The pho special combination at Three Sisters in Spokane Valley. Both are slurp-worthy soups. Both are brothy and noodly. But there's a difference, as every soup Nazi worth his stock knows, between pho and ramen. Pho (pronounced "fuh" to the delight of profane wordplay aficionados everywhere) is a Vietnamese invention, while ramen is a Japanese transformation of a Chinese import. The difference starts with the noodles. Classic ramen relies on egg or wheat noodles, where pho uses flat rice noodles. But the major distinction between both dishes — and the factor that determines a great pho or ramen dish — comes from the broth.