The fiery central-Vietnamese beef-and-pork noodle soup from Hue, built on a lemongrass-and-shrimp-paste broth stained red with chili oil, with thick round rice noodles, beef shank, pork knuckle and a slice of congealed blood. Bolder and spicier than pho.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Bun bo Hue comes from the old imperial capital of Hue in central Vietnam, and it is everything pho is not: assertively spicy, scented with lemongrass and shrimp paste, and built on thick cylindrical rice noodles rather than flat ones. Migrants carried it south, and Saigon took to it despite, or because of, the heat, with long-running specialists like Bun Bo Nam Giao serving it since the 1990s. The broth balances the funk of mam ruoc shrimp paste against lemongrass, chili and a touch of sugar, and a proper bowl carries beef shank, pork knuckle, cha and cubes of blood.
Common allergens: Shellfish, Fish
Tip from the editors. Bloom the shrimp paste in hot broth and add only the clear part; the sediment turns the soup muddy and harsh.
Bun Bo Nam Giao has cooked Hue-style spicy beef noodle soup since 1991, its lemongrass-and-chili broth a backpacker-district fixture near Bui Vien.
Signature: Bun bo Hue, Spicy beef noodle soup
Order: The full bun bo Hue with beef shank and cha.
Tip: The broth is fiery by Southern standards; add the shrimp paste on the side to taste.
More cities are in research. Want bun bo hue covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.