Quote:
Originally posted by bcrdukes
achiam: Damn, that looks really good!  You mentioned that was southern style pho. What was different about it? Judging by the picture, I was under the impression that any typical place in Vancouver served southern pho which is your first picture. I was told that Kim Phung served so-called southern style where the broth is a little heavier on the spices and is darker in complexion but judging by your photos, it looks like it's the opposite? When I was in Paris, I had pho in Saint Lazare and the family that ran the joint was from southern Vietnam and that's what it looked like (your picture of northern pho.)
I guess it's time to go out and to find out for myself.
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I was told that Northern Pho holds greater influence from Chinese cuisine, and as a result the noodles are somewhat thicker, almost like chinese "hoh fun" noodles. The broth is also simpler as it gives a distinct, clear flavor whereas Vancouver-type Southern pho broth is quite complex, having been prepared with spices and star anise etc. The other difference is that they give lots of chopped onions on top, and have a wider emphasis on different types of meat balls.
I haven't gone to Paris yet, but will go in February. Surprisingly, the Vietnamese area in Berlin had quite good pho as well, but nothing compared to San Francisco.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho