Phong Nguyen cooking up his family recipes from the Hue region in central Vietnam. Best known for their 100-hour beef broth.

Phong Nguyen’s family is originally from Hue in central Vietnam. He’s learned from several great chefs in his life, using the dishes shared with his mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and other relatives. He started cooking in restaurants during college, first as a sushi chef at 18 years old, then helping a friend open a Vietnamese restaurant at 21. Together with partner Jeannie Ho, they ran a successful pop-up for a couple of years, and were hoping to launch a food truck. But instead they took over Jeannie’s family restaurant in San Bruno and jumped into the fire.

Pho de Nguyen opened in 2018 as a cozy breakfast and brunch spot specializing in traditional Vietnamese dishes. Phong’s specialty is the 100-hour beef broth, rich with bones and marrow, and without any fish sauce, sugar, or MSG, and little salt — just clean and simple flavor. Their customers don’t just slurp noodles, they drink all of the broth, and leave bowls empty on the table.

@phodenguyen | San Bruno

More…