Located in an 800-square-metre area in Ben Thanh ward, the museum is the first private culinary museum in Vietnam licensed by the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports.
The museum features three floors offering visitors a journey through pho's 100-year history via a souvenir area, show kitchen, cinema room and cultural exhibition space.
It provides a comprehensive tour of around 60 to 70 minutes, guiding visitors from historical contexts and cultural spaces to a culinary experience that help them understand the story and culture of this iconic dish.
The listed price for a museum tour is 750,000 VND (28.55 USD) per adult and 500,000 VND per child.
The highlight is the cultural exhibition space, which preserves hundreds of artefacts and documents related to Vietnamese pho culture across three regions. It features interactive displays designed to help visitors better understand the ingredients, cooking process and craftsmanship of pho.
The tour also includes a dining area where visitors are served a bowl of pho and local desert, along with a space for an interactive game on the second floor.
Le Nhat Thanh, director of the pho museum, said the venue is a place preserving the values of pho, reflecting its 100-year journey from street vendors to global dining tables.
Through the story of pho, the museum aims to promote the the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine and showcase national pride to international friends, Thanh added.
Nguyet Anh, a visitor, said that the museum brings together the three things tourists, particularly foreigners, want most, which are history, culture and cuisine.
The museum expects to welcome 1,500 to 2,000 visitors per day, with over half being foreigners and tour groups.
In addition, the ground floor of the museum houses a pho restaurant open to the public./.
