One chilly morning in Quan Ba, Ha Giang, we stopped at a small, simple restaurant next to the market. The restaurant had only a few wooden tables, the smell of smoke from the kitchen seeped through the air vents, carrying the light aroma of the broth boiling in the large pot. The owner did not advertise, did not offer any invitations, just bowed his head attentively making rice paper, slicing pho, and arranging slices of chicken in the bowl. Yet there were always customers, some local, some strangers, everyone patiently waiting.
That was the first time I knew about Pho Trang Kim - a dish named after a small village but containing the flavor of the highlands in every steam rising from the bowl of pho.
Small eateries along Highway 4C, passing through Quyet Tien commune, sell Trang Kim pho.
Pho Trang Kim originated from San Phang village, a small village located along Highway 4C in Quyet Tien commune, Quan Ba district. This is not only where the dish was born, but also the only place that has kept the traditional way of making it after more than half a century. Small pho shops along the road, in the early morning or on market days, are still full of smoke, spreading the flavor of the highlands throughout the village.
San Phang village - the origin of Trang Kim pho
Mountain-dried pho noodles
Unlike the lowland pho noodles that are rolled thin and sliced evenly by machine, Trang Kim pho noodles are made by hand, creating a soft, supple texture while still retaining the characteristic toughness of the pho noodles. The people here do not use machines. They soak upland rice, a type of rice only found in the rocky region of Ha Giang, then grind it finely with a little cold rice to create stickiness, then spread it into thin sheets, cooked by the heat of a large pot of water.
Pho Trang Kim is dried by the sun and wind of the mountains and forests of Quan Ba.
But what is more special is that after being coated, the cake is not sliced immediately but hung on a bamboo rack in the kitchen loft, where the wood smoke and cold wind blend together, drying the cake naturally. This process prevents the cake from being sticky, not too soft or too dry, maintaining the ideal elasticity. The cake strips are like thick and large rice silk, absorbing the scent of smoke, the cold of the highlands and the patience of the maker.
Dried pho noodles are hand-sliced and processed immediately.
When processing, people start to cut the rice noodles into strands. Those pho strands seem to carry the spirit of the mountains and forests, strong and durable, completely different from the usual industrial pho.
Sweet taste distilled from heaven and earth
As the broth was poured over, a thin mist of smoke rose from the bowl of pho. The owner quietly placed a full bowl on the table: smooth noodles underneath, golden pieces of chicken on top, a few green onions, and a bit of shimmering golden chicken fat. Just bring it close to your face, the aroma is enough to make your stomach growl in the early morning cold.
The chicken here is not like industrially raised chicken. It is a free-range chicken with firm meat, natural sweetness and a bit of interesting crunchiness. Each piece of meat is like a part of this land, carrying the smell of wind, forest and footsteps wandering on the mountain slopes.
Boiled chicken is cut into pieces and put into the pho bowl.
The broth here has no MSG, no MSG, no fancy seasoning, just chicken bones or local pork bones stewed with some ginger, turmeric, and a little cardamom and cinnamon picked from the forest. The sweet taste is not too strong, but clear, deep and especially pleasant like a cool stream of water flowing from a mountain stream through the heart.
Without fancy herbs, people only add a few slices of wild bamboo shoots, some chili paste and some coriander. But it is this simplicity that prevents the bowl of pho from being overwhelmed, leaving only the aroma of rice, the smell of kitchen smoke and the fresh taste of the mountains and forests.
The broth is infused with the sweetness of cardamom and spices from the forest soil of Quan Ba.
Trang Kim Pho - an edible memory
Eating Pho Trang Kim is not just about filling your stomach. It is a short but emotional journey: from watching the person making the rice paper by the red-hot charcoal stove, watching the pho being air-dried on the bamboo rack, to taking a deep breath of the full aroma rising from the hot bowl of pho. In that moment, it seems like everything outside has receded into the background, leaving only you, the cool chill of the highlands, and the gentle aroma of an unnamed, but memorable dish.
Pho Trang Kim is no longer just a local dish. Every morning, that small pho shop can sell up to several hundred bowls, serving both tourists and market-goers. Anyone who has visited will never forget it, and many people return to Quan Ba just to eat another bowl of pho in the early morning mist.
The aroma and sweetness of a bowl of Trang Kim pho lingers on the tip of the tongue and throat, as if wanting to hold on to visitors.
It can be said that Pho Trang Kim is like an invitation card that this land sends to those who want to explore Ha Giang not only through the scenery, but also through the flavor. A bowl of Pho is like a small bridge leading visitors from the strange feeling of those who come to the rocky land for the first time, to the closeness and warmth, so that when leaving, their hearts are still lingering.
