Nguyen Trong Thin opened Pho Thin back in 1979. Since then, its reputation has grown steadily. Now, he’s set up his first franchise in Tokyo.
According to Vietnam Plus, huge queues formed outside the new location in Japan on March 9 when it opened. Within half an hour, they completely sold out.
Customers have been coming to the Hanoi restaurant for nearly 40 years, and with good reason; the broth is rich, the dish covered in fresh spring onions and the stir-fried beef is garlicky and delicious.
Pho Thin Lo Duc is a Hanoi classic.
One of those visitors was Kenji Sumi, the owner of the new franchise. He used to travel regularly to Hanoi for work and would always visit Pho Thin, a restaurant that he claims is very unique.
“The broth is flavourful, the green spring onions cover the white noodles, and the smell is so good. Even the chili sauce is also very different,” he said.
After deciding to try and bring the dish to Tokyo, he flew back to Hanoi to meet with Thin a year ago. The negotiations were long, but he eventually shared the family recipe.
Thin even flew to Tokyo to help oversee every step of the process, which no doubt helped bring in the hundreds of visitors queuing to eat there each day.
Tokyo’s Pho Thin can be found at B1, Hayakawa Building, 1-12-14, Higashiikebukuro, Toshima district and opens from 12pm to 2pm.
