Western tourists are left breathless the first time they smell shrimp paste or eat bun dau (a type of Vietnamese noodle dish).

Sonny Side smelled the shrimp paste and felt "suffocated" by the strong odor, but when he added lime, sugar, and fresh chili peppers for dipping... he nodded in approval.

Two Western tourists mix dipping sauce for vermicelli with tofu and shrimp paste like locals. Video : cropped from a clip.

Sonny Side is an American vlogger who owns the YouTube channel Best Ever Food Review Show, with nearly 11 million followers. Recently, Sonny Side and Vietnamese-American chef Calvin Bui together experienced some of Vietnam's "worst-rated" dishes on the Taste Atlas website. The dish that left the strongest impression and also the most pungent for the two Vietnamese food enthusiasts was bun dau mam tom (vermicelli with tofu and shrimp paste).

Bun dau mam tom (rice noodles with tofu and shrimp paste) is among the top 5 "worst" dishes in Vietnam according to Taste Atlas, prompting American YouTuber Sonny Side to investigate further. (Image cropped from video)

The dish includes many ingredients such as sausage, meatballs, spring rolls, pork, fried tofu, fresh rice noodles, herbs, cucumber... "But shrimp paste is the most 'challenging' ingredient for diners," commented an American YouTuber. Bun dau mam tom (rice noodles with tofu and shrimp paste) is a rustic dish originating from Hanoi , northern Vietnam. It is often eaten as a snack or light meal, is inexpensive, and is popular among locals and has become widespread in major cities. Nowadays, not only Vietnamese people but also foreign tourists want to try this "smelly" specialty.

Bun dau mam tom (rice noodles with tofu and shrimp paste), a "strong-smelling" street food that remains popular in Vietnam. (Image cropped from video)

Before eating vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste, Sonny and Calvin visited a seafood wholesale market to see how fermented shrimp paste is made. They visited a vendor who makes fermented shrimp paste, using small shrimp mixed with salt and fermented for seven months. "Calvin, we're in the production area, which many people find unpleasant. Try smelling it up close," Sonny said. Sonny took a sniff of the concentrated fermented shrimp paste and immediately choked, holding his breath. He described the smell as making him feel like he had asthma, but then it was instantly cured. Meanwhile, Calvin exclaimed, "It's so fragrant! This is the most intensely fermented smell I know, it's amazing!" After tasting a spoonful of the freshly fermented shrimp paste, Sonny and Calvin agreed that its flavor was very distinctive: salty, astringent, rich, and intensely shocking, like "a flavor-bursting atomic bomb just popped into your mouth." However, since shrimp paste isn't meant to be eaten directly, the two diners sought out a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City to try bun dau mam tom (vermicelli with fried tofu and shrimp paste) right away. Before eating, they had to prepare the shrimp paste to their liking by adding sugar, fresh lime juice, chopped fresh chili peppers, and stirring the mixture until fluffy. "The flavor is much better, with a perfect balance of spicy, sour, salty, and sweet – very appealing," Calvin described. When dipping the marinated meat, fried tofu, and fresh vermicelli into the freshly prepared shrimp paste, the two Western tourists nodded in approval, continuously praising its deliciousness. Sonny even said that eating bun dau mam tom made him feel blissful. What he liked most was that despite the many accompanying ingredients, everything harmonized thanks to the shrimp paste. Calvin believes that shrimp paste is the ultimate version of all dipping sauces because it tastes good with anything.

Sonny Side is passionate about discovering unique and exotic foods while traveling. (Photo: Screenshot from a video)

Sonny was curious as to why shrimp paste was so poorly regarded. Calvin explained: "When people first hear the names of fermented Asian dishes, they often feel apprehensive, but after living and eating those 'smelly' dishes in Vietnam for a long time, you'll find it's okay, not that bad at all, and if you have the chance, you should try it once."

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