In 2011, the world’s most expensive pho was auctioned off at a charity event benefiting the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. Created from a mix of A5 Wagyu beef, white alba truffles, a foie gras broth, hand-raised bean sprouts, and specially manufactured noodles coming from rare blue lobster meat, this bowl of pho was auctioned unbelievably at a minimum cost of $5,000 per bowl. Although there’s never been an official record of what the world’s most expensive pho bowl is, this gets our vote and is probably it.
This itself highlights how customizable pho is. When making pho, the priority is always on making balance in the ingredients used. You can use affordable ingredients and come up with something close to the tastiest dish there is. In this case, luxury ingredients were used and arguably, specifically to heighten the price. From a taste standpoint, why pho is used in so many families’ homes has to do with it being so personalizable. Use beef, pork, chicken, tofu, or almost any protein source. Use the herbs and spices you want to use. Incorporate the needles you want. There’s no shortage of options.
Going back to the world’s most expensive bowl, this pho was sold at an invitation-only dinner auction held at a Vietnamese café based in Santa Monica, California known as Tiato. The AnQi Pho which was sold for over $5,000 was featured on the menu of Crustacean, a Beverly Hills restaurant in California, on a permanent basis. The proceeds from every bowl ordered either at Tiato or Crustacean went to local children’s hospitals. Is $5,000 worth it for such a bowl of Vietnamese pho – probably not. Is the cause worth it though – absolutely.
Another dish that has been claimed as the ‘world’s most expensive pho’ is available at the Vietnamese Pho & Bun restaurant in Soho, UK. For a bowl of this pho, it takes 2 months to prepare and the beef stock is cooked for 72 hours using a whole leg of dry aged beef. This bowl also includes organic produce, herbs, imported Tam Duc fish sauce which is one of the most sought after in Vietnam, and it’s always made fresh on the day. It’s available for just under $1,400.
For as expensive as these are, let’s make no mistake in saying pho authentically prepared is a working-class, affordable dish meant to be enjoyed by one and all. For amazing tasting, flavorful pho in Toronto, go to a premiere Vietnamese restaurant in Toronto Pho. Choose and customize your pho according to how you like it, and receive a balanced bowl that’s worth every penny. For authentically prepared Vietnamese food and pho, check out Toronto Pho today and treat your taste buds.
