Ho Chi Minh City opens ‘Pho’ Museum

Located on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in Ben Thanh Ward in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, the museum began welcoming visitors on Thursday.

The museum aims to preserve, promote, and spread the values of Vietnamese food culture to both local and international visitors.

Tran Van Bac, the founder of the museum, said that the museum recounts more than a century-long journey of pho, tracing its evolution from humble street-side food stalls to dining tables around the world.

Through this narrative, the museum seeks to connect and promote Vietnamese culinary heritage alongside cultural tourism, he said.

Spanning an area of some 800 square meters, the Pho Museum features three experiential floors designed as a closed-loop visit lasting approximately 60-75 minutes.

Visitors are guided through historical contexts, cultural settings, and hands-on culinary experiences, offering a deeper understanding of pho and fostering greater appreciation for pho culture.

Nguyen Que Anh, co-founder of the Pho Museum, said every Vietnamese person can be seen as a ‘living museum’ of pho.

The museum grew from a modest idea but it carries a larger mission: to bring pho further into the world while preserving the essence of Vietnamese culinary tradition.

A highlight of the museum is its display of hundreds of artifacts, documents, and rare images related to pho culture across Vietnam’s three regions.

Interactive elements include a pho-cooking game that helps visitors remember the ingredients and processes behind a bowl of pho, a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat – usually beef or chicken.

“The Pho Museum is not a place to sell pho, but a place to experience it as cultural heritage,” Anh said.

“More than anything, it aims to evoke emotion and love for Vietnamese pho.”

The museum also treats visitors to pho-cooking workshops, with prior registration, and offers special incentives to Ho Chi Minh City residents.

Hoang Anh Tuan, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History, said that bringing pho into a museum setting elevates it beyond food.

“It is presented as intangible cultural heritage, encompassing cooking techniques, eating customs, occupations, and collective memory,” he said.

The Pho Museum enriches the city’s heritage ecosystem and creates a space for dialogue between tradition and contemporary life.

“We expect the Pho Museum to become an important destination in Ho Chi Minh City’s heritage journey, a place that preserves the memory of urban culinary culture,” he added.