Twenty-five-hour pho. Bone broth. Birmingham.

The bowl

What's actually in the broth

Pho is a Vietnamese rice-noodle soup, and the whole thing lives or dies on the broth. Ours is beef bones and marrow, blanched and scrubbed clean, then simmered for twenty-five hours with charred onion, ginger and toasted spices. Done right it tastes clear at the first spoon, then deeply savoury, then sweet at the back from the marrow.

We start the broth the day before service. Charcoal blackens the onion and ginger until they're bittersweet; the spices toast dry in a heavy pan to wake the oils; the bones go in cold, blanch once, scrub clean, then on to the long simmer at the lowest heat the pot will hold. Skim, top up, skim again. By the time service starts, the pot is reduced by about a third.

On the menu

The bowls

Beef Combo. Steak, shin and brisket, dropped into the 25-hour broth and finished with fresh herbs. The bowl most people order first.

Grandma's House Special. The big one — king prawns, chicken and beef steak in a single bowl. Grandma's recipe.

Chicken & King Prawn. Either one on the same signature broth, with herbs, chilli and a squeeze of lemon.

Lemongrass Beef Curry pho. Our lemongrass beef curry ladled over the pho noodles — richer, for when you want both.

Vegan — Tofu. Tofu in a vegan broth, herbs on top. There's a plant-based "not grilled chicken" pho on the menu too.

Where to eat it

Two Birmingham restaurants, same broth

Both Birmingham locations cook the same broth — same recipe, same overnight simmer, same hands. Bullring is the flagship (St Martin's Square, B5 4BW); Resorts World is our first full-service (Pendigo Way, B40 1PU). Same recipe and portions, same dietary flags — Resorts World runs about £1 more on the pho.

Bullring is the one for a city-centre lunch or pre-Hippodrome dinner. Resorts World is the one before an arena event — on-site parking, walking distance to the NEC and bp pulse LIVE. Either way, book a table and we'll have the broth ready.