Bún Chả, or Vietnamese Meatball Noodles, by Bún Chả Hà Thành, Hanoi, Vietnam

Bún Chả, or Vietnamese Meatball Noodles

by Bún Chả Hà Thành, Hanoi, Vietnam

If you asked me to tell you my favorite Vietnamese dish, it wouldn't be easy for me to give you an answer. After all, nearly every meal I've ever had in Vietnam (and I've had a lot of them) has been delicious. However, if I were forced to pick just one, I'd have to go with bun cha, a dish made from marinated grilled pork meatballs served in a sweet-and-sour fish sauce broth soup with thin rice noodles and tons of fresh herbs and veggies.

An iconic dish from northern Vietnam, bun cha is especially popular in Hanoi, so when I was in the city recently, I went hunting for a good bowl of bun cha near my hotel.

Bún Chả, or Vietnamese Meatball Noodles, by Bún Chả Hà Thành, Hanoi, Vietnam

Bun cha is eaten by dipping rice vermicelli noodles into a bowl of warm, sweet-and-sour fish sauce-based dipping sauce which contains the pork patties. Using chopsticks, just pick up a portion of the noodles and herbs, dip them into the sauce, and eat them along with a bite of the savory chargrilled pork. Unlike dishes like pho, bun cha is not meant to be eaten as a soup. Instead, the dipping sauce is an essential part of the dish.

a bowl of bun cha grilled pork meatballs at Bún Chả Hà Thành, Hanoi, Vietnam

I was traveling in Vietnam with a friend, and we also decided to order some of the shops side dishes to share. We ordered some seafood spring rolls, and "shrimp in batter", which is exactly what it sounds like: little shrimp pressed into doughy dumplings and deep-fried to be completely crispy.

"shrimp in batter" and seafood spring rolls

Menu and Prices

The menu and prices are shown below.

Bún Chả Hà Thành menu and prices

Location

Bún Chả Hà Thành is located at CT1-2 KĐT Mễ Trì Hạ, Đ. Mễ Trì, Mễ Trì Hạ, Từ Liêm, Hà Nội, Vietnam.

Bún Chả Hà Thành restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam