Tuoi Tre newspaper to hold Vietnam Phở Festival in Singapore next month

The festival will take place from October 18 to 19 at Our Tampines Hub in Singapore.

It is co-organized by Tuoi Tre, the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, and Saigontourist Group, in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade and the Vietnamese Community Liaison Committee in Singapore.

The event will be held under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

Vietnam-Singapore cultural exchange in the aroma of pho

Visitors to this year’s Vietnam Phở Festival in Singapore will have the chance to taste pho freshly prepared by leading chefs and culinary artisans from Vietnam.

The lineup includes head chefs from five-star hotels under the Saigontourist Group: Rex Saigon, Majestic Saigon, Grand Saigon, and Caravelle Saigon, as well as the pho restaurant of Vietnam Golf & Country Club.

The festival will also feature famous pho brands such as Pho Thin Bo Ho, Pho Ta, Pho Phu Gia, Pho Vuong, Ba Ban Pho, and other well-known pho brands in Vietnam.

In addition to pho, attendees can enjoy a wide variety of over 20 traditional Vietnamese dishes crafted by Saigontourist chefs, creating a vibrant culinary experience.

In line with the festival’s goal of connecting and helping Singaporeans and visitors better understand pho and Vietnamese culture, the event will feature exhibits highlighting the history and unique characteristics of pho.

There will also be areas where attendees can try on traditional Vietnamese clothing, including ao dai, ao ba ba, and non la (Vietnamese conical hat).

The exhibition zone will showcase images, products, and tourism services from Vietnam, from natural landscapes and popular destinations to handicrafts and regional specialties.

The festival is also an opportunity to promote Vietnam’s sustainable tourism potential to people in Singapore.

Furthermore, it will feature performances of traditional Vietnamese musical instruments, such as dan tranh, bamboo flute, and drum, combined with contemporary interactive performances.

These performances offer a unique artistic experience while telling the story of a modern Vietnam that preserves its national identity.

Interspersed with these are performances from Singapore, enhancing cultural exchange and adding diversity to the festival program.

"Pho - Enjoying together, growing together"

Vietnam Phở Festival 2025 takes place as Vietnam and Singapore have recently upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

With the message “Pho – Enjoying together, growing together,” the festival aims to promote connection, sharing, and mutual development, inviting international friends to come and enjoy this iconic Vietnamese dish.

“Pho – a humble yet refined dish – has long crossed culinary borders to become a culinary and cultural ambassador of Vietnam,” said Le The Chu, editor-in-chief of Tuoi Tre, at the Friday press conference introducing the Vietnam Phở Festival 2025 at Van Thanh tourist area in Ho Chi Minh City.

Chu emphasized that each bowl of Vietnamese pho carries stories of the country’s economy, history, culture, and human warmth, as well as aspirations for development.

In this festive context, it serves as an invitation to strengthen ties, overcome language and cultural barriers, and open new opportunities for cooperation in culture, tourism, trade, and investment, he added.

Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, said this year’s Vietnam Phở Festival sees many familiar faces in the lineup, reflecting the program’s strong impact and wide reach in previous editions.

He added that Singapore is a dynamic and promising market, and the festival will help create new opportunities for trade and investment promotion for participating businesses.

This year, in addition to pho-related companies, the organizers have invited food producers such as rice and spice manufacturers.

Tran Phuoc Anh, Vietnam’s ambassador to Singapore, who attended the press conference online from Singapore, expressed that the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore is delighted to endorse this event.

With a Vietnamese community of over 33,000 in Singapore, many are eagerly looking forward to attending the festival, enjoying pho, and meeting business partners from Vietnam, he added.

According to him, both the Vietnamese community in Singapore and international friends are very excited about pho, especially as the Vietnam Phở Festival is being held there for the first time, accompanied by side events such as exhibitions and art performances.

“Singapore is not only a market of six million people but also welcomes 17 million international visitors each year, making it a major market and regional hub,” Anh said.

“The festival is not just an introduction to pho, it is also an opportunity to share cultural stories and promote the festival to friends around the world.”

The Vietnam Phở Festival, Anh noted, is expected to strengthen commercial ties between the two countries, and to pave the way for Singapore to become a major FDI investor in Vietnam by 2028.

Nguyen Tien Dat, general director of SECC – Saigontourist Group and co-chair of the Vietnam Phở Festival organizing committee, said the organizers chose Singapore as this year’s destination because the country is an important market for Vietnamese tourism and maintains strong diplomatic ties.

“With careful preparation and culinary creativity, we hope that each bowl of pho will carry messages and serve as an invitation for Singaporeans to visit Vietnam,” Dat emphasized.

Saigontourist Group sees the Vietnam Phở Festival not only as a platform to promote Vietnamese cuisine and pho, but also as an opportunity to showcase the Vietnam national brand, Ho Chi Minh City, and Saigontourist Group to international audiences.

The organizers plan to collaborate with airlines and travel companies to offer comprehensive tourism, dining, and resort packages to international visitors and overseas Vietnamese, while the festival also aims to boost two-way tourism between Vietnam and Singapore.