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Hi CD peeps,
Cali baby here.
I am assessing whether I should open a pho shop in Chengdu. Was in F&B a while ago but my body was punished with 8 years of solid work, took a few years off to recuperate. During which I did consultation work for my friend who opened a breakfast shop in Taipei, and was piqued back into F&B.
I did some online research, but nothing beats local experience. The numbers look alright, with some risks but it still feels off.
If anybody has any ideas or advices, my online ears are open.
Hope to drop by Chengdu next week, tentative to current tasks.
Have a good one, cheers!
Oh man. Oh man. Please do this. We recorded a podcast about F&B in Chengdu a while ago with one of Chengdu’s most-loved restaurants which you should check out: Inside Mike’s Pizza Kitchen. In it we talk about a few types of food which are missing from Chengdu, one of which was burritos and another was pho (since we recorded that Mike and friends have thankfully opened up a burrito place called Panda Libre).
Another pho-loving friend of mine found a place that has good pho called Dazhong Dumplings but the pho has gone downhill, in my opinion. Everything else is inauthentic or overpriced (or both).
If you have any specific questions that I can help with, hit me up on WeChat (“justcharlie”). I am happy to accommodate pho entrepreneurs however I can.
I think you will find there is a lot of support for opening a pho place in Chengdu, at least based on the conversations I’ve had with friends. The F&B community here is pretty tight, I’m sure if you came to town you’d be able to get the lowdown from some of them, might even hear from some of them on this here forum 。。。
Which breakfast shop in Taipei did you consult for? I’ve only been to Taipei once, went on a mini food tour and was pretty blown away.
Sweet, will do just that. Adding we chat as (after) I type.
Will read up on Inside Mike’s Pizza Kitchen.
But please bear with me on the multitude of questions, I am such a newbie to Cheng Du. I’d probably bombard questions as to staff, taxes, recommended locations, payment, best place to blow off steam after handling cultural differences, and if it is possible (at all) to get Chinese customers to return bowls and trash to the designated place. And probably if it weird for me to train staff to say 谢谢.
In pinyin it would be JiuJiuGe (啾啾哥）Bowtie Brother. They make mean mean mean eggs, they would have to as they flew to NYC to try all the food trucks. They just opened last December (officially Jan), you can find their info on FB.
Taiwan is great place for foodies, a good friend is writing a book with his blogger friends. Making him getting me a signed copy!
Gfreeze1
Will be dropping by around Tuesday to crunch my numbers correct. If and when it is, Pho is back and I hope you guys like my recipe!
(For fun. I may be jumping ahead of myself, but any name suggestions?)
Gfreeze1 Will be dropping by around Tuesday to crunch my numbers correct. If and when it is, Pho is back and I hope you guys like my recipe! (For fun. I may be jumping ahead of myself, but any name suggestions?)
Chengdu Phorum. Aside from numbers (Pho X) the first thing that comes to mind is puns.
It would be nice to see a small Pho shop street-side. If you do open a Pho restaurant in Chengdu, consider opening it on Tongzilin Nan Lu, which has a growing number of foreign restaurants. In Chengdu, there are two Vietnamese restaurants (that serve Pho) that are located in large shopping malls. One is in New Century Global Center & the other is in IFS in Chunxi Lu. I haven’t been to either one in a long time, so I don’t know if they are still there.
Yes, I have been told those two are still around. Definitely will try them to see what flavors are like.
Street side meaning not in mall, yes?
Will check Tongzilin Nan Lu, see if there are any shops for rent. Any other places to check out?
Pho X, read it fast 3 times! Will I get into pooper for that? hahaha
Phogettaboutit (mafia pho)
I’ve had pho a few times, in vietnam even. I don’t understand the draw. It was mostly just a really plain soup. But maybe I’m missing something. Is anyone generous enough to explain the flavor profile as it should be? thanks
let’s see, beefy clear broth that goes down and warms up your tummy
pho (rice vermicelli) fills up that tummy
and all that good slices of beef!
yeah, and some veggies too.
well, pho recipe basics are the same but following the French culinary spirit, each chef creates their own recipe. even in USA, each pho shop have their own unique taste, but fresh ingredients and beefy stock is the essence. 8 hours of boiling meat and bones over small fire brings out the best beef soup.
BUT SERIOUSLY PHOGET ABOUTIT, like it!
Phogettaboutit (mafia pho)
I’ve had pho a few times, in vietnam even. I don’t understand the draw. It was mostly just a really plain soup. But maybe I’m missing something. Is anyone generous enough to explain the flavor profile as it should be? thanks
My mother is Vietnamese and so I grew up eating lots of pho among other Vietnamese cuisines. So I can try to explain this.
The flavor profile is primarily in the broth and it is delicate and somewhat subtle. There are different ways to eat it with different types of meats (meatballs, thinly sliced beef, tendons and intestines, chicken etc.) topped with crisp bean sprouts and fresh basil and chilis, a few squirts of fish sauce, a dumping sriracha and hoisin sauce, a helping of vinegared white onions, egg noodles instead of the white vermicelli noodles etc. etc. But the broth makes or breaks the entire bowl. It has it’s own fragrance from a mix of spices, which is actually smells kind of like BO, but tastes delicious. It’s a light, yet savory flavor that goes down easy and soothes the soul (and the hangover).
No two restaurants are the same. In the Northern Virginia area with a significant Vietnamese population, there are dozens of pho restaurants, many of which have been there for 15+ years, yet the differences from bowl to bowl are noticeable.
Good luck to you CherryDiablo. I was thinking about doing a pho restaurant here too, but I don’t have the F&B experience and I’m also not confident that I can cook up a good batch, though I’ll probably try this week or so.
The pho in Chengdu is overpriced garbage. The pho restaurants at the global center are tasteless. Once a bowl I ordered had the broth too cool to cook the raw meat. Dazhong’s pho was decent only because of the price, but they cook the bean sprouts in the soup so they’re soggy and unappetizing. The one by shangrila was ok but wildly inconsistent and way too expensive. I haven’t tried the one at taikoo li yet, but I heard it’s good.
Chris
Thank you for the great explanation, better than my version – succinct. I would love to pick you tongue and brains. Maybe we should set a time for taste test trials. Though who’s kitchen would be an issue, considering the pots and pans needed.
My WeChat id is the same as my name, would love to talk shop if you are interested.
My university days were filled with Pho, from SF to LA. All had their own unique tastes. My favorite is still in Pleasanton.
Summary Cap
Chris Z has been great showing me around
Johnny’s Donuts are to die for
Mike’s Pizza da best and DR PEPPER!
Well, just some discoveries for me during this trip while researching on Pho feasibility. Unfortunately, the timing right now is not right for Pho. Expats aside, local knowledge on Vietnamese food lingers off as South East Asian cuisine. And there are too many local noodles on offer that Pho is but a drop in the ocean of menus offered.
Therefore, regrettably I WILL START DELIVERY SERVICE! Probably open up a shop as soon as I find a good spot (reasonable rent). The focus is to bring SE Asia cuisine to your doorsteps, Pho being amongst the selections (you’d probably have to nuke it).
Any other SE Asian selections you would like to see?
Was good meeting you, William! Good luck. Chengdu could definitely use some good Pho. How did your last batch turn out?
I’m still collecting recipes and looking for ingredients to try my first batch.
That batch was great. The people who tried them all gave thumbs up. Even the aunties who tried them.
Got my ingredients from Hangzhou though, I haven’t look for them in Chengdu. I know you can find them in 牛市口 wet market.
For beef, I went to 唐家寺清真牛肉批发. Amazingly, they still carry stock after 9am. All other wet markets I went to sold out by 7am.
In the Northern Virginia area with a significant Vietnamese population, there are dozens of pho restaurants, many of which have been there for 15+ years, yet the differences from bowl to bowl are noticeable.
Eden Center, Seven Corners VA! If you are ever in LA, check out Westminster in Orange County, it is half Vietnamese. For some reason I preferred the pho in America to Vietnam. But banh mi I discovered in Vietnam and I think that might be my favorite sandwich. Fingers crossed that this pho restaurant in Chengdu happens.
Hey
My friend and I are just about to Plan to open a pho shop in Chengdu. We went to Vietnam two months ago in person. And also we tried many Pho restaurants in Sydney and Melboure. Do you want to chat with me to do this business together?
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