Pho restaurant in Wolseong-dong, Daegu: Hanoi-style pho at Laichen

Pho in Daegu that passes the test of 5 years in Hanoi: Laichen Wolseong Branch

When you miss Vietnam, there's Laichen Wolseong Branch (라이첸 월성점) in Wolseong-dong, Daegu! No need to go far~ I came back after about 5 years of living in Hanoi and still hadn't found a pho place with a convincing taste... and finally, I did!! Oh my goodness~~

Laichen Wolseong Branch location, opening hours and parking

Laichen Wolseong Branch is at 5 Joamnam-ro, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, on the 1st floor (625m from Exit 1 of Sangin Station; search for "Daeyang Building"), and it's open daily from 11:00 to 21:30. A private parking lot is available too.

This Sangin-dong pho favorite sits near the Sangin E-Pyeonhan Sesang apartments, across from the Wolseong E-Pyeonhan Sesang apartments, and it's already very famous as a Sangin-dong go-to. I always saw lots of customers when passing by, so I'd been curious...

It's easy to spot from the road, and if you drive, there's a big sign so you can find it quickly. Just park behind the building and you're good!!

Is Laichen Wolseong Branch good for dates, family dinners and group gatherings?

Inside, the restaurant captures a subtle Vietnamese mood and atmosphere better than you'd guess from the outside~ Honestly, this would count as a really upscale, clean restaurant even in Vietnam!!

The lighting and decorative items are balanced well, creating a very convincing Southeast Asian vibe~ Even the tables and chairs have a Vietnamese feel~

The reservation-only area is spacious and well separated, so it's a comfortable spot for dates and family meals as well as group gatherings~ In real life, Vietnam pays a lot of attention to lighting too.. and the owner's stylish interior really stood out~~

Laichen Wolseong Branch menu and self-serve bar

The best sellers at Laichen Wolseong Branch are the authentic Hanoi pho, banh xeo (Vietnamese crispy pancake) and bun cha (grilled pork with rice noodles). The menu is nicely put together, with a 1-person set, 2- and 3-person sets, and single dishes so you can eat well for the price. Looking at the menu, memories of Vietnam came flooding back~

The self-serve bar is neat too. Side dishes, utensils, tissues and aprons were all clean and ready, and the pickled onions I remember so well were freshly filled.

What we ordered: Set A for two, com suon and a Cong Do drink

I ordered Set A for two, Laichen's best seller in Wolseong-dong, added a rice dish (com suon, pork rice), and paired it with a Vietnamese drink called Cong Do (lemon green tea). Just looking at it made me miss Hanoi so much it hurt~

Is Laichen's Hanoi pho really Hanoi-style?

Laichen's authentic Hanoi pho is a Hanoi-style fresh rice noodle soup with no bean sprouts, made with a beef bone broth and brisket. Aaah~ it even looks exactly like Hanoi's. You can see the savory brisket texture, and Hanoi-style pho is known for having no bean sprouts, so this is the real deal~ Come to think of it, the menu has a separate southern-style bean sprout pho too!

It's been so long since I had fresh rice noodles. The broth was clear and refreshing!! There was plenty of meat, and the broth is really properly done~

How to eat charcoal-grilled bun cha

Laichen's charcoal-grilled bun cha comes with meat grilled over real charcoal, nem (fried spring rolls), vegetables and rice noodles. Ah.. it really brought back memories. Bun cha was a dish I loved so, so much.. I almost cried~

The proper way to eat bun cha is to dip the rice noodles and vegetables in the nuoc cham (fish sauce dip), and you can also put meat or nem on top and eat them together~

Nem, a traditional Hanoi food, comes along too, and you can dip it in the nuoc cham with vegetables as well. The fish sauce might be a hit-or-miss for some, but Laichen's bun cha pairs charcoal-grilled meat and vegetables in a way that suits our taste, so I think everyone can enjoy it!!

Cong Do, a Vietnamese lemon green tea drink

And please do try the Cong Do drink at Laichen! It tastes like lemon green tea~ It's a drink Vietnamese people really enjoy, but it also goes so well with these dishes for our palates too~

Banh xeo worth the trip to Sangin-dong

Banh xeo is like a Korean buchimgae (savory pancake): a Vietnamese pancake of rice flour batter fried with vegetables, bean sprouts, meat and shrimp~

It's packed full of filling. Seeing this banh xeo, I fully admit Laichen Wolseong Branch is a top banh xeo spot in Sangin-dong.. I've tried many Vietnamese restaurants, but I think this is the first place that makes banh xeo this seriously~

They say a local chef cooks every dish himself, and it's true!! Unless you're a local, it's not easy to finish banh xeo with this look and taste... Wrapping it in rice paper and dipping it in the sauce made me truly happy~ There was nothing to complain about!!

Com suon (pork rice bowl), Vietnam's favorite home-style meal

Com suon is a pork rice dish with charcoal-grilled pork and a sweet-and-salty sauce, and it's Vietnam's national home-style meal!! Vietnam is really hot, so people love one-bowl meals like our deopbap (rice bowls).. and among them, com suon!!

Vietnamese pork is famous for being delicious, and charcoal-grilled pork with a sweet-and-salty sauce gets a thumbs up from me. People really do top it with something like pickled radish strips, too. The owner of this Sangin-dong pho favorite is apparently really from Hanoi. Looking at each dish, it keeps the truly local flavor while being nicely adapted to what Koreans enjoy~

What is Laichen? A Vietnamese restaurant by a Hanoi-born chef

These are Laichen's signature dishes, but tasting them made me sure the other dishes must be great too!!

A Hanoi-born chef started Laichen in 2019, and it now runs more than 10 branches in Daegu alone, with stores popping up in other regions one by one~ I trust it even more knowing the food of his hometown is made by hand with care, in the hope that it gives someone strength and comfort! With its flavor and atmosphere, Laichen Wolseong Branch is truly enough to taste local Hanoi, and I definitely recommend it to my neighbors (fellow bloggers)~