For many years, the pho restaurant of Ms. Do Thi Lien's family (62 years old) located on Nguyen Oanh Street (Go Vap District) has been missed by many "regular" customers.
Ten years… “without closing”
Every morning, Ho Chi Minh City is cool after the heavy rain the night before. In this weather, there is nothing more "enjoyable" than waking up early and eating a hot bowl of pho. I have heard of Mrs. Lien's restaurant for a long time, especially the rumor that the restaurant sells 2-3 cows a day, but I only had the chance to visit it today.
A bowl of special pho at Mrs. Lien's restaurant.
In the spacious family restaurant with dozens of tables, I was overwhelmed by the amount of food displayed at the counter. There were basins filled with huge beef bones placed in front of the restaurant, huge pots of broth, and lots of oxtail, brisket, tripe, beef balls, tendons, beef ribs... placed on trays.
Seeing me, the owner warmly welcomed me. I took the opportunity to ask about the famous rumors of this restaurant. "Is it true that our restaurant sells 2-3 cows a day like people say?", hearing my question, the owner smiled and said:
Ms. Lien, Owner 
Pho here is from 45,000 - 70,000 VND.
After hearing what the owner said, I was a bit surprised. But looking at the steady flow of customers, the amount of food on display, and the hours the restaurant was open, I believed what the owner said was true.
Many regular customers jokingly call this restaurant “non-closing for ten years”, and there is a reason. According to Ms. Lien, for more than ten years now, her family has decided to open continuously without stopping at any time of the day, customers can come to eat pho at any time of the day to serve their needs. Previously, like most other restaurants, she only opened from morning until midnight and then closed.
[CLIP]: Pho restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City open 24/7.
However, to be able to sell like that, she and her relatives and employees have to divide shifts to ensure long-term business health. By now, everyone is used to it.
Grandmother's recipe
Here, each portion of pho costs between 45,000 VND and 70,000 VND, depending on the customer's needs. The owner affirms that whatever the customer wants to eat, she and her staff will try to satisfy it as much as possible.
Being hungry, I ordered a special pho for 70,000 VND with all the ingredients. Besides the fresh beef, what I liked most was the cloudy but rich broth. I was sure that the owner used bone broth that had been simmered for many hours to get this flavor. Personally, I would give the overall flavor of the pho at the restaurant an 8/10.
The owner said the shop sells about 1 cow a day.
The beef bones are placed on the counter.
Agreeing with me, Mr. Hoa (37 years old, living in Go Vap District), a regular customer of the restaurant, also said that the broth of this pho restaurant is a big plus. Because his house is close by, he and his wife often come here to eat 2-3 times a week, and have been eating here for 3 years now, since moving here. Besides the airy space of the restaurant and seeing the clean way of making pho, he also likes the enthusiasm and friendliness of the staff as well as the owner.
The broth and the harmony of the ingredients are the pride of the owner. But for her, the most important thing to make a delicious bowl of pho is the “heart” of the seller that must be put into it.
Ms. Lien, Owner 
The pho recipe was inherited by the owner from her grandmother and mother.
Ms. Lien told us that her grandmother came to Saigon from the North in 1932 to live and do business. Later, she opened a pho restaurant, cooking according to the family's traditional recipe. Then, her grandmother passed away at the age of 70, leaving her mother the pho restaurant and recipe.
“At one time, my family opened more than ten restaurants in Saigon. But because we couldn’t manage them all, we now have only two restaurants. More than 30 years ago, on my family’s advice, I came here from Hai Phong to do business and inherited my mother’s restaurant. At first, I didn’t like this job, but I did it and then I loved it, and without realizing it, I fell in love with it,” the owner said.
Now, the restaurant has become Mrs. Lien's pride. She is happy every day when she and her sister maintain her grandmother's and mother's pho restaurant as well as welcome their customers.
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