But just because Jit’s mum used minimal ingredients, doesn’t mean that Pho does now — their broths are filled with an almost endless list of fantastic ingredients. They’re then simmered for at least 12 hours, resulting in that incredible depth of flavour Pho’s customers know and love. So, Jit is helping Pho bring this wonderful attitude towards food to more and more people each day, and despite all this, Jit and Pho remain grounded. For these, and so many other reasons, we love Pho’s status as a family run business even more. We know that there’s authenticity and care in their incredible dishes. Pho opened their doors at their first London store back in June 2005, and now have 22 locations across England, including our favourite branch, located in Leeds’ own Trinity Kitchen. With so many restaurants, managing a team of many chefs can’t be easy. But Jit is doing just that, and anyone who’s tried Pho’s amazing selection of dishes can vouch for her success. She told us how she hopes people will walk away from Pho, “feeling that they’ve had a healthy, tasty meal at good value for money.” If you want our opinion, a meal at Pho ticks all those boxes. When asked about a must try dish, we were pointed towards the classic Pho noodle soups, which are simmered in their special stocks and broths that we love so much! With such delicious dishes, it’s wonderful to learn that not too much has changed from the original and classic Vietnamese recipes. According to Jit, people still want to try new and different traditional cuisines, there’s just more of a health focus now than there was in the past. And, if you really want to enhance the experience, Jit and the team suggest adding any of the variety of sauces available. These include: Sriracha, hoisin, chilli paste and other fantastic things — everyone has their own favourite, us included! Forgetting the customer for a second, Jit also has some advice for any budding professional chefs or restaurant owners. She believes that great cooking “is about feeling confident in what you are doing and using the best possible ingredients.” It’s hard to disagree with her there. As for running a successful restaurant, she stresses the importance of: knowledge, teamwork and the constant desire for improvement – little things that really add up. Finally, for the upcoming chefs out there, Jit says that you should, “always strive to improve; ‘okay’ isn’t good enough.” With such a great attitude it’s easy to see how Pho has come so far, and it just makes us want to go back again, multiple trips in a week are completely justified if you ask us.