Bun Cha Dac Kim

category: restaurants
by Yun,

Vietnamese food has always been special to me. Influenced by Chinese and French, it is the true “light cuisine” of Asia. Vietnamese delicacies mostly rely on abundant fresh herbs and vegetables, subtle seasonings, rice and noodles. Many dishes rarely have added fats.

I went to Vietnam during last Ramadan holidays. I spent a few days in Hanoi and tried some authentic local Vietnamese foods. I came to know the reputable Dac Kim restaurant from reading the “36 hours in Hanoi” article by New York Times. The restaurant is well known for its fantastic Bun Cha dish. It is one of Vietnamese foods that I haven’t been able to find outside Vietnam. It is a popular traditional North Vietnamese dish, which is basically a combination of grilled pork patties and rice noodles served over a bed of greens, herbs and sliced cucumbers. It often includes chopped-up spring rolls and a small bowl of Nuoc Cham (a well-known Vietnamese dipping sauce typically made from chili, garlic and fish sauce).

Bun Cha Dac Kim is a cramped small three-floor restaurant with steep narrow staircases. Once seated, we were asked for our choices of drink, and soon all the food were quickly brought to us. There was no menu. On the table already are a plate of green herbs, a plate of boiled rice noodles, a bowl of sliced chilies and chopped garlics, a bowl of cut key limes, and a bowl of Nuoc Cham and pickled young papayas. The server brought each of us a bowl of a clear tasty broth filled with succulent grilled pork patties and sliced grilled pork. A side of chopped-up spring rolls filled with crab meats was also served with the bun cha. Not knowing exactly how to start, we asked the server to show us how to eat everything. Some rice noodles were first put in an empty bowl, mixed with couple scoops of pork meats and sauce with some added garlics, chilies, green herbs and pickled papayas. Fresh lime juice was also added to the broth for a more authentic flavor.

The reality of bun cha is startlingly delicious. Leaving Hanoi without tasting bun cha would have been criminal. Bun cha is a must eat! Mixed with the lemony broth, the charcoal-grilled pork patties were so soft and tasted tangy and sweet at the same time. The slices of grilled pork were more tender than anticipated. Some pork patties wrapped in grape leaves were very fine in texture, simply the best. The broth and Nuoc Cham were light, yet flavorsome. The jungle-like pile of veggies are in many different varieties: lettuce, cilantro, mint, celery, basil, etc. My favorite was the delightful spring rolls which was very crispy on the outside and filled with delicious crab meats.

Bun cha was the most stuffing meal I had in Hanoi. It’s a lot of food, it’s very delicious, and it’s cheap. We all went to Bun Cha Dac Kim twice in a few-day stay in Hanoi. Yeah, it was that good!

Bun Cha Dac Kim
1 Hang Manh Street
Hanoi, Vietnam

Comments

10 Comments so far

arman | 06 October 2009, 16:23
oh makanan vietnam itu emang ter influenced ama chinese dan french ya.. baru tau gua… pantesan waktu itu gua ke restoran yang ceritanya vietnamese tapi kok makannya nasi ayam hainam ama escargot. aneh banget kombinasinya. hahahaa.

iya man, aplg yg dibagian southern vietnam… kalo di northern masih lbh traditional.
Elisa Sutanudjaja | 06 October 2009, 20:00
Wah, Yun, betul yang ini Yun. Gua inget meja totol2nya hahaha. Gua makan di lantai 2nya. Loe makan sampai lantai 3 nya?
Wah loe bisa sempet2nya foto2 cara masaknya. Gua waktu itu liat yang Bobby Chinn masak ini.
Pokoknya nikmat banget Yun, gua jadi kangen nihh …

Thanks Yun

Sama yah tempatnya… gue pertama mkn di lantai 1, kedua kalinya di lantai 2.. tp msih ada lantai 3 keliatannya.
veny | 07 October 2009, 08:26
YUn
seneng nya g liat lo review makanan ha22
kliatan enak banget , g doyan masakana Thai , Vietnam .
ntar kalo g jadi ke Hanoi oneday , g akan buka2 lagi pages ini he222

Memang enak Ven, gue aja sampe balik 2 kali kesini
Im3th | 07 October 2009, 23:30
Leaving Hanoi without tasting bun cha would have been criminal. Bun cha is a must eat!
SIAPPPPP Yun !!!!

I wait for your report met!
V | 08 October 2009, 12:53
Mentahnya foto yg kiri paling atas Yun? Mereka dapet grape leaves dari mana yah?

iya yg kiri plg atas itu yg pake grape leaves ven… waks, ga tau dpt drmn, tp kayanya bbrp mskan laen jg pake grapes leaves…
Nina | 15 October 2009, 15:47
Wah, Yun, looks yummy banget nih! Beda bgt yah sama makanan vietnam yang ada disini…..
As always, very nice blog and very nice pics!

Thank you Nin…
Sienny | 02 November 2009, 21:17
Gw malah ngga nyoba ke sini dulu.

Next time this place is a MUST try sien…
sparklingcosmic | 22 November 2009, 15:08
yun, kamu jalan2 teruuuuus!!! ngiri ih…loh udah deket ke perancis kok gak kemari?

Jack… sorry baru reply nih, sibuk bgt kemarin2 nih.. how are you doing say?
iya maunya sih mampir yahh tp apa daya kita cuman ada limited time waktu itu, someday I’ll revisit French so we can meet up
Hop Skip Jump Peru | 25 December 2009, 19:28
Fusion between traditional Vietnamese cuisine and French flavors is amazing. I love Hanoi – one of my favorite cities in the world.

Hanoi is nice but I don’t like the traffic
Turis Indie | 07 July 2010, 12:53
Saya juga makan di tempat ini pas di Hanoi, tapi jujur aja porsinya agak terlalu banyak buat saya. Saya sendiri lebih suka Bun Cha di Nguyen Khuyen (deket train station) sayang saya lupa nomer nya dan tidak ambil foto di sana.