Nate, who is from the US, lives in Vietnam and spends a lot of time discovering traditional culture, as well as tasting traditional dishes and visiting attractions.

He said Hanoi had left a good impression with wonderful landscapes and delicious street food. And he revealed that he has tasted ‘bun dau mam tom’ (tofu, shrimp sauce, and noodles).

Though the dish is called ‘national dish’ because it is favored by many Vietnamese, not all foreign travelers dare taste it. However, Nate believes it is popular and the city’s symbolic dish, so travelers should not miss the opportunity to try it.

Nate sampled bun dau mam tom at a sidewalk stall in Quan Tho 1 Alley in Dong Da district. He ordered a serving with full topping, which consisted of ‘bun’ (vermicelli), dau phu ran (fried tofu), cha com (grilled pork paste with young green sticky rice) and chan gio luoc (boiled pork trotter), priced at VND30,000.

Nate noticed that the ingredients were neatly arranged on a round plate lined with ‘dong’ leaves. The dish was served with sliced ​​cucumber and herbs (perilla, Vietnamese coriander).

The western diner tasted the vermicelli with shrimp paste and exclaimed, “So delicious!” Then he continued to enjoy fried tofu, and grilled pork paste with young green sticky rice and pork.

He was so fascinated by the taste of vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste that he ate non-stop and finished quickly. He said ‘it's very delicious’ so many times the female owner of the stall burst out laughing.

Other diners at the stall were happy seeing foreigners enjoying the ‘national’ dish. They suggested that he should return to enjoy other delicious dishes, because Vietnamese street food is good and affordable.

Nate promised that he would come back because he knows there are many wonderful dishes in Hanoi.

The young man first visited Hanoi in 2019. Returning this time, he first went to many other localities to taste their specialties before coming back to Hanoi.

In addition to bun dau mam tom, the western traveler tasted other traditional dishes such as banh my (bread) and che (sweetened porridge). 

Banh mi was added to the American dictionary Merriam-Webster's list of new words for its 2022 edition.

Thao Trinh