In Saigon town sits a famous restaurant known to serve heavenly Bun Bo Hue. Just right next door to the Minh City Conservatory of Music, Bun Bo Hue Dong Ba is a perfect place to enjoy a bowl of delight right after watching a concert. Popular for its specialty soup and other dishes, its strategic location makes this place packed at any time of the day.

Bun Bo Hue is a popular Vietnamese soup noodle dish which originated in the old imperial capital of Hue. Its main ingredients include beef and pig's knuckle rice vermicelli and has the predominant flavor of lemon grass, a natural herb. The broth is prepared by simmering beef bones and beef shank with lemongrass. The most important ingredient in Bun Bo Hue is the Mam ruoc, a fermented fish sauce cooked into the broth that gives the soup its pungency. Normally, very spicy chili oil is added later during the cooking process. A hot bowl making its way to a table fills the air with inviting fragrance of exploding flavors.

Unlike the ones served in Central Vietnam, the Bun Bo Hue served at Dong Ba is not spicy at all. Here, the sliced chilies and lemons are on a condiments tray at the table for the customer to use at their own discretion. Foods from central Vietnam are known to be spicier than in the south. But how this place prepares it, even without the spice added, gives a unique kick that uplifts any diner’s senses.

A large bowl of Bun Bo Hue is sold at VND40,000 while the small bowl costs VND30,000. Every serving is packed with thin-sliced boiled beef, a small round piece of shrimp pie and long piece of rich and flavorful pork pie. The ingredients are neatly lined on top of white noodles in delicious brown-red soup where all the flavors are. Spring onions and sliced onions are dashed across the top of the bowl. Each bowl of Bun Bo Hue is served with a dish of herbs and thin sliced morning glory and banana flower which you can have served fresh or boiled.

Other dishes served in the place include Banh Canh ca loc cha cua (Banh Canh noodles with Loc fish and field crab pie) and different kinds of Hue rice cakes including Banh Beo, Banh Nam, Banh Loc, and Banh It (VND38,000 for a large order and VND28,000 for a small).  They have special drinks available such as seaweed juice and Rau Ma (Pennywort, which help to cool down the body), as well as coconut, passion fruit and pineapple juice.

If you’re wondering how its name was put together, Dong Ba is a famous market in Hue where this traditional soup have been served for decades. Bun Bo Hue Dong Ba is located at 110A Nguyen Du St., Ben Thanh ward, District 1, ${bigcity_Ho_Chi_Minh_City:"Ho Chi Minh City"}.