Broth so clear you can see the bottom of the bowl.
Not a drop of floating grease. Fragrant with cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom, never gamy. For thirty-eight years the shop on Le Lai has kept a single promise — and the 65,000₫ bowl still arrives with that crystal-clear broth.
A rendering of the broth surface — clear, still, see-through. Why people have talked about this shop for 30+ years.
One broth, three bowl sizes
Small, regular, special — from the same clear pot. Customize to taste; prices from the shop’s menu card.
Clarity is a craft
Since 1988 — the craft of skimming foam all morning, so the broth surface carries not a drop of grease.
The sign reads "Since 1988"
Thirty-eight years at the same 178 Le Lai, Ben Thanh Ward — through generations of shops changing hands around Ben Thanh Market, Thai Son stayed, and so did the pot.
People describe the shop in one line
The clearest broth in Saigon. No grease floating on the surface. Fragrant with cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom, never gamy — the balance many pots trade away: either clear but bland, or rich but cloudy.
The pot is clear before dawn
The shop opens at 6 in the morning — the pot is already clear before the sky is fully light. Anyone up early in Ben Thanh knows this pho’s aroma before the traffic.
Come when the broth is clearest
Early morning is the golden hour — the pot at its best, the shop still quiet.
Address & hours
178 Le Lai, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Mon – Sat: 6:00 – 21:00 · Sun: 6:00 – 13:30, come early.