A Phnom Penh-style noodle soup that became a Saigon staple: chewy clear noodles in a sweet, clean pork-and-dried-squid broth, topped with sliced pork, prawns, quail eggs and offal, served either as a soup or dry with the broth on the side.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
Hu tieu Nam Vang, literally Phnom Penh noodles, travelled with Teochew Chinese and Cambodian migrants and settled deep into the food of Cho Lon and southern Saigon. The broth is lighter and sweeter than pho, built on pork bones and dried seafood, and the noodles are a firmer, more translucent rice noodle. The dish is endlessly customisable, ordered nuoc for soup or kho for the dry version with the broth alongside, and topped with whatever the stall offers, from prawns and quail eggs to liver and minced pork. It is a District 5 and 6 signature that has spread across the whole city.
Common allergens: Shellfish, Fish, Egg
Tip from the editors. Dried squid is what separates hu tieu Nam Vang from pho; do not skip it, and toast it lightly before it goes in the pot.
Chu Se is one of District 1's premier hu tieu spots, ladling the clear pork-bone broth of hu tieu Nam Vang over chewy noodles with pork and shrimp.
Try: Hu tieu
Order: Hu tieu Nam Vang, the dry version with broth on the side.
Tip: Order it kho, dry, with the broth alongside, to taste the noodles the way regulars do.
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