Papaken (35 years old, content creator) is Japanese and has been living in Vietnam for more than 2 years.

On his personal YouTube channel with nearly 150,000 followers, he regularly shares videos about life and travel and culinary experiences in many provinces from North to South, attracting hundreds of thousands of views.

Because he is quite knowledgeable about Vietnamese culture and fluent in Vietnamese, Papaken also acts as a tour guide for many Japanese tourists when they travel to Vietnam.

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Papaken (right) took two fellow countrymen to eat pho in Hanoi.

A few months ago, Papaken welcomed two Japanese friends, Fukuda and Asano, to Hanoi, taking them to experience some delicious dishes such as pho, bun cha, broken rice, and grilled food at the night market. Among them, pho was the dish that left the most impression on the group of Japanese tourists.

Papaken introduced Fukuda and Asano to his favorite pho restaurant in Hanoi, located on Hang Giay Street (Hoan Kiem District). This was also the first pho restaurant he visited when he moved to Vietnam.

“I have eaten pho at many different restaurants, but in my personal opinion, this pho restaurant is the best. The first time I came here, I finished 2 bowls of pho. This is also my favorite pho restaurant in Vietnam,” Papaken told his two compatriots.

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The Pho That Japanese YouTuber Loves Most in Hanoi

The pho restaurant that Papaken highly praised was once voted by the famous travel magazine The Culture Trip as one of the 6 pho restaurants to visit when coming to the capital.

At the restaurant, a group of Japanese guests ordered 3 bowls of pho, with fried breadsticks and iced tea, for a total of 200,000 VND.

As soon as the hot bowl of pho was served, Asano exclaimed, “Oh my god, it looks absolutely delicious.”

He also mistook thinly sliced ​​onions for transparent noodles, making Papaken and Fukuda laugh.

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The first time enjoying pho in Hanoi, Fukuda (left) and Asano (right) kept exclaiming

Papaken instructed his two friends to taste the broth first to get a feel for the original flavor of Hanoi pho. Then, he suggested that if they wanted to refresh the flavor, they could add garlic vinegar, lemon or chili sauce as they liked.

Fukuda and Asano said that since it was their first time eating pho, they wanted to enjoy it right away, then season it as Papaken suggested.

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old YouTuber revealed that he has a preference for garlic vinegar and chili sauce from the beginning.

“If you add vinegar and garlic to beef pho, the flavor will be more perfect. The chili sauce is quite spicy, so everyone should add it slowly and taste it,” he emphasized.

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A group of Japanese tourists enjoyed the pho and praised it as delicious.

While enjoying the dish, Fukuda kept exclaiming “so delicious”. The Japanese guest could not hide his delight, quickly picked up the pho and brought it to his mouth, then continued to taste the broth.

Next to him, Asano also slurped the hot pho, and despite being "sweating", he still nodded and praised it as delicious.

After finishing half a bowl of pho, Asano added some fish sauce, garlic vinegar and chili sauce. He admitted that the flavor of the broth changed significantly and tasted better when combined with some of the typical accompanying spices.

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Asano admits he feels lucky he didn't miss out on the delicious pho.

Papaken commented that the pho here has a light, clear taste, and the beef is very tender. Diners can order rare beef, well-done beef, or a mixture of both depending on their preference.

Although he has enjoyed the restaurant's pho many times, he never gets bored and is even happy that his two fellow countrymen are also satisfied with the taste of this dish.

At the end of the meal, Asano admitted that beef pho was not on his list of dishes to try when traveling to Vietnam this time because he wanted to try new dishes first.

“Actually, I thought it was okay not to eat pho at first, but now I understand why Papaken insisted on having pho. I'm glad you brought me here,” Asano said.

Photo: Papaken – family Life in Vietnam

Foreign guests sit on the sidewalk eating Michelin pho in Hanoi, exclaiming how delicious it is. At the Michelin pho restaurant on Au Trieu street, two foreign guests happily sat on plastic chairs on the sidewalk, slurping and enjoying delicious food for 65,000 VND/serving.