Sonny Side from the US, who has a YouTube channel with over 10.7 million followers, has a passion to discover cultures and cuisines of countries around the world.

In HCM City, Sonny has tried many local specialties and is willing to try all dishes in Vietnam, from popular to high-end. He even boldly tries dishes which many foreigners refuse to eat.

Most recently, Sonny and his friend Calvin visited a restaurant on Nguyen Tri Phuong street in district 10 in HCM City to sample bun dau mam tom.

Bun dau mam tom is a common dish in Vietnam. The dish is made of bun (rice vermicelli), dau (fried tofu), and mam tom (smelly shrimp paste).

Prior to that, in March, Taste Atlas, an international journal about food, published a list of 45 of Vietnam’s worst dishes, many of which are considered bearing the national spirit of Vietnam, such as bun dau mam tom, nem chua (fermented pork roll), thit dong (jellied meat), and banh chung (square sticky rice cake).

The dish received a three-star rating and ranked fifth on the list of 45 worst rated Vietnamese foods.

The list, after it was publicized, stirred controversy on social media, because the worst dishes as listed by Taste Atlas included very famous and common ones. According to the journal, the assessments came from specialists and food critics, as well as research on ingredients and the most popular dishes in the world.

However, the journal said that its listing should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. It just aims to popularize local dishes and raise people’s curiosity about countries’ cuisines.

However, the two foreign travelers took a bold step to try bun dau mam tom, and surprisingly, they found the dish delicious. 

According to Sonny, the major reason behind the low ranking at Taste Atlas is the smell of mam tom (shrimp paste).

To learn about the process of making shrimp paste, Sonny and Calvin visited a market in HCM City, located on Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard in district 8.

After listening to a petty merchant who said she had many years of experience making the dish, the two visitors decided to try the paste.

They said that the shrimp paste had both a salty and acrid taste, which was a flavor bomb exploding in the mouth. Calvin said that it was one of the worst smells he had ever experienced.

As for Sonny, the strong taste made him feel as if he had asthma, but he recovered quickly.

The shrimp paste gives such a strong, stinky smell that it can be described as a dish to drive diners away. After several tries, Sonny said he liked it.

The two travelers believed that what they had tasted was shrimp paste that still needed to be processed before eating. The petty merchant told them that it was necessary to mix the original shrimp paste with other spices before they could enjoy it.

The two men decided to return to the bun dau mam tom restaurant to enjoy the dish in the right way.

At the restaurant, Sonny and Calvin ordered two servings with full toppings, the bun dau served with other ingredients, such as thit chan gio (pig trotter), fried tofu, cha ram tom (spring rolls with Greasyback shrimp), doi sun (strengthens cartilage), cha com (Green Sticky Rice Patties) and nem chua (fried fermented pork rolls).

The two diners were eating like locals, mixing shrimp paste with a little sugar, lemon juice and chopped chili. When they stirred the ingredients together, they were surprised because the shrimp paste had a more attractive smell.

Calvin commented that the taste was much better with a good mix of spicy and sweet flavors, while Sonny said pig trotter and fried tofu went well with the shrimp paste. 

Thao Trinh