and plenty of good ones that don't have numbers, but not gimmicky names. In Little Saigon and surrounding area, all the pho has to be good. If you're not good, people go elsewhere, and you don't survive. Pho in places outside of Little Saigon is pretty good too. Just be careful when you encounter it in the Midwest at an "Asian" restaurant that serves Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese food on the menu.
Foods looks amazing!
Also supermarkets, ranch 88, 99, ABC 123
7:02 ‘54 is when the first migration of people fleeing the communists in the north to the south, bringing the phở recipe with them. There is a differentiation of the ‘54 northerners and ‘75 northerners who migrated to the south…
‘79 is the year that Viet shops starts to sprout up around Bolsa/Brookhurst area which is now known as Little Saigon. 1979 is when this iconic restaurant opened
It is good that they taught their kids to be respectful of their elders. Respecting your elders are mostly lost in the US.
The Chinese lucky number is 8. So Chinese markets usually have the number 8 in it like 888 Ranch Market near where i live. My cars personalized plate has "999" in it and my wifes car had "888" in it because we are a mixed family, half Chinese half Vietnamese!
Deep knowledge.
Which doesn't guarantee how good the restaurant is.
i'VE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT THEY MEANT
Does anyone know the song that starts around :40?
My favorite name for a pho restaurant was a place in a business district mall, What the Pho.
I’m going to go pho those number in my next lottery ticket.
Very nice :)
Hi Chris Ngo!
shout out 99999!!!
i understand Pho Shizzle, etc. but how about Pho Holic? lol
bro the numbers delineate the mg of MSG in the broth. so pho2000 is 2000mg of msg.
Been to pho 79. That Oxtail Pho is Fire 🔥
999.99 = the Purity of gold bars
Phonomenon
Does anyone know what this dish is @ 6:00?
Dish Number 16
@@ll51019 I still don't know what the dish is. I looked at the menu and #8 through #20 are missing. Is there a secret menu or something? 🤣🤣
That's Ox tail. It's typically sold as a side.
@@JWinners24 Thanks! It's hard to tell from the camera angle. He said ox tail but I couldn't catch it. That's some meaty ox tail. It's one of my favorite meats.
That is side dish of Pho. It is beef bones that the chefs use to stew their pho broth. Depending on how the pho styles, some chefs use the most fatty or meaty bones for their broths. So the bones are truly delicious.
However, the bones are considered left-over. They are not usually on the menu. At some restaurant, you must know the owners well to order an extra side of beef bones, or you must be a true Vietnamese to order this kind side dishes. 😂
Hell yeah !
Pho King 69 should be popular.
Damn this made me hungry Troi oi
The best
Hey Zuko here
Pho us awesome comfort food
As long as they only serve Vietnamese dishes I’ll try it. If they have pho and beef and broccoli or poke bowls I keep walking.
Its the opposite here in orange county. The ones with the numbers is just ok the ones with the names are way better.
6:05 you lost a lot of credibility when you just squirted in a gang load of H and S sauces DIRECTLY INTO your bowl and broth, instead of into the small saucer to DIP your meat into separately outside of the bowl, to not completely undermine, mask, distort, and change the flavor of the broth they put SO much effort into making. very disappointing to see for someone making a whole documentary on the culture of pho
Number is easy to name
But the numbers…what do they mean??
Don’t trust anyone’s pho opinion when they’re squirting half a bottle of hoisin and Sriracha into the entire bowl of pho
What is wrong with that?
Just individual taste.
I always make my pho or bun extra salty just because i like it
I would agree usually, until you see viets in Vietnam doing that too lol.
I saw a restaurant in Vancouver called Pho Bich Nga, ok try to sound it out in English 😂
People need to stop adding sriracha and hoisin sauce to the pho! Enjoy the broth as is before trying to change it.
If you live in Orange county go to Pho Flavor or Pho Hoa Soan Bem Tem Cu. Trust me the rest or mediocre.
I've stumbled accross pho Hoa Soan and I was blown away how good it was..Definitely a hidden gem
Orange County has the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. There are way more than 2 good pho restaurants in the county
@@combatsuperstar No shit Sherlock. I'm talking about Orange County.
Okay I live right next to pho 79 and 99999…
I always thought 99999 was 100% a drug front. There is never anyone there and the blinds are closed just about every time I drive by and it’s never more than like 3 cars there….
Pho real?
But Phoholic is pretty good lol
the sound nine in german mean no
Pho 79
Pho King Good 😂
1954 is the year northerners came south
Pho 69 me 😅😅😅 pho 666 ❤❤
Funny thing is most of the vietkieus talking about traditions etc feel uncomfortable when they go back Vietnam, many of them can't blend anymore with the locals 😂😂😂😂😂 unless they are the old generation who left Vietnam long time ago. Among the vietkieus who can't assimilate with the local vietnamese in Vietnam are often the women especially the young ones who are often "whitewashed" and end up mixing with other vietkieus or caucasian; I guess they feel "vietnamese" when they are in the west and feel foreigner when in Vietnam😂😅😮😢😢😢😢
I live now in Vietnam and have seen that many times.
That's me. I'm too Vietnamese in the US. Too American in Vietnam
How do you know if you're in a good pho shop? You cant tell if you're in the kitchen, dining room or storage area because its all the same. Prepare for a sublime dish though.
northern pho isn't that good compared to the south...
Because all the owners of all the pho ‘ s restaurants came out of the prison 😂😂
#1 is the ORIGINAL
The rest are all wannabe
✌✌
First of all, there’s no such thing as Southern pho. Many Northerners came in 54 and prior to that to create businesses in the south. My family is one example, our heritage is still Northern, just like the pho. Southerners have great soups like bánh canh.
Chinese people make the best noodle soup like pho. Very flavorful
Pho is a Vietnamese dish, not Chinese.
If i open one pho restaurant i name em
PHO 69 2 96
northern is acceptable because they don't made the way they suppose to. everything is good are south side. northern food are plan and simple. think about this. for them to sing music they have to sing in south way. for them to get people to eat they have to cook or do south way period. nothing about the north are great. i don't care about south and north hate each other in the past but the fact is that north side can't do what south do period. you have to understand this the south people are very very picky eater meaning if the taste isn't right they will spit out. why you see south food have so many complex stuff goes into it. i have been to the north even to this day and not once i enjoy their damn food. im not saying this because i hate the north im saying the north need to come up something in their area. example south break into many area. bun bo hue you have Hue area, you have chinese noodle it in saigon chinatown, and so on, seafood you have nha trang and cam ranh and you want to taste real south home food simple then that deep south like mien tay. as for in America not one state can make real vietnamese food because the stuff they get to made isnt there for them or because to expansive. Texas to Cali the most vietnamese people live in their food isn't compare to real vietnam food. you want real vietnam food you have to cook at home and try to find fresh product and when i mean fresh i don't mean frozen BS. take a look at Banh mi in america look fancy with big portion and nice bread right, but why in vietnam the most simple banh mi it taste so much better. the bread isn't nice, the portion isn't large but why it still better than usa banh mi by far. because there stuff you can't get over here to put it in if you get it, it will cost you lots and you can't make profit out of it. if you want real food from country save money and go to that country and enjoy. america is just a place where people make money and make food look nice.
I have to disagree with your comments. Every region in VN has its own uniqueness of food and ways of preparing them. I know you're just stating your opinion, but you're forgetting the fact that VN as a whole has so much history and culture which trickled down to the food we eat on a daily basis. Whether it's from the south, north or central of the country. Also, the proper grammar/speaking/pronunciations in the Vietnamese language is from the north, not the south nor the central. You could ask anyone that's a teacher or proficiency with the language; they'd totally agreed with me.