Follow Your Nose!

The streets of Hanoi are an assault on your senses. The sights, the sounds and then the aromas. Every so often you will smell smoke wafting by, follow your nose and you will see plumes of smoke and flashing flames. You have found Bun Cha.










Squat on a plastic chair at a table and within seconds a mound of fresh herbs and leaves arrives, along with a plate of cold rice noodles, a bowl filled with a light soup of fish sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, thin slices of du du (green papaya) and a selection of grilled pork. Small pork rissoles, thin slices of pork belly and pieces of pork all bite-size and grilled to perfection over a small tin box of charcoal. Its all good, but you can make it even better, you can add some chopped garlic, chillies and even some garlic or chilli vinegar if you like it even hotter.








There are a number of things that make this dish stand out in the North. Firstly the leaves and herbs come from a local village and that means they are stronger and more fragrant than in the South, the mint particularly stands out. The pork is marinated and the cut is marbled so a little fat can drip onto the hot coals to produce a heady penetrative smoke. The result is a charcoal flavour on the outside, the meat stays tender and juicy, with a smoky flavour throughout.



I have been to only one place in Hanoi for Bun Cha, it is so damn good I don't want to go anywhere else in case of disappointment and it's Dac Kim at 1 Hang Manh, just off Hang Quat in the Old Quarter. Not only do they have excellent Bun Cha but they also have spring rolls filled with minced pork, onion and rice vermicelli cut to just a little bigger than bite-size. You can just about squeeze a piece into your mouth. They come with a light dipping sauce with slices of du du. They are flaky, crispy, meaty and yet light, and simply the best I have ever tasted.