Pho Cyclo is a Vietnamese Restaurant located at 2124 South Broad Street. They serve a variety of Vietnamese food, from soup-based dishes such as pho, bun rieu, bun bo Hue to rice-based dishes including Com Tam, Com Chien Bo Luc Lac, etc. My top two dishes at Pho Cyclo are Pho Dac Biet (Pho Special) and Com Tam Suon Dac Biet (Pork Ribs Broken Rice Special). I came to Pho Cyclo on a late Saturday afternoon, and took an advantage of this slow time of the day to sit down and have a conversation with the owners: Mrs. Dung and Mr. Hung.
Mr. Hung and Mrs Dung were first-generation Vietnamese immigrants who moved to the States in their early thirties. To my surprise, Mr Hung was born and raised in the South while Mrs Dung was from the North. They got married in Vietnam for two years until both decided to immigrate to the States to pursue a better life. Mr. Hung and Mrs. Dung have very different personalities: Mr. Hung is shy and introverted, while Mrs. Dung on the other hand, is charismatic and extroverted Nonetheless, they are both genuine people yet very passionate about the business, and most importantly, were opened to sharing and discussing different aspects and personal experiences with me.
What are your thoughts after reading Philly Magazine’s article: Where to Eat Pho in Philly: The Ultimate Guide. Do you think this is a solid article?
It is a helpful article. We are honored to have our restaurant listed in The Best Pho in South Philly and Bella Vista category and we are working hard to uphold the title. That article specifically has attracted a variety of customers to Pho Cyclo: from Americans, Europeans to Asians. To be honest, it was overwhelming at first since never had we have such a diverse group of customers, and we were both worried that they won’t like the food since it might be too authentic and strong to their taste preferences.
Were you aware of those challenges when you first started the business? Do you think authenticity is a risky move, especially when you are serving your food to the mass audience instead of the minorities?
Me and Uncle Cuong knew in the first place that we were taking risks by limiting our targeted customers with the authenticity aspects. We had tried at least 40 Vietnamese Restaurant around Philly and New York, and noticed that most of them switch the flavors up here and there to match the American taste buds. For example, Americanized Pho is a bit sweeter because Americans love the sweet and savory combination. When we pitched the idea to our family, they all said we are too stubborn, and that stubbornness might kill the business. It makes sense since we are opening a restaurant in America, not in Vietnam. However, it just didn’t feel right for us. We love the traditional and authentic flavor, and neither of us wanted to take away any of that whatsoever.
Do you think marketing via magazine and social media is the most important in F&B Industry?
Not necessarily. I think it depends on the business model you are trying to build. Me and Uncle Cuong are the older generations, and to be honest, we are both very outdated. With that said, word of mouth is a way to go for us.
Word of mouth has definitely helped since I’ve noticed that your restaurant has been busier than ever. How do you keep up with the consistency of the food?
There was one time when a frequent diner complaint to me that our stir fried shaken beef was a little burnt on a random day that she came, and to me it was an embarrassing moment. As a business owner, I always try to put myself in my customer’s position, if I hate it so much, I would never expect my customers to like it either. Being detail-oriented is also crucial, I do quality control on every dish that is being served in order to get the consistency that I wanted.
Location is key, however it can be a double-edged sword. It must be very competitive since South Philly is best known for having good Vietnamese food. What are some difficulties?
It’s very competitive, I would say. We were struggling at first since there are so many options for people to choose with. Pizzerias are always well-known in this area, which sets another challenge for us. Pho Ha, Pho Sai Gon and Viet Huong all have delicious food, and they have been in Philly for a long time now. But I am confident enough to say that we have amazing food selections as well, and our food are very different and unique. Our broths have distinct flavors, since we come from a different region. We cook our broth in a different way, blanch noodles with a different technique, use herbs in a different sense, so forth and so forth. For example, we don't use MSG to season our stock, even though MSG enhances the sweetness of chicken and beef stocks. We would substitute MSG with sugar since sugar adds mellowness as well as tenderize our broths. Being able to distinguish our food and our brand from others is more important to me than just the location itself.
Comments