Bún Mộc Bắc Hải

Our Return to Eating Saigon!

We’re Back!!

After an amazing 6 weeks traveling around the Golden State, introducing Hai to California during his first-ever trip to the USA, we just returned to Saigon this week.

What better way to put living in Saigon back into perspective than to slide down the snowy slopes of Lake Tahoe, California; drive across the moonscape of Death Valley; attend my sister’s wedding on the Las Vegas strip; enjoy new friends and Modernism Week in Palm Springs; enjoy more good friends and cook in the world’s most amazing private kitchen in the hills of Santa Barbara; enjoy a wonderful series of reunions with life-long friends in the Bay Area (and get my new Vietnam visa in San Jose’s “Little Saigon”); and finally to relax in my countryside home in the redwood forests of northern California (with a bonus treat of witnessing the annual newt mating swarm in the nearby Big River.)

And everywhere, feasting on some of the best food the world has to offer! Life in California is still good.

So yesterday was a major reality shift for us.  A fresh look at Saigon.

First, it was HOT!

The driver on Cấm Hút Thuốc (“No Smoking”) Bus #13 puffed away on 2 cigarettes during the 20-minute ride from District 1 along Cách Mạng Tháng Tám street to my apartment. The fact that the air conditioning on the bus was out made his smoking even a bit less welcome.  Interestingly, however, the driver twice did stop to pick up a waving passenger on the street who was not at a designated bus stop!  Quite remarkable since I’d only seen that once before in my 5 years of riding Saigon’s public buses. Perhaps the nicotine mellowed the driver a bit.

From the bus window, I witnessed cash passing from the hands of a young college-aged girl to the hands of a local traffic policeman who had presumably stopped her motorbike for some alleged traffic violation (while many other motorist were driving hurriedly on the nearby sidewalks through darting pedestrians).

Of course, the Saigon traffic was still insane – but perhaps a tad less so than it had been the day we departed for the USA at the peak of Saigon’s pre-Tet holiday shopping traffic frenzy.

But, most importantly, we were back to Eating Saigon!

In fact, our first morning back, Hai and I enjoyed an early morning meal at what I can now announce is my new favorite bún mộc eatery in Saigon!

Tucked away (almost hidden) in a maze of narrow alley-ways in the Bắc Hải neighborhood of District 10, is a private home where the owner serves locals truly delicious bún mộc in her living room.  Christian accents fill the walls, and an always-on television provides background lighting for the two large circular tables available to patrons.

The nước lèo (the broth) of the bún mộc is, as Hai says, “quiet.”  Certainly, very tasty and filled with yummy ingredients, but gentle (“quiet”) and soothing to the tummy.  A perfect breakfast meal.

Among the soups ingredients, were bún noodles, small ground pork balls (the mộc), at least two kinds of chả (ground pork cake) – chả lụa and chả mỡ,  and sườn (a tender chunk of pork rib meat).  Add a squirt of fish sauce, a dash of pepper, and some red chili if you care to perk things up – and you’re there! Very very nice.

But, the crowning treat to yesterday’s meal – was the bánh dầy that I ordered after finishing my bún mộc. Ôi trời ơi – so good!

Two soft gummy sticky-rice cakes, sandwiching a large chunk of chả lụa (a savory ground pork cake) – absolutely delicious.  It took all the will power I could muster not to immediately consume Hai’s bánh dầy as well.

Two bowls of bún mộc and two bánh dầy, and two glasses of trà đá (ice tea) totaled 55,000 vnd ($2.64 USD).

Open from 6:00 – 10:00 am; and 3:30 – 7:00 pm.

Quite a challenge to find the first time, but well worth the effort.

UPDATE – January, 2016: A disturbing mystery. No one was home! And since this meal is served in the living room of that home, that’s a serious concern. We’ll investigate further in the coming weeks and report back.

UPDATE – February, 2016:  Well, we went back today and found the living room door open!  The good news – they’re still making their delicious bún mộc.  The less good news, they’re no longer serving it in their living room.  The new location on a main street (not in the alley), 280 Bắc Hải Street, Tân Bình District. You can still roam the interesting nearby alleys there just for the fun of it!

Bún Mộc Bắc Hải 
280 Bắc Hải Street, Tân Bình District

 

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