Hanoi's Bun Cha hailed by local, visiting foodies

Bun Cha, or grilled pork and vermicelli, is said to be one of the best dishes a foodie must try when in Hanoi, and Bun Cha Huong Lien is one of the most famous places for both locals and visitors to sample the culinary delight.

Just by saying "Bun Cha Huong Lien" to taxi drivers, visitors will be automatically delivered to the well-known restaurant without having to remember the exact address and with zero hassle.

Located on the crowded Le Van Huu street in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, Bun Cha Huong Lien does not boast a modern or dashing facade and in fact would be quite missable to the untrained eye.

The interior of the restaurant as well is not particularly distinctive when compared to others in the capital, with its blue plastic stools and small wooden tables covered with a metal sheet for easy cleaning.

Bun Cha, naturally, is a firm favorite on the menu and additional spring rolls of crab and other seafood, ranging from 30, 000-85,000 Vietnamese dong (1.3-3.8 U.S. dollars), can also be selected.

Hanoi street food, typically including white rice noodles, a basket of herbs, both grilled pork patties and strips of grilled pork shoulder steeped in a small bowl of sweetened fish sauce and fried seafood spring rolls, can satisfy the taste buds of even the most discerning of gourmets.

And the accompanying soup is usually made with ingredients like fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and slices of green papaya and carrot, to add a dash of zing and color.

To enjoy such dishes like a real Hanoian, visitors should enjoy the rice vermicelli by dipping it into the sauce before eating. Herbs such as coriander, mint, basil and perilla are enjoyed with the meat, spring rolls and noodles.

The food is so appealing that during a visit to Vietnam in May, the U.S. President Barack Obama was caught gleefully enjoying Bun Cha at Bun Cha Huong Lien.

Nguyen Thi Hang Nga, a middle-aged woman with a warm smile, told Xinhua that she jointly runs the business with her sister.

"We have been preparing and selling Bun Cha for 23 years now," Nga said.

Nga attributed the special characteristics of her food to careful selection of raw materials and good seasoning.

"Our Bun Cha requires carefully-selected ingredients, all of which must be fresh and well seasoned," said Nga.

"We have patrons, who insist on having only our Bun Cha even if they have to wait for a while to be served," she said proudly.

In order to better meet customers' demand, Nga intends to expand her businesses with more branches in the future.

Hubert Yoshida, a 77-year-old Japanese-American said that this was the first time he had visited the restaurant and the first time he tried Bun Cha.

"This is my first time to visit and a friend brought me here. The food is very good and tasty," said the elderly man, adding that what he liked most about the food was "different types of pork while the flavor of the soup is delicious and very sweet."

Another first-timer, Frank, 47, from the United States, told Xinhua that the food is "great and tasty."

The American guest particularly liked the flavor of the seafood rolls. He said the seafood rolls were special because, "usually spring rolls don't have shrimp or crab inside. Together with beer, it tastes good."

Pointing at renowned U.S. chef Anthony Bourdain in a photo with Obama on the wall of the shop, Frank said, "I came here for this guy, Anthony Bourdain, who had a program in the States. I know that he usually goes to restaurants with good food. That's why I came here."

Nguyen Dieu Anh, 72, a local diner, told Xinhua that "this is a traditional and simple dish of Vietnam's capital Hanoi together with chicken or beef noodles (Pho), fried spring rolls (Nem Ran), snail rice noodles (Bun Oc), and hot rice noodle soup (Bun Thang) among others."

Anh, who had spent 10 years studying and working in China, also said that one of her Chinese friends loves Bun Cha so much that he wants to bring Bun Cha to his hometown in China's Chongqing.

"My friend said the market for Vietnamese food in China is very promising," said Anh, adding that "Chinese people, especially the young, like Vietnamese dishes, as they are easy on the pocket and good for health."

(APD)