Rolled and stuffed

This is banh uot thit nuong. A hybrid of two different Vietnamese noodle based dishes and it's the dac biet (special) dish at Ba Dang restaurant, 59bis Nguyen Thong street in District 3. Banh uot nong is a flat noodle Hue style dish commonly carted around the Saigon street in the morning. Bun thit nuong is a cold vermicelli noodle dish laced with finely sliced cucumber, beansprouts and topped with grilled, marinated pork. Both dishes get their zip from a chilli stuffed nuoc mam (fish sauce). The dish above is the blind date result. It takes the flat noodle and rolls the meat inside along with fresh basil leaves. The other difference is the peanut sauce. It's light, but unexciting. It's snack time stuff, not stunning stuff.

For what it's worth you'd be bettter off hitting the banh canh cua or the bun thit nuong, pictured above, at this place. Both of which are excellent. Bun thit nuong + banh uot thit nuong + iced tea = 17,000VD.

Comments

[m@t]

Since we are on the outskirts of a topic here, got a center-of-town tip off for you guys...

I also have a bun thit nuong fixation, can recommend a place that is still my favorite.

Corner Nguyen Hue and Le Loi there is the duty free store, next to that down Nguyen Hue is the expo center of the trade promotion center, next to that are a couple of painting shops, knocking out ao dai pics for tourists.

In the back of one of these painting stores is a dingy hole of a place serving up 2 or 3 different things - including the best bun thit nuong Ive ever tried.

The bun bo xao is pretty good too. Passable bun bo Hue. Decent cha gio

All around 10 or 12000 dong I think.

Hygiene not included.

Enjoy!

[Francois]

Humm... Hue dishes are my favorite food, and the corner of Ky Dong St. and Nguyen Thong St. in Saigon is the must have when I visited Vietnam, these dishes served with free BBQ smoke!

[Swann]

Your Blog is a real Vitamin source for all Vietnamese people, as if we're there. Thank so lot again. Great.

[Larry]

Francois,
Bánh Ướt Thịt Nướng is considered one of the royal dish from Huế. The condiment used in the peanut sauce dip that makes or breaks the dish. No doubt, it's my favorite Huế food.

[Barbara]

I would kill for that bun thit nuong right now. It was my favorite lunch when I lived in Saigon for a few months, and there's nothing even remotely authentic near where I live in Canada. Sob! Let's see - 10000 dong + $1500 CDN for the airline ticket - maybe I could swing that...

[Francois]

Larry,
Happy to know that you are a gourmet of Hue dishes, I agree that Banh Uot Thit Nuong is one best dish of the Nguyen Dynasty food. I'd ever tasted some dishes at Dong Ba market (Hue city) and hope that Pieman could post some Hue dishes more, such as Com Am Phu, Com Hoang Bao, Com Hen (Asian Clams Rice)...
As I am working in Lyon (France), there are some Hue dishes available in vietnamese restaurants here but incomparable to the "in-country" dishes, that may cause of the different landscape?.. I wished that I could go to Vietnam once again!
:-)

For most Vietnamese, Hue cuisine is one of the best food in Vietnam. Not so for foreigner who are so used to the bland taste of western food. Much like Bun Cha in Hanoi or Cao Lau in Hoian. Authentic Hue food can only found in Hue...like the best Banh Uot Thit Nuong & Bun Thit Nuong can only be found at Nam Dao area in Hue, Com Am Phu (hell) can only found at Am Phu restaurant in Hue, and the best Com Hen can only be found on the street corner near every street market in Hue...

[:{)]

Man, hue food sounds and looks great..
there's a vietnamese family in san francisco that has royalty connection, the An family http://www.anfamily.com/portalpage.html ... and they have a chain of restaurants.. i wonder if they're from Hue

[Francois]

Yes! I agree... Authentic Hue food can only found in Hue! Such as Cha Ca La Vong could be tasted on La Vong St., Hanoi.
But when I could not go to Hue, all I have to do here is going to vietnamese restaurant in France, asking for some Hue dishes and being satisfied with them. The last time I asked for Banh Nam, I knew that there was something different from the authentic Banh Nam, not on the secret of Nuoc Mam sauce (Most of Hue people used red pepper, raw or dry paste in their sauce or dishes) but missing only the smell of banana sheet...

[Annie]

Wow!!!! I love your blog. It makes me wanna fly to Vietnam immediately. I love all the foods and stuff...

Bun thit nuong is always my favourite. I love it more than pho.

[Tim]

Excellent website, very informative & enjoyable, though I fail to share your enthusiasm for Vietnamese food. Been living in HCMC for nearly 4 years now, and whilst I'll eat bun thit nuoung & the like when I go out with my wife, left to my own devices I give VN food a wide berth. Unimaginative fare for people who simply refuel rather than actually EAT.

[Thao Nguyen]

Hi, I'm glad that u guys love Vietnamese food so much. I'm not in VN now so I miss it desperately. Speaking of Bun thit nuong, I bet that no one can beat my grandmom in making it. He he he... I'm so proud of her. And you know, bun thit nuong has many styles. It's not only the specialty of Hue. You can find it really unique and tasty in Ha Noi too. If you want to look for some nice spots of Vietnamese cuisine, there are some that I know:
- Go to Truong Dinh Street, about 100m before crossing Ky Dong street, look at your left for Dat Restaurant. Their specialty is bun cha ca of Nha Trang. 20,000+ VD
- For a nice bun bo as breakfast, there's a shop nearby. In front of the primary school Ky Dong on the same street, there's a wide alley called hem 80 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan and the shop is just a few meters inside. Their bun bo is so nice that if you come late, nothing is left. Just for breakfast but it's worth to try!
All are in District 3, quite near the center of HCM city.

-----
I love my country.