With the rise of YouTube, countless food review channels have popped up, each with its own unique style. From restaurant reviews and mukbangs to cooking tutorials, we have more interesting content than ever to watch.
However, alongside this growth, some content is being labeled as “internet trash.” Recently, VTV reported on the channel Hanoi Pho, run by Duy Nến, who is known for some truly baffling review moments.
Hanoi Pho is a YouTube channel with around 400,000 subscribers, mainly focusing on food reviews from Hanoi and other places the creator visits. Most viewers expect reviewers to have a solid understanding or at least do thorough research. But Duy Nến is different. Not only are his descriptions and reviews confusing, but many videos reveal some downright silly mistakes.
For example, here are some of his strange review moments:
– Reviewing pho: “A bit of spicy chili sauce and a light, peaceful sourness from the lemon. Really delicious.”
– Reviewing banh chay (glutinous rice cake): “It looks exactly like a shining star under natural light, and I almost didn’t see any flaws. I don’t know if my bite hurt this star, but I had to set aside those feelings to eat it.”
His verbal slip-ups are hard to count, like confusing green onions with celery, fish sauce with broth, calling March 3rd the “Fertility Festival,” describing fish sauce for bun cha as “crispy,” or saying the pork ribs were “sizzling.”
Once, while reviewing a dish with pork intestines, the restaurant owner told him he was “crazy” after he claimed some places soak intestines in rainwater to make them crispy. Another time, while eating bun cha with a friend, Duy Nến called fish sauce “broth,” saying it had no fishy smell or salty taste.
Images from Hanoi Pho videos (Screenshots)
It’s still unclear if these silly mistakes and odd behavior are genuine or a deliberate attempt to grab attention. What’s certain is viewers are paying attention, but often feel frustrated watching. This has sparked numerous boycott channels against Duy Nến across Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.
Speaking to VTV, Dr. Vu The Long from the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association said: “We can’t force them to be literary experts first since no one forbids them from speaking. Their ignorance will just make the public laugh at them.”
The controversy around Hanoi Pho’s food review videos continues to stir debate.
Source: Compilation
