Hai Phong has its signature spicy fish noodle soup, but in Vinh, it's distinctly Nghe An-style and unlike anything else. While Vinh City boasts dozens of fish noodle soup restaurants from all three regions of Vietnam, the Hai Phong-style spicy fish noodle soup is only found on Nguyen Canh Chan Street, behind the Muong Thanh Song Lam Hotel.
A bowl of spicy fish noodle soup includes "six vegetables" and "six spices".
The recipe for Hai Phong-style spicy fish noodle soup in Vinh is based on "six ingredients" - six components of various raw materials. Besides regular rice noodles, there are also "six protein sources," including: crispy fried boneless tilapia fillets, fried snakehead fish cakes, fried beef meatballs, pork sausage, basa fish stomach, and crispy fried frog skin.
Everything must be standardized in terms of freshness, origin, and quality. Tilapia fillets and crispy fried frog skin are made without any additives. Snakehead fish cakes are fried until just cooked. Beef meatballs are boiled until cooked through. Pork sausage is boiled and then fried again. Basa fish stomachs are blanched in boiling water before frying. Everything has its own process and standardization, simple yet rigorous.
The broth for the noodle soup is made from "six ingredients," primarily tilapia fish bones, along with ginger, tomatoes, taro stems or celery (depending on the season), dill, and shallots. The fish bones are small but very hard, requiring a 12-hour simmering process to extract all the broth. Ginger is added, followed by tomatoes five minutes later before turning off the heat. Before serving, taro stems, dill, and shallots are added.
Season the dish to taste using the "six spices": pepper, garlic, chili, sugar, seasoning powder, and vinegar. The noodles must be eaten hot, with boiling broth, and served with the "six herbs": perilla, mint, basil, shredded banana blossom, bean sprouts, and lettuce. The dipping sauce consists of thick fish sauce, garlic slices pickled in vinegar, chili paste, kumquat, fresh chili, and fried onions. Although called spicy noodles, even children can enjoy it because the spiciness is mild. The spiciness primarily serves to neutralize odors and stimulate digestion.
The meal looks delicious, from its colors and aroma to its texture. Each ingredient in the bowl of vermicelli, along with the accompanying vegetables, dipping sauces, and seasonings, possesses its own unique functional benefits. The tilapia fillet is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, sweet and fragrant, and boneless. The frog skin is crunchy and subtly fatty. The snakehead fish cake is chewy and mildly sweet. The basa fish stomach is tender and slightly spicy. The beef meatballs are subtly sweet, and the fried pork sausage is distinctly Nghệ An-style. Every dish is unique and appealing.
This dish should be eaten slowly to savor the flavor of each ingredient. Delicious food cannot be eaten quickly or while using a phone or reading a book. Eating is an art; it requires concentration and practice. One can guess a person's character from how they eat. Eating habits reflect personality.
The restaurant is small but clean, selling only one dish: spicy Hai Phong-style fish noodle soup (Bún Cá Sây Hải Phòng) for 35,000 VND per bowl, which is quite cheap considering the quality. It feels like the cook poured their heart and soul into preparing the dish, resulting in a delicious and unique culinary experience.
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