Hugh, a Scottish tourist, is currently on a long trip to Vietnam. He has visited many places such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Da Nang, Hanoi... and spent time experiencing a variety of street foods at affordable prices.

Recently, during a trip to explore Hanoi cuisine , Hugh had the opportunity to enjoy a rustic yet equally attractive noodle soup dish. That is bun doc mung.

The place he stopped was a restaurant on Bat Dan Street, Hoan Kiem District. The restaurant has been open for 26 years and is a familiar dining destination for locals and foreign tourists thanks to its famous bun doc mung dish.

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Hugh enjoys bun doc mung at a sidewalk restaurant on Bat Dan street.

The first thing that impressed Hugh when he arrived was the pot of steaming hot broth, giving off a fragrant aroma, placed right in front of the restaurant. The owner was quickly putting the ingredients into bowls to serve the diners.

When the staff gave him the menu to order, he looked at it and decided to choose the regular bowl of vermicelli with meatballs and elephant ear, priced at 40,000 VND.

According to the Western guest's observation, the noodle shop has a rather modest space, so he decided to sit and eat on the sidewalk to have a real local experience, while easily observing the surrounding streets.

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When the customer orders, the chef pours hot broth over the bowl of water spinach noodles.

When the noodle dish was brought out by the staff, Hugh was quite surprised because the bowl contained many types of vegetables, looking green and refreshing. He admitted that although he had not tasted it, “it looked delicious”.

The young man also showed off his culinary skills by squeezing kumquats and adding a few slices of chili to make the noodle dish more appealing.

Then, the seller also brought a bowl of fish sauce so he could season the dish with it, if he wanted a stronger flavor.

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Western guests enjoyed bun doc mung for the first time and kept praising it as delicious.

When enjoying, Hugh commented that the taste of the dish was very delicious. “These meatballs seem to be handmade so the meat is quite soft, juicy, and feels like it melts in your mouth,” he described.

The Western guest also tried the fried dough sticks, dipped in the broth to soften them and make them more flavorful. He praised the fried dough sticks for their deliciousness, with a crispy outer layer and soft inside, the texture similar to “pa-tong-go” - a famous fried dough stick in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Scottish guy praises the meatballs for being soft, juicy, rich and aromatic

After enjoying the ingredients in the bowl of bun doc mung, Hugh said that, in his personal opinion, he rated the dish 9/10 because the "flavors were perfectly combined".

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hai - the owner of the restaurant that Hugh visited said that the restaurant opened in 1998, specializing in serving bun doc mung with 5 accompanying ingredients such as nails, meatballs, tongue, and ribs.

Diners can order according to their needs and preferences. A bowl of noodles with 2 types of meat, meatballs or ribs and meatballs costs 40,000 VND. If customers eat 3 or more types of meat such as ribs, meatballs, tongue, it will cost 50,000 VND/bowl.

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Diners enjoy bun doc mung on Bat Dan street (Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi ). Although this is an easy-to-eat dish, not everyone likes and can enjoy it because they can get an “itchy tongue” after eating doc mung. Photo: Ninh Tito

According to Ms. Hai, elephant ear is the highlight ingredient of the noodle bowl and the preparation process is very laborious to ensure the crunchiness and avoid itching.

The elephant ear must be peeled, rubbed with salt and then washed with clean water several times. Then, the elephant ear is pressed tightly in a basin to drain the water, while increasing the crispness and deliciousness.

Taro stem cannot be boiled for long, just put it in the pot of simmering broth until it is half-cooked then take it out immediately to avoid making the ingredients soft and mushy.

However, many diners who have enjoyed bun doc mung still feel their tongues tingling after eating, even though the ingredients have been carefully prepared.

Photo: Hugh Abroad

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