Bun dau mam tom: Enjoy a famous Vietnamese dish with a strange taste

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Bun dau mam tom will satisfy both your eyes and taste buds (Source: Collected)

A Vietnam travel journey will not be complete without exploring the street cuisine. And bun dau mam tom (rice vermicelli with fried tofu and shrimp paste) is a perfect dish to be included on your food list. This article will give an overview about this famous street food as well as how and where to enjoy it.

1. What is bun dau mam tom?

Bun dau mam tom (rice vermicelli with fried tofu and shrimp paste) is a popular Vietnamese food that originated in the Northern region. It first appeared in Hanoi and is considered to be a specialty of the city. It can be enjoyed all year round and found in every corner of Hanoi.

Bun dau mam tom is a special treat of Hanoi (Source: Collected)

Nowadays, bun dau mam tom is served all over Vietnam, with some flavor changes in each region.

2. What’s in a flat winnowing basket of bun dau mam tom?

Originally, bun dau mam tom has 3 main ingredients: rice vermicelli, fried tofu, and shrimp paste. Tourists can also enjoy this dish with fish sauce instead if the scent of shrimp paste is too strong for them. To add some freshness to the dish, cucumber and essential herbs like cilantro, basil, mint, and oregano are served with bun dau mam tom.

Today, there are lots of toppings that have been added to a flat winnowing basket of bun dau mam tom, namely boiled trotter, spring rolls, fried pork intestines, young green rice flake meatballs, etc.

A typical colorful dish of bun dau mam tom that you can find in every alley of Vietnam (Source: Collected)

3. How to eat bun dau mam tom in the right way?

The wonderful delicacy bun dau mam tom, which consists of rice vermicelli with fried tofu and shrimp paste, is perfect for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Its highlight is the dipping sauce. Mix some sugar, chopped chili, and some cumquat juice or lemon extract into the fermented shrimp paste. Add them slowly and test the sauce to make sure the flavor is to your liking. After that, stir the mixture until bubbles appear on top.

Stirred fermented shrimp paste with bubbles on top (Source: Collected)

You should use chopsticks to take a piece of vermicelli or other components and dip them in the shrimp paste in order to get the best flavor. After the meal, you will be given a chewing gum to help clear the taste out of your mouth.

4. The best place to enjoy bun dau mam tom?

Bun dau mam tom is more than just a common Vietnamese street food; it is also a traditional dish of this country. Tourists can find countless places serving bun dau mam tom all over Vietnam.

4.1. In Hanoi

If you want to try the original taste of bun dau mam tom, visit these destinations in Hanoi:

• Bun dau Trung Huong

• • Address: No. 49, Phat Loc Alley, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
  • Opening hours: 7.00 am – 9.00 pm
  • Price range: 20,000 – 50,000 VND

Bun dau Trung Huong is well-known for its shrimp paste (Source: Collected)

• Bun dau Ngo Gach

• • Address: No. 03, Gach Alley, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
  • Opening hours: 10.00 am – 9.00 pm
  • Price range: 25,000 – 50,000 VND

An average portion of bun dau mam tom at Bun dau Ngo Gach (Source: Collected)

• Bun dau Nghia Tan

• • Address: No. 104 C3, Nghia Tan Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi
  • Opening hours: 9.00 am – 9.00 pm
  • Price range: 15,000 – 45,000 VND

Bun dau Nghia Tan offers diverse price options for bun dau mam tom (Source: Collected)

Aside from exploring Hanoi’s cuisine, there are many tourist attractions you should check out in the city, including VinKE & Vinpearl Aquarium.

VinKE & Vinpearl Aquarium, a complex of entertainment and education

At Vinpearl Aquarium, you can immerse yourself in the colorful world of the mysterious ocean with more than 30,000 freshwater and saltwater marine specimens. On the other hand, VinKE is an ideal educational playground for kids to try many career-oriented games and explore their future job interests.

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4.2. In Ho Chi Minh City

Influenced by the unique original taste in Hanoi, bun dau mam tom in Ho Chi Minh has tried to retain such flavor, together with some special kicks of southwestern cuisine.

Here are some places recommended for tourists to get the best taste of bun dau mam tom in Ho Chi Minh City:

• Bun dau 46

• • Address: No. 60, Cao Ba Nha Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
  • Opening hours: 10.00 am – 9.00 pm
  • Price range: 50,000 – 100,000 VND

Bun dau 46 is known for its delicate fried tofu and ‘cha com’ (Source: Collected)

• Bun dau A Vung

• • Address: No. 6A-B, Luong Huu Khanh Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
  • Opening hours: 9.00 am – 10.00 pm
  • Price range: 25,000 – 50,000 VND

A regular portion at Bun dau A Vung can definitely satisfy your stomach (Source: Collected)

• Hem Dau – Bun Dau Mam Tom

• • Address: No. 140, Ly Chinh Thang Street, Ward 14, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
  • Opening hours: 9.30 am – 10.00 pm
  • Price range: 30,000 – 60,000 VND

Hem Dau stands out for its distinctive style of serving bun dau mam tom (Source: Collected)

With distinctive flavors and a variety of textures in this one dish, bun dau mam tom is definitely a must-try for every tourist coming to Vietnam. Not only in big cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, tourists can find this special treat everywhere in the S-shaped country. Note down some of the recommended spots in this article to prepare for your upcoming Vietnamese culinary tour! 

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