Bun cha, one of 5 most delicious gourmet cuisine, is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodle, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam. Bun cha is served with grilled fatty pork (cha) over a plate of white rice noodle (bun) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce.

What is bun cha?

Bun cha is divided into 2 parts: Bun and Cha

• Bun, the vermicelli noodles, is served on a plate. Hanoi people are very picky when it comes to cooking and you will see it clearly through the way they choose the noodles for different food. To make a decent bowl of bun cha, the the vermicelli has to be thin, soft and chewy.
• Cha is the meat part of this dish, served in a bowl. The meat is made from pork and cooked in 2 styles: cha vien (ground pork) and cha mieng (grilled thin slice pork). It is served with the broth.

Without vegetables and herbs, Vietnamese dishes are not be complete. In the big basket of greens on the table, you will find fresh lettuce, Thai basil, cilantro, fish mint, banana flower and coriander.

Time and the way to eat

When to eat: In the past, people usually had bun cha for lunch. Nowadays, since most of the shops open from morning to night people can eat it for whatever meal of the day they want.

How to eat

There is no right way or wrong way to eat bun cha. However, commonly, there are 2 ways to enjoy this delicious meal: southern and northern style.

• Southern people usually wrap and roll everything they can. So if you love wrapping things, you can use a big leaf of lettuce to wrap the vermicelli, pork and herbs then dip it in the sauce and take a big bite.
• The Northern way to eat bun cha is much simpler. All you have to do is dip everything in the broth, mix it together and eat it like a bowl of Pho.

Best places to eat Bun Cha

Bun cha is the greatest Hanoi gift of all time so obviously the most appropriate place to have bun cha is in Ha Noi. In spite of the fact that many restaurants in other parts of the countries also serve this dish on their menu, the flavor is different.

Because the taste of Vietnamese food changes from the North to the South, the chefs from Central and South Vietnam will adjust the recipe to meet the needs of the locals. In addition, the price of food can be higher than in the North. Just eat as much bun cha as you can while you are in Hanoi.

Below are some good places in Hanoi to eat this wonderful dish:

1. Bun cha Dac Kim at No. 1 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi

2. Bun cha Hanoi at 34 Hang Than street, Ba Dinh district

3. Bun cha Hanoi at lane 74, Hang Quat street, Hoan Kiem district

4. Bun cha Bach Mai grilled on bamboo stick. (Lane 213 Bach Mai street, Hai Ba Trung district)

5. Bun cha Huong Lien at 24 Le Van Huu street, Hai Ba Trung district