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Bun Cha – Hanoi’s popular street foods

Buncha or rice vermicelli is the food eaten along with vermicelli, grilled chopped pork and sour, spicy or well-mixed fish sauce. This food which originates from the North of Vietnam is a really tasty dish in Hanoi capital. So this food could be regarded as a local specialty of Ha Noi cuisine. Rice vermicelli has some features similar to the food called vermicelli eating along with grilled meat in the middle and South of Vietnam, but this food is different by its fish sauce that is made a bit less salty than the rice vermicelli.

Tuan

  • April 25, 2019
  • Travel Guide
  • 541

When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, it will be a big pity if you don’t have the chance to try bun cha that is one of the most top street foods in this country. Besides, there are some other street foods you should try as visiting this nation.

Bun cha Hanoi
Bun cha Hanoi

photo credit: anthony bourdain

What is bun cha?
Buncha or rice vermicelli is the food eaten along with vermicelli, grilled chopped pork and sour, spicy or well-mixed fish sauce. This food which originates from the North of Vietnam is a really tasty dish in Hanoi capital. So this food could be regarded as a local specialty of Ha Noi cuisine. Rice vermicelli has some features similar to the food called vermicelli eating along with grilled meat in the middle and South of Vietnam, but this food is different by its fish sauce that is made a bit less salty than the rice vermicelli.

Bun Cha & President Obama
On the arrival of President Obama at Vietnam, he tried this food at the family restaurant and ordered two portions of rice vermicelli along with seafood meat roll and 2 bottles of beer. He and his well-known chef ate all of that delicious food and made a compliment to the restaurant owner and bought 4 different portions to go too. The owner said she had prepared about 50 portions that night but not enough because of a large number of customers. One portion of rice vermicelli here costs 40,000 VND per portion and remains the same for a long time without any intent to the increased price. She said she would soon open up another branch in Lang Ha and the quality of food would be absolutely the same as current.

Where to find great bun cha in Hanoi

Bun Cha Hang Than
The family restaurant of the Ms. Tuyet locates at Hang Than slope that is quite easy to find. The restaurant is quite small, but full of costumes all the time. The food quality here is always excellent and has not changed over time then this restaurant is really well-known to the local here. They can’t help enjoying it.

Apart from including vermicelli, grilled chopped pork and raw vegetable like rice vermicelli in another restaurant, the rice vermicelli here is made in a way that suits most people taste. The meet is lightly baked so it is really aromatic. Meat is not too dry and bitter. The grilled pork is comprised of 2 dishes that are minced grilled pork and piece of grill pork. Minced grilled meat of the restaurant is wrapped with really fragrant leaves called Xuong Song so it feels not too fatty. This dish at this restaurant is also preferred because of the nice and clean presentation of the food. Costumes will be served with a bowl of rice vermicelli with full and neatly arranged pieces of meat as well as raw vegetables placed on a stainless steel tray that looks especially clean and neat. In spite of the food quality, rice vermicelli here is very affordable compared to other restaurants in the town. Just with 35.000 VND you will have a quite heavy meal.

Bun Cha Nguyen Bieu
If you have the chance to go across Nguyen Bieu Street at noon, you will be attracted by the aroma of this small noodle restaurant, seeing the scene of a large number of customers. Referring to Nguyen Bieu Street, the thing coming up to people mind right away is the specialty of this restaurant that is there is not fish sauce in the sauce. Instead, the sauce is made with just salt and some other spices. In spite of that, the dish in this restaurant still attracts lots of customers.

Bun Cha Hang Khoai
Unlike other restaurants elsewhere, Hang Khoai is the only restaurant that opens in the early morning. The reason why this restaurant opens in such a “toxic” time is that the main customers are lots of people trafficking at wholesale fruit market of Long Bien at this period of time. So the restaurant is available until 2 pm in order to serve lunch to its customers.

The restaurant owner is quite picky. Meat used needs to be fried bacon that has fresh and tasty marinated taste. Baked meat needs to be soft as well as very fragrant. Besides, the restaurant also serves both rolls and vegetable rolls. Vegetable rolls have little meat inside but plenty of vegetables so people don’t feel fat eating them. The owner here is quite psychological; people just want to have the light food for their breakfast so she serves smaller portions with less price that is just 25.000 VND at this time of day. And for lunch, she serves people with a full portion of the main meal costing 30.000 VND per portion

Bun Cha recipe:
Cha is made from the minced lean meat of pork shoulder and then turn it into meatball. Then these meatball is mixed with salt, pepper, fish sauce above 35 degrees as well as protein, sugar, dried onion that is finely chopped, water vegetable oil or grease. Depending on the freshness of the meat, after mixing these spices, if the meat seems a bit dry, then add a little oil so that the meat easily turns into balls. If you are a bit picky, you could choose to horizontally pack a piece of meat using banana leaves at a time, the meat will be more fragrant.

Other street foods you should not miss

Banh Cuon
If the French owns this famous delicious crepe made out of wheat, dairy products, and egg; Vietnamese and particularly local people in Ha Noi Capital will be proud of the steamed crepe made of water and rice flour. Savory meals, the stuffing inside contain wood-ear, ground pork and seasoning. Many street chefs cook the dish right at their door so find a place at which steams are going up high. This dish is often served with sauce, a mixture of sugar, fish sauce, and lime.

Cha ca La Vong:
You may suppose that you have read about this food name before and you’re right. This is definitely listed as 1 of the most popular one hundred dishes you should try prior dying by lots of cuisine experts. Fish is exquisitely grilled and served with rice noodle, green onions, peanut, shrimp paste and drills. The fish have to be carefully selected so there aren’t too lots of bones as well as fishy smells.

This famous food is the best-enjoyed food in Hanoi, where the dish was invented just in the 20th century. Rice noodle soup could be seen almost everywhere in Hanoi, it appears anywhere from the street to restaurant chains. Some kinds are served along with the chicken and others with beef. Every type of the meat entails a variety of the sub-dish by utilizing from beef brisket to beef tenderloin, chicken thigh to the chicken wing. The advice is to find the some places where the local gathers the most so you know exactly where to sit down and order.

If Pho could be compatible to the linguine in its shape, this is mostly like spaghetti. This dish is a quite popular but hidden fare in the capital of Vietnam and people could hardly look for it the outside of old quarters and some special restaurants across the capital. Chicken broth is well done so the dish is really beautifully served.

So hopefully this info on most popular street food in the country of Vietnam will help you get the most of your trip.

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