Vietnamese-American master chef praises Pho Suong, Bun Cha Gam Cau and delicious street food

During a food tour with friends, chef Christine Ha was invited to enjoy Pho Suong in Trung Yen alley. Located in the heart of the old quarter and close to the sophisticated food market Hang Be, Trung Yen is considered the most famous culinary alley in the capital.

Located right at the beginning of the alley, going from Dinh Liet is Pho Suong restaurant. For more than 30 years, Pho Suong restaurant of the descendants of Mr. Ty - the owner of the "Pho Cu Tau in Green Shirt" stall still retains the traditional flavor, attracting customers. Each bowl of pho here costs from 55,000 VND - 80,000 VND.

Christine Ha commented that Pho Suong has a lighter broth, less spices and thicker noodles, "very similar to the pho my mother used to cook".

The female chef expressed her delight at the Gam Cau Bun Cha dish on Hang Giay Street. She commented: "The restaurant's pork is grilled to perfection." Christine Ha also introduced that when eating, diners dip the noodles and herbs into a bowl of lightly mixed fish sauce.

In addition to Trung Yen food alley, Christine Ha visited Dong Xuan market alley, another cheap "food paradise" of Hanoi. Here she stopped at the most famous bun oc Thuy in the market.

This noodle shop has been around for about 70 years. Even in the hot summer, this 15m2 restaurant is still packed with customers, one person stands up, another immediately takes their place. Customers crowd outside the door, squeezing through rows of tables to move. The attraction here is the bowls of snail noodle soup with traditional flavors. The bowls of noodle soup do not have ham, beef, or sausage added like many other places.

Each bowl of noodles costs from 40,000 - 50,000 VND/bowl depending on the type of snail, with added banana or beans.

Another street food that this "master chef" enjoys is banh gio on Dao Duy Tu street. The restaurant is about 40 years old, famous for its soft and smooth banh gio with fragrant and fatty meat and wood ear filling. The female chef also enjoys banh day with ham.

Christine Ha's favorite drinks are egg coffee and iced yogurt coffee.

"The first time I drank iced yogurt coffee, I was a bit confused at first sip, not knowing if I would like it or not, but the more I drank, the more I liked it. Maybe I will make it at home because we have made Vietnamese yogurt before. Hot egg coffee is a combination of coffee and eggs. Raw egg yolks are mixed with condensed milk to create a cream, added to the coffee, adding a rich flavor to the drink," she wrote.

Christine Ha (real name Ha Huyen Tran), was born and raised in Houston, USA. She was the champion of the 2012 MasterChef program in the US.

Around the age of 20, Christine began to suffer from a disease that affected her vision. Although she graduated with a degree in finance and information systems management from the University of Texas at Austin, she was unable to work. She went on to study for a master's degree in fiction at Houston University. MasterChef was a turning point in her life. During the 2012 MasterChef show, she famously said: "I want to be taken seriously, not just be an inspiration."