More than 85,000 Japanese diners and the Vietnamese community attended the Vietnam Pho Festival 2023. The event was even more meaningful as it was held for the first time on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1973-2023).
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| Diners line up and enjoy pho. (Photo: Quang Dinh) |
Yoyogi Park in Tokyo was filled with the aroma of Vietnamese pho on October 7 and 8. Long lines of Japanese people lined up to eat pho, proving the appeal of the Vietnamese-branded food festival in the land of cherry blossoms.
Sharing with TG&VN, Mr. Tran Xuan Toan - Vice President of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association of Ho Chi Minh City, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper, Head of the Organizing Committee of Vietnam Pho Festival 2023, expressed his joy at witnessing the love of Japanese people for Vietnamese cuisine, as well as many politicians and event participants wishing that this festival will be held annually in Japan.
Choose the “shortest way to the heart”
Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 continues the series of Pho Day events on December 12 that have been organized by Tuoi Tre Newspaper in collaboration with many organizations for many years in Vietnam to promote pho as not only a traditional dish but also a reflection of the heritage and rich flavors of Vietnamese cuisine.
For the first time bringing this Festival “overseas”, the Organizing Committee chose Japan because this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to Mr. Tran Xuan Toan, “the two countries have close culinary cultures. According to the evaluation of many companies and travel search services, the first dish that Japanese tourists coming to Vietnam mostly want to enjoy is pho”.
Mr. Tran Xuan Toan said that the event had the participation of Golden Star Anise chefs of the years such as: Nguyen Tien Hai, Nguyen Tu Tin, Pham Quang Duy... and chefs of famous pho restaurants, such as: Pho Dau, Pho Hai Thien, Pho Hotel Majestic Saigon, Pho'S, Pho Sen SASCO, Pho Thin Bo Ho, Pho Thu Duc Golf Course Restaurant, Pho Ta - Binh Tay Food...
In addition to directly introducing the flavor of pho, Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 also organizes many promotional activities such as pho noodle making demonstration; talkshow Love of Vietnamese Pho with the participation of artisans, experts, and celebrities from Vietnam and Japan; organizing a contest for Japanese people to create Vietnamese pho; exhibitions, video screenings providing information and history of pho...
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu said he was very proud to participate in organizing the Vietnam Pho Festival. According to the Ambassador, food festivals have long been the most ideal place for cultural exchange, where participants can easily find compatibility and closeness even though they come from many countries.
The Ambassador said that Vietnamese cuisine has always been attractive to the Japanese people. The flavors of Japanese dishes are often elegant, gentle, and in harmony with the natural atmosphere of each season, and Vietnamese pho also has similar features.
Notably, at the Vietnam Pho Festival 2023, Japanese politicians gave very touching speeches about the country, people and cuisine of Vietnam.
Mr. Aoyagi Yoichiro, Member of the Japanese National Assembly, shared: “The Vietnamese have a saying 'The shortest way to the heart is through the stomach', so the Vietnam Pho Festival has contributed to connecting and spreading the love of cuisine between the people of the two countries”.
Emphasizing the importance of the Vietnam Pho Festival, Mr. Yamaguchi Natsuo, Chairman of the Japanese Komeito Party, said that last August, he had the opportunity to return to Vietnam after 32 years. To him, Vietnam has changed a lot with modern high-rise buildings and a more dynamic lifestyle, but one thing that has not changed is that the flavor of pho remains the same as before.
According to President Yamaguchi Natsuo: “From cuisine through pho, we see the cultural similarities between the two countries, closeness. In particular, pho is derived from rice materials, in daily life, rice products are also commonly used by people of both countries.
We have heard of the pho flavor symphony. Through this festival, the Vietnam-Japan friendship and this pho symphony will create the most wonderful music.
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| Organizers and delegates at the closing ceremony of Vietnam Pho Festival. (Photo: Quang Dinh) |
The taste of nostalgia
It can be seen that Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 has become a meeting place for pho lovers all over Japan. Many Japanese and Vietnamese people living far away from home from all over Japan, even from far away provinces like Shizuoka, have taken advantage of the weekend to take the subway for hours to go to Yoyogi Park.
Ms. Bich Hoang, owner of Pho Dau in Ho Chi Minh City, said that many of the customers who came to receive orders were regular customers of the shop when she was still in Vietnam.
Within the framework of the event, participants also had the opportunity to explore the history and culture of Vietnamese pho through the talk show "Discovering Pho".
Sharing here, MC Phuong Chi said that she was born in Japan, so it was only when she returned to Vietnam that she encountered a different flavor of pho compared to the pho she ate in Japan when she was a child. Culinary expert Matsuo Tomoyuki encouraged diners to experience different flavors of pho to find their favorite. According to him, this is an opportunity for them to experience authentic, original Vietnamese dishes.
During the festival days, on the social networking platform TikTok, a series of videos also appeared recording moments and reviews of Japanese people participating in the festival with the keyword "Vietnam Pho Festival" in Japanese.
Many Vietnamese people currently living and working in Japan shared their moments of participating in the event, expressing their joy and excitement when enjoying the national dish of their homeland in the host country.
Pho is a catalyst, connecting trade
Not only promoting cuisine, Vietnam Pho Festival aims to further promote trade and investment.
Mr. Tran Xuan Toan said that the Organizing Committee has coordinated with the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City to organize a delegation of businesses in the food, foodstuff and spices sector to participate in networking activities within the framework of the festival, such as coordinating with Saigon Tourist Corporation to promote Vietnamese destinations to Japanese tourists.
Mr. Toan emphasized: “It can be said that pho is the catalyst, connecting new cooperation opportunities. Through pho, we want to introduce Vietnamese rice products. For example, Binh Tay Food, the company's rice products have received very good feedback from Japanese supermarkets.”
Talking about the success of the event, the Head of the Organizing Committee of Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 said that it was the affection of the Japanese people for Vietnam that contributed to creating a very good ripple effect for the festival.
Along with effective media promotion such as press conferences to inform agencies and associations in Japan, hundreds of news and articles about the festival (including major press agencies such as NHK, Mainichi Shimbun...), great support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam National Tourism Administration, Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, functional agencies and the business community... have greatly contributed to the success of the event.
The organizers hope that Vietnam Pho Festival will be held in other countries such as Korea, the US, European countries, etc. to further spread Vietnamese culinary culture, as well as to identify the Vietnamese brand, because cuisine is the fastest and closest bridge to international friends, as well as to promote the friendly relationship between Vietnam and other countries.
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