Bun Rieu is widely available in Hanoi. However, not every noodle store generates a huge number of diners of up to several hundred daily.

The Bun Rieu is served with crispy pork skin combined with the broth's sour and sweet flavors. Despite the fact that it has only been operating for a little over two years at this location, the shop has become a recognizable address for many diners.

In many people's memories, the pork rind was a common meal during the subsidy period, which lasted from the 1980s to the 1990s. The crispy pork skin was coated in toasted salt and served over white rice back then. Another "premium" way to serve it was to blanch the Bun in boiling water, then top with a few bits of crispy fat and a little dipping sauce.

Today, pork rind Bun is upgraded by the addition of crab roe, tomato, vinegar, blanched beef, baluts, pork cartilage... Each bowl of Bun rieu with full topping costs up to VND 60,000 at the Bun rieu shop on Tran Xuan Soan street. Diners in Hanoi have noted that this pricing is rather high.

“You get what you pay for. Every ingredient used in our restaurant is carefully picked by us, thus the price cannot be low,” said Mr. Vu Van Liem, the restaurant's manager.

Mr. Liem revealed: “Normally, most noodle businesses leave tomatoes whole, but my store purees them to produce a sour and sweet flavor. Vinegar shall be incubated for at least seven days after purchase before use.”

The business has its own reliable supplier, particularly for crabs. Every day, the restaurant must utilize about 100 kg of field crabs, if not more, to feed hundreds of visitors.

All herbs and spices are grown on the owner's property. They also make their own condiments, like chili sauce, rather than purchasing them ready-made.

“I passed this restaurant several times and each time it was incredibly busy. I attempted to purchase it for my family to enjoy on New Year's Day last year. The broth was light, sour, fatty, with crunchy tofu and pork rind... My grandmother, who is over 90 years old, recommended this to ease boredom after the long Tet holiday cuisine; the broth here is a standard, similar flavor with that of Ha Thanh in the past,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha shared.

“My favorite aspect of the meal is the toppings, I frequently order extra toppings. One disadvantage is that the shop is overcrowded; it is located on the sidewalk, so I have to wait in line for seats on many occasions,” Ms. Ngoc Khanh said.

Diners arrive to the noodle shop located at the junction of Tran Xuan Soan and Ngo Thi Nham streets in Hanoi at about 11:30am. Mr. Nguyen Manh Duc (owner) and a team of over a dozen people operate around the clock. He stands at the counter, near an aide who divides the materials, and fills the soup. A person outside organizes seats for customers and directs about a dozen staff members to serve and clean.
The sidewalk noodle store has a frontage space of slightly more than 1m2. During lunch rush hour, 50-70 diners rush in at once. The restaurant staff hustles to set up the table, making full use of every available area for visitors to sit.
“I've been here several times and each time I have to wait, at least 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes, as it took today. However, the Bun Rieu is absolutely divine, so it is worth the wait.” Tran Thu Quynh said of Long Bien, Hanoi.
The business is frequently the busiest in the days after Lunar New Year. The store sold roughly 500-600 bowls of pork rind-crab fat Bun Rieu crab each day. 
 
Bun Rieu bowl with eye-catching broth.
The broth is the most crucial component in making a wonderful bowl of crab noodle soup. The business studied and tested several times to create a distinct broth with the gentle sour flavor of natural vinegar, the gorgeous orange-red color from the tomatoes, and the mild sweet taste of field crab emerging at the same time.
Pork rind is similarly impressive in the processing of each bowl of Bun Rieu here. Every day, the restaurant fries 40 - 50 kg of fatty meat in order to obtain 8-10 kg of crispy pork skin.
According to Mr. Liem, the restaurant only uses shoulder fat and loin fat - the most delectable parts of the pig – to make the pork rind. To preserve the flavor of the fat, it is fried without the addition of any seasonings. “We fry roughly 5kg of fatty pork every batch. A batch takes roughly 2 hours to finish. This is a difficult job, but the restaurant only uses the fried fat of the day to maintain the crispiness and fragrance,” Mr. Liem said.
In addition to the pork rind, a complete Bun Rieu topping will include fried tofu, poached beef, baluts, and pork balls.

 

Pork balls are another popular side dish among diners. They are prepared with a mixture of pork paste, cartilage, and shrimp.
Fried tofu is created from the famous Mo village tofu, which is fried in its own unique style such that the exterior is golden and crispy while the interior is soft and hot.
Instead of blanching in the broth, the beef at the restaurant is blanched in a separate pot.  Customers must wait in line since the restaurant is often overcrowded.
There is a dining area with around 6 tables in the alley next to the restaurant.

Linh Trang - Hoang Long - Thien Huong