Below are 4 bun oc restaurants that tourists must try when coming to Hanoi.
Bun oc co Hue
Mrs. Bui Thi Hue's bun oc restaurant on Nguyen Sieu Street (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) is over 30 years old, having started as a small street vendor. The attraction of Mrs. Hue's restaurant lies in her unique Vietnamese snail sausage, which the female owner researched and created herself.
In addition, the restaurant sells two types of snails to eat with the noodles: big snails and small snails. The big snails are called “oc mit”, which are imported daily. Many diners describe Mrs. Hue's jackfruit snails as being as big as a fist.
As for the broth, the restaurant only uses simple ingredients such as tomatoes, vinegar, and snail broth to preserve the rustic flavor. Currently, the restaurant sells thousands of bowls every day. The noodle dishes here range from 40,000 to 100,000 VND/bowl. The restaurant is open from 6 am to 4 pm daily and until 8 pm on weekends.
Bun oc Luong
This snail noodle shop is located in a small alley on Dao Tan Street (Ba Dinh District, Hanoi). Currently, the owner is Ms. Bui Thi Luong, the third generation in her family to continue this traditional profession. The special thing about Ms. Luong's bowl of noodles is that each snail is plump, chewy and crunchy.
For the broth, Ms. Luong only uses ingredients such as tomatoes, snail broth, bone broth, then seasoning according to a family secret recipe. To serve customers' tastes, Ms. Luong has added many toppings to the menu such as beef, ham, beans, duck eggs...
A bowl of bun oc at the restaurant costs from 25,000 to 65,000 VND, depending on the side dishes. Ms. Luong sells about 500 bowls a day.
Chilled bun oc Tay Son
The chilled bun oc restaurant in a small alley on Tay Son Street (Dong Da District, Hanoi) has no flashy signboard, just a pair of bamboo carrying poles and a few plastic chairs for customers to enjoy. Currently, the owner of the chilled bun oc restaurant is Ms. Nguyen Thi Bau (65 years old).
She often goes to the market every day to personally select batches of snails and jackfruit snails that are not slimy or fishy. After the preliminary processing steps, the owner boils the snails just enough to retain their freshness and flavor in the water. This water is seasoned according to a secret recipe to make soup.
The broth is kept in jars by Mrs. Bau, instead of pots or baskets, to preserve its delicious flavor longer. The noodles served with it are coin noodles, imported from Phu Do village. Each meal here costs only 30,000 VND.
Bun oc chuoi dau ba Luong
Mrs. Luong's bun oc with banana and fried tofu restaurant opened in the 1970s, one of the first in Hanoi. After more than 50 years, the restaurant has now moved to near Truong Chinh Street, opposite Khuong Thuong Market.
In particular, the broth at the restaurant is slightly thick because it contains starch from green bananas and fried tofu. The main ingredients of this dish include vermicelli, bananas, snails and broth. Depending on taste, diners can order beef or pig's ear to eat with it.
The price for a bowl here ranges from 45,000 to 55,000 VND. In addition to the specialty of bun oc with banana and fried tofu, the restaurant also serves snail balls, snails wrapped in betel leaves, or the famous toad Vietnamese sausage from Khuong Thuong village.
