The Overview

Bun rieu oc, rice noodle soup featuring the meat of golfball-size snails harvested from rice paddies, hails from Vietnam’s north. The friendly owner of hard-to-find (phone ahead) Bun Oc Thanh Hai moved to Saigon from a village near Hanoi almost thirty years ago. Ever since, she’s been doing a bang-up business peddling all dishes mollusc. Her bun rieu oc features a sweet-savory broth studded with tomatoes and chunks of snail meat; fluffy dumplings floating atop are made of crab roe. The heap of vegetables served alongside—sliced banana flower, morning-glory stem, basil, mint—is meant to be dunked in the hot broth. Giam bong, a slightly alcoholic vinegar made from rice wine lees (available on request), adds a pleasant kick. Other northern-style must-eats here include oc nuoi thit—snail shells stuffed with chopped pork and snails, with lemongrass and plenty of black pepper—and nuoc sau, potato-like green bananas sautéed with snail meat and spicy perilla leaves.  

Address:
14/12 Ky Dong Street, District 3,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam


Telephone: +86 8 435 785