Beautiful impressions of the first Vietnamese Pho Day in South Africa

On December 9, the Vietnamese Pho Day event was held at the famous Hazel Food Market in the capital city of Pretoria, South Africa.

South Africans and international friends come to the booth introducing Vietnamese pho.

This is the first time Vietnamese Pho Day has been held in the "Rainbow Country", as one of the initiatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa, in coordination with Vietnamese representative agencies in South Africa, to spread the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine to local and international friends.

Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Sy Cuong said that Vietnamese Pho Day in South Africa is also the last event in a series of activities organized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries (December 22, 1993 - December 22, 2023).

Despite the hot weather of a summer afternoon in the Southern Hemisphere, many South Africans, members of the diplomatic corps from other countries, as well as the Vietnamese community living, working and studying in South Africa, visited the booth introducing pho and Vietnamese cuisine.

Here, diners can choose and enjoy traditional beef and chicken pho, and be introduced to the ingredients, cooking methods, and ways to enjoy famous Vietnamese dishes by officers, staff, husbands and wives of the Embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies.

Diners were excited to learn about how to select ingredients, cook broth, and prepare side dishes. On this occasion, in addition to pho, South Africans and international visitors had the opportunity to enjoy traditional fried spring rolls and Vietnamese coffee.

Some Vietnamese branded products such as rice, coffee, rice paper, candy, etc. were also displayed at the event. About 500 servings of beef and chicken pho, 1,500 fried spring rolls and ready-to-drink Vietnamese coffee were served completely free of charge, meeting the needs of diners.

Loving Vietnamese pho so much, Mr. Stoffel Van Zyl (South Africa) tried both beef and chicken pho as well as two traditional fried spring rolls, and did not forget to enjoy Vietnamese coffee.

Mr. Stoffel shared: "This is the first time I have enjoyed Vietnamese food. The spring rolls are delicious. But I have to say the pho is really great. The only problem I have is that I don't know how to use chopsticks to fully enjoy this pho like many people around me. Thank you for introducing this wonderful dish to South Africa."

Another South African diner enjoyed pho and fried spring rolls at the event.

Mr. Stoffel said that enjoying Vietnamese food at the event made him really want to travel to Vietnam one day. "I've watched about your country on YouTube and realized it's a beautiful country that I want to visit. And today has further reinforced my intention."

Ms. Zandile Mthimunye (South Africa) with her husband and three daughters also expressed their love for Vietnamese food. Ms. Mthimunye said: "Today my whole family came to this market and enjoyed Vietnamese food. Vietnamese pho and spring rolls are very delicious.

And what I love is that my whole family gets to gather together and enjoy food from a faraway country. My kids were impressed with the pho and loved the broth. Thanks to the event, we got to know Vietnamese cuisine."

According to Ambassador Hoang Sy Cuong, this event, although held for the first time in South Africa, was extremely successful and impressed South African friends and diplomatic corps from other countries by introducing Vietnamese culture in general and the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine in particular.

The Ambassador affirmed: "This is a wonderful event, concluding the year of celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations in an impressive and complete way. We hope this will be the beginning of many events introducing Vietnam in the future, helping South African people and international friends to better understand a beautiful, friendly and safe Vietnam."

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/an-tuong-dep-ve-ngay-pho-viet-nam-lan-dau-tien-tai-nam-phi-253306.html