>There is nothing else to it – you must eat a few hundred bowls of phở and find out. If this requires moving to Hanoi, so be it.

Not the worst life plan, to be honest!

A little bit sad that my own "death bed pho" - chicken pho from that one stall near the market in old quarter - gets just a passing mention as the only acceptable variation to traditional beef pho.

This also brings back memories of our "mystery pho man" - who had three tiny stools and one large pot outside his house every morning, looked like a character straight out of an 80's movie, and was usually sold out by 8am.

Vietnamese food has got significantly better in Toronto in the past 5-10 years - but still haven't found anything that comes even close to Hanoi chicken pho.

Pho Dakao, 16171 Brookhurst St, Fountain Valley, CA 92708, United States

Also I got a recipe for pho ga from my aunt which is:

* 6 chicken legs, and 2 bone in breasts (or debone a whole chicken)

* Bring a pot of water to boil

* Parboil all pieces for 2 minutes, throw away the broth

* Char onion and ginger (in an air fryer or on a gas stove - air fryer is easier)

* Toast coriander seeds and star anise

* Add all ingredients back, bring to boil, then drop to a low simmer, and salt

* After 30 minutes remove the pieces, let it cool and debone

* Add the chicken bones back, cook for additional 30 minutes, season with salt and msg

* Optionally serve with a side of nuoc cham, but this variation has no fish sauce in the stock

How well this turns out depends on the quality of the chicken you buy. At the Asian markets, there are different breeds of chicken which have less meat, but are more flavorful.

The article mentions it, but doesn't disprove it.

And I found out about it from a random cafe barista. Sometimes it pays off just to ask someone where they'd eat nearby.

Apparently most pho in the US is southern Vietnamese style?