District Môt prepares Phớ Bò

District Môt is one of seven urban districts in the lively Vietnamese metropolis of Hoh Chi Minh City, also known by its former name of Saigon. In his Berlin restaurant, Sĩ An Truong aims to conjure up the atmosphere of Hoh Chi Minh City street life. He's imported accessories and furniture from his native city to achieve that.

Sĩ An Truong was born in Saigon - nowadays known as Ho Chi Minh City - in Vietnam in 1967. He's the eldest son of five children. His family emigrated from Vietnam to southern Germany in 1981. He began training in cooking school when he was 18, followed by training in the hotel business. He now runs three different Vietnamese restaurants with quite varied concepts in the German capital of Berlin.

"Street food in Vietnam - that means it's very down-to-earth, one eats with one's hands. It's greasy. It's grilled stuff, and one throws a lot of it together oneself. So, that means people are really involved with food and eating. And much of it you eat with your hands. I think that's nice." - Sĩ An Truong

For "Phớ Bò Special," the special ingredient is little meatballs. Like with all Vietnamese soups, a homemade broth is the base of the soup: the soup should simmer for at least 12 hours, but 24 are even better! That's how the authentic taste evolves. Sĩ An Truong makes no concessions when it comes to that: he offers up authentic Vietnamese soup.

"If you know Vietnam, then you know you have to eat Phớ - because this Phớ Bò, we eat it around the clock. And preparing it takes a long time since we put the base on a day in advance to get all of the intensity, the nutrients, and the taste out of the bones and meat." - Sĩ An Truong