Pho Day 2025 officially opened this morning in Ho Chi Minh City and is expected to welcome about 100,000 visitors, with the participation of nearly 30 pho brands from across Vietnam.

Pho Day is an annual event supported by the Department of External Relations and Cultural Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, and the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association.

It has been organized for many years in coordination with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper with diamond sponsorship from Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company.

This year’s event, which is taking place at the former District 1’s Tax Trade Center site, now 135 Nguyen Hue Street in Saigon Ward, is also supported by additional partners, including HDBank, Cholimex Food JSC, SATRA, and Suntory PepsiCo, among others.

"I trust every bowl of Vietnamese pho”

After finishing his first bowl at the Pho Minh Pasteur booth, Marcus, a tourist from Germany, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he is a big fan of Vietnamese pho.

Although he has been in Vietnam for only about three months, the German tourist has already eaten hundreds of bowls of pho at different eateries, ranging from small roadside shops to well known restaurants.

“I trust every bowl of Vietnamese pho,” he said.

At this year’s Pho Day, Marcus said he plans to try a few more bowls, seeing the experience as an enjoyable way to better understand Vietnamese food culture.

Tri Minh’s family was among the earliest visitors to the event on Saturday morning. Minh’s mother said she learned about the event through the media.

Despite having other plans, the family decided to stop by out of curiosity, especially since her son loves pho.

Binh Pham, leader of the Sala Cycling Group, said he found out about the event through social media and decided to invite the whole group after finding it interesting and meaningful.

As members live in different wards across the city, they gathered from 5:00 am and set off together for the event.

“After each cycling session, we often go for pho because it is the easiest dish to eat and can serve many people,” he said.

Binh and his group’s members favor Pho Phu Gia because it preserves the traditional northern pho flavor and is consistently good.

Taking place from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm on December 13 and 14, Pho Day, the biggest pho event in Vietnam, offers visitors the rare chance to explore and enjoy nearly 30 pho brands from north to south at one place, along with a wide range of activities ranging from culinary experiences and entertainment programs to talk shows, minigames offering gifts and pho dining vouchers, instant photo sessions, and other on stage interactions.

Pho with a spirit

From Friday afternoon, the aroma of pho had already filled the air in central Ho Chi Minh City, as stalls began simmering their broth and preparing ingredients to welcome visitors the next day.

Pho Lac Hong from the former Nam Dinh Province, now Ninh Binh Province, arrived at Pho Day this year with a clear goal.

A seven member team traveled south in two groups, three by sleeper bus and four driving more than 1,600 kilometers, bringing along cooking equipment and what the owner described as the cultural spirit of the Red River Delta.

“If Pho Day only featured southern style pho, it would be boring,” Nguyen Hong Hai, the restaurant owner, said.

“I hope Ho Chi Minh City residents and visitors will gain a deeper experience of northern pho, especially Nam Dinh pho, right here in the south.”

The brand has registered to serve about 4,000 bowls over the two day event, aiming to rank among the top five best selling pho stalls.

Sharing a similar spirit, Nguyen Ngoc Thu, a representative of Pho Thin Bo Ho, said the Hanoi-based brand brought its own stoves along with signature ingredients and seasonings such as ginger, scallions, lime, garlic, and chili.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Nguyen, owner of the Pho Hai Thien brand, said that joining pho events organized with Tuoi Tre over the past eight years is always great fun, leaving her with no reason to miss this year’s edition.

Matching the ambition of Pho Lac Hong, Pho Hai Thien is aiming to serve 2,000 portions and secure a spot among the top five best selling stalls.

Nguyen said that in addition to familiar pho options such as rare beef, brisket, and fatty flank, the brand is offering pho rolls and puffed fried pho noodles this year.

The booth also features a noodle making machine and a traditional steaming setup, with Nguyen herself hand steaming the rice sheets so visitors can experience the process firsthand.

Beyond well-known pho brands, Pho Day 2025 will showcase regional specialties seldom encountered by most diners, from Bac Ha’s red pho in Lao Cai and Lang Son’s roast duck pho to Que Son’s cassava pho from Quang Nam, now part of Da Nang City.

Culinary expert Do Nguyen Hoang Long has said that through successive editions, Pho Day continues to demonstrate the growing reach of a reputable pho festival.

Over time, it has also helped shape a community of pho lovers and chefs who share a strong sense of national pride and are using their skills, knowledge, and experience to promote pho in particular and Vietnamese cuisine more broadly to the world.

Come together to honor pho

In his remarks at the opening ceremony on Saturday morning, Nguyen Van Dung, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said Pho Day 2025 is an occasion for city residents to come together to honor pho, a dish that has become a cultural symbol and a source of pride for the Vietnamese nation.

Dung said Pho Day is not only a food festival but also carries broader messages and deeper significance, honoring cuisine while at the same time encouraging innovation and improving the quality of products and services.

He added that the event also helps stimulate consumption and promote the city’s economy and tourism toward sustainable growth.

Phan Thi Thang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said this year’s Pho Day carries added significance as it is held under the theme 'Elevating Vietnamese Rice – Reaching Five Continents.'

She described the event as an occasion to honor culinary culture and a clear example of how food can be used to promote the national brand.

According to Thang, amid deep international integration, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has identified market diversification and higher export value as key priorities.

The ministry will instruct Vietnam’s trade offices overseas to continue supporting pho promotion activities in more countries, she added.

“Pho is now widely present both at home and abroad, with the number of pho shops and restaurants serving pho rising rapidly, along with pho products and ingredients commonly found in supermarkets in Vietnam and overseas, making pho a defining marker closely associated with Vietnam’s image around the world,” said Tran Xuan Toan, deputy editor-in-chief of Tuoi Tre and head of the organizing committee of Pho Day 2025.

Launched by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in 2017, Pho Day has quickly grown into one of Vietnam’s most influential culinary promotion events.

One year later, December 12 was officially designated as Vietnam's National Pho Day.

“Looking back on its nine year journey, Pho Day has now become a much anticipated event for pho lovers and fans of Vietnamese cuisine worldwide,” Toan said.

He noted that these days, celebrations take place not only in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi but also in many locations across Vietnam and abroad, including France, Poland, Australia, and Japan, wherever Vietnamese communities are living.

Shimamura Masafumi, director of marketing at Acecook Vietnam JSC., said Pho Day is a meaningful cultural activity that helps spread the value of Vietnamese pho. He noted that the event entering its ninth year is clear evidence of pho’s strong vitality in social life.

“We are especially moved that this year’s Pho Day is being held at a time when cultural authorities are actively taking concrete steps toward the goal of having pho recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” he said.