Sonny Side (from the US) owns a YouTube channel with over 10.7 million followers. He is passionate about exploring cultures and cuisines around the world. In Ho Chi Minh City, Sonny enjoyed many local specialties and experienced both popular and luxurious dishes.

Most recently, Sonny and his close friend Calvin went to a restaurant on the 66th floor of Landmark 81 building (Dien Bien Phu street, ward 22, Binh Thanh district, HCMC) to enjoy the pho dish that is considered "the most expensive in Vietnam", priced at 163 USD/bowl (more than 4 million VND).

Two American guests go to a luxury restaurant to enjoy the most expensive pho in Vietnam.

Before that, the two American guests went to some restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City and tried two street food dishes: bun cha (5,000 VND/serving) and banh canh cua (350,000 VND/bowl).

Sonny said he wanted to experience dishes from super cheap to super expensive in Vietnam to give honest comments on the taste, as well as the potential to elevate the culinary culture here.

According to chef Le Trung - the restaurant's executive chef and creator of the "most expensive pho in Vietnam", this dish has been available for about 5 years.

Mr. Trung and his colleagues want to bring a special and more premium version of the "national dish" in Vietnam, thereby helping tourists have a unique and new culinary experience.

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Close-up of a bowl of pho that costs over 4 million VND in Ho Chi Minh City, including many expensive ingredients such as gold leaf, foie gras, Wagyu beef, and truffle mushrooms.

This chef also revealed that the pho dish, which costs more than 4 million VND, is made from many high-quality ingredients, but still retains the traditional flavor of Vietnamese pho.

“We keep the traditional way of cooking pho with the broth simmered from marrow bones, oxtail, flank ribs, then add chicken bones and chicken feet to create thickness, enhance the rich, sweet flavor. The ingredients are boiled at high temperature for 3 hours, then continue to simmer for 48 hours,” said chef Le Trung.

After the conversation, Sonny and Calvin expressed their excitement and eagerness to enjoy the expensive pho dish that diners have dubbed "Pho King" or "Pho Sky".

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The staff serves the expensive pho on the spot and introduces the diners to the premium ingredients in the meal.

According to the observations of two American guests, the pho here is elaborately prepared from expensive imported ingredients, the most popular in the world such as: Wagyu beef, truffle mushrooms, foie gras and gold leaf.

Of these, fresh truffles imported from Australia are the most expensive ingredient in a bowl of King Pho. This is also known as the most expensive mushroom in the world, priced at around 45 million VND/kg.

Fresh truffles are sliced ​​directly in front of diners, then the hot broth is poured in. While waiting, the waiter introduces the dish in detail with the premium ingredients.

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The ingredients are arranged in a bowl with fresh, hand-cut rice noodles, then poured over with hot broth.

Sonny commented that the first taste he felt was that of truffle. This type of mushroom is found underground so it has a very distinctive earthy aroma, but when combined with the rich broth, it creates an attractive flavor.

The American guest appreciated the delicately prepared broth, exuding a harmonious aroma.

Calvin describes the dish as a perfect combination of premium ingredients and traditional broth. This helps elevate Vietnamese pho, while still retaining its original flavor.

“There are ingredients that seem unrelated but when combined together are incredibly delicious. The beef has a harmonious balance of lean and fat, so soft that it melts in your mouth,” Calvin said.

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Two guests were surprised by the strange taste of the most expensive pho in Vietnam.

The guest also expressed his impression of the fresh pho, handmade by a Northern family with over 30 years of experience in making pho, currently living in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Many people say that just eating pho is enough and still delicious, but I am happy that this iconic dish has been elevated to a new level. I am also proud to see that Vietnamese cuisine is not only about cheap dishes but also expensive high-class dishes,” Calvin shared.

Sharing the same opinion, Sonny believes that tourists can eat super cheap street food or expensive dishes served in restaurants to experience the excitement of Vietnamese cuisine.

“I am very impressed with the fact that you can find all kinds of delicious food from super cheap to extremely expensive in Ho Chi Minh City. Local people are working hard every day to create unique culinary works of art,” the American YouTuber expressed.

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