Ordering an extra trứng chần with a steaming bowl of phở is a small pleasure many Hanoians know by heart. Once broken, the warm yolk melts into the clear broth, adding a soft richness that makes a cold morning feel a little more comforting. Chapter returns to that familiar ritual, but changes the moment entirely. Discover how Chapter transforms the humble pleasure of phở with poached egg into one of the autumn menu’s warmest and most intriguing opening courses—and why this familiar-yet-new experience deserves a place at your table.
Table of Contents
- 1 A Hearth Memory Finds Its Place in Autumn
- 2 A 63°C Egg Yolk preserves the pleasure of Trứng Chần
- 3 Đông Tảo Chicken Brings Texture and Local Character
- 4 Sá Sùng gives the Phở broth It’s Quiet Depth
- 5 From Clear Broth to a Soft, Lingering Richness
- 6 Experience Chicken Phở with Egg Yolk at Chapter Dining
A Hearth Memory Finds Its Place in Autumn
In the original Hearth tasting menu, every course leaned towards warmth. Fire, smoke, slow cooking and deeply savoury ingredients reflected the colder months, when the kitchen becomes a place for family members to gather and share stories.
The phở course opened that journey quietly. Its inspiration did not come from an elaborate banquet, but from something many Hanoians know well: entering a phở shop on a cold morning, ordering an extra poached egg and waiting for the hot broth to set the white while leaving the yolk soft.
A 63°C Egg Yolk preserves the pleasure of Trứng Chần
The egg used in the course is trứng gà so, a small first egg laid by a young hen. Chapter selects the yolk for its concentrated richness and deep golden colour.
After being separated from the white, the yolk is confit at exactly 63°C for one hour. At this temperature, it does not become firm or dry. Instead, it develops a smooth, custard-like texture, delicate enough to yield beneath the spoon while remaining intact when served. In a phở shop, the egg continues cooking as it sits in the hot broth. At Chapter, the slow confit creates an even texture from edge to centre.
Once the yolk meets the warm broth, it begins to soften and melt. Its gentle richness spreads across the palate, rounding the natural sweetness of the chicken and sá sùng while leaving the broth’s clear character intact.
It is a small gesture, but one that carries much of the dish’s emotion: the pleasure of breaking into a poached egg, the warmth of the first spoonful and the feeling of a cold morning becoming easier to bear.
Đông Tảo Chicken Brings Texture and Local Character
The course begins with a celebrated Vietnamese ingredient: Đông Tảo chicken from Hưng Yên. The breed is immediately recognisable by its unusually large, thick legs, which contain layers of skin, tendon and connective tissue.
For Chapter, those characteristics offer more than visual distinction. The meat contributes clean poultry sweetness to the dish, while the feet provide a naturally firm and lightly crunchy texture that contrasts with the smooth egg yolk and clear broth.
Each bite moves between tenderness and resistance. The chicken meat is familiar and comforting; the Đông Tảo feet require a slower chew, gradually releasing their savoury character.
Sá Sùng gives the Phở broth It’s Quiet Depth
Off the coast of Quan Lạn in Quảng Ninh, sá sùng also known as peanut worm or sea worm. They live beneath layers of warm, fine sand. The difficult harvest and limited supply make dried sá sùng a prized ingredient.
At Chapter, dried sá sùng is slowly simmered with chicken bones to form the foundation of the phở broth. Hours of gentle extraction allow the ingredients to release their flavour while the liquid remains clear and composed.
When the broth reaches the table, its depth reveals itself gradually. The first impression is light and warming; the sweetness of chicken and sá sùng then lingers, followed by the fragrance of scallions, coriander and lime leaves.
From Clear Broth to a Soft, Lingering Richness
The tasting journey begins with aroma. Lime leaves, scallions and coriander rise from the warm broth before the spoon reaches the first component.
Then comes the broth itself—clear and gentle at first, before the chicken bones and sá sùng reveal their deeper savoury finish. Tender chicken follows, carrying the familiar flavour of Hanoi phở, while the Đông Tảo chicken feet introduce a firmer, lightly crunchy texture.
Finally, the confit yolk changes the rhythm. As it opens, its creamy richness moves through the broth, softening the edges and leaving a warm, rounded finish. Together, they create a course that feels refined without losing the instinctive comfort of the original experience.
Experience Chicken Phở with Egg Yolk at Chapter Dining
Chicken phở, egg yolk and Đông Tảo chicken feet is served as part of Chapter’s seasonal tasting menu rather than as an individual à la carte dish. Within the full progression, it acts as a warm welcome before the flavours move towards smoke, seafood, fermentation and the deeper richness of autumn and winter.
For international travellers, the course offers a thoughtful introduction to details that may be missed in a familiar bowl of phở: the pleasure of adding a poached egg, the texture of different chicken cuts and the quiet role of sá sùng in a carefully prepared broth.
For Vietnamese diners, it may bring back something more personal—the sound of broth being poured, the fragrance of lime leaves and the warmth of a breakfast that has begun countless mornings before.
Explore the current Chapter Dining menu and reserve your table at Chapter to experience how a familiar bowl of Hanoi chicken phở returns as one of the autumn menu’s most comforting highlights.
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Chapter Dining
12C Chan Cam, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Mon – Sat from 18:00 – 23:00
Tel: +84 333 201 221 – Reserve a table
Email: reservation@chapter.vn
