why is there so much meat in my phở?

Before I go any further, I should point out that the comments that follow apply only to real Hà Nội phở, not Sài Gòn phở, and especially not that strange hybrid stuff they sell at Phở 24. Anyway, given that I've been eating phở in Hà Nội now for almost ten years now, I think we can assume I know what I'm doing. I know where to get good phở bò, phở gà, the gristliest sốt vang, the softest quẩy (and we all know that's not easy in Hà Nội).

One of the things I learned early on was the precise ratio of meat to noodle necessary so that there was enough meat for each mouthful, but never too much left over at the end. But for the last few months, no matter which of my favorite local shops I go to, there's always meat left in the bottom of the bowl. There it sits, bereft of noodles, only a few slivers of spring onion to keep it company.

This intrigues me. We all know that inflation has been hitting Vietnam hard over the last two years, and the rising price of phở has been one of the clearest indicators. But at the same time, it would seem that consumer expectations are rising too, and that phở shops are competing on perceived value. Particularly given that I've been noticing increased amounts of meat in my phở over the last six months while the price has remained constant, I'm wondering if this isn't in some sense the local equivalent of the McDonald's Super Value Menu: increased "value" to keep customers coming back despite the economic downturn. If I were an economist, I'm guessing I could find something extremely profound in all of this. But as it is, I guess I'll just keep ending up with leftover meat in the bottom of my bowl of phở every morning.