I've been to Cafe Bunn Mi before, quite a while ago, and I think I tried the banh mi. It was good, but really not good enough to make it all the way back to the Inner Richmond.
Last November, I went to Vietnam, and one of my favourite, if not my favourite, dishes I had was bun rieu cha noodles in a crab tomato soup. Such a simple dish, one small bowl of noodles with fresh vegetables and garnish, and such a lasting impression. My travel buddy Chewy was asleep, and since I'm an early riser I had to find something to do. I had read that this was one of the to-eat dishes in Hanoi, and right outside our hotel was a little shop that sold this! I dabao'd for us, and we ate it in the hotel room for breakfast. I should have bought 2 portions instead of one. That's how good it was!
When I got back to SF, I decided to look for this dish. The first one I tried was Soup Junkie. The broth was flavourless, did not taste anything like crab, and the vegetables and garnish were unmemorable (were there any?). Luckily this place was just 2 blocks from my apartment, so I did not make a wasted trip. Yelp told me of Cafe Bunn Mi's bun rieu cha, and the photos looked really good. This dish did not disappoint. The noodles were firm, the broth was thick with crab and tomato flavour, the tofu was a nice touch that was not in my Hanoi version, and the vegetables and garnish were super fresh. I would definitely go back to the Inner Richmond for that. Yes, it was THAT good.
Lingon made it on this odyssey with me to the Inner Richmond. He got the Saigon noodles. Those were good too, but to me they were not any more special than stuff we could find near our apartment.
Well, for those who like or are interested in this dish, please do visit Cafe Bunn Mi. I have dreams of this place now.
Last November, I went to Vietnam, and one of my favourite, if not my favourite, dishes I had was bun rieu cha noodles in a crab tomato soup. Such a simple dish, one small bowl of noodles with fresh vegetables and garnish, and such a lasting impression. My travel buddy Chewy was asleep, and since I'm an early riser I had to find something to do. I had read that this was one of the to-eat dishes in Hanoi, and right outside our hotel was a little shop that sold this! I dabao'd for us, and we ate it in the hotel room for breakfast. I should have bought 2 portions instead of one. That's how good it was!
When I got back to SF, I decided to look for this dish. The first one I tried was Soup Junkie. The broth was flavourless, did not taste anything like crab, and the vegetables and garnish were unmemorable (were there any?). Luckily this place was just 2 blocks from my apartment, so I did not make a wasted trip. Yelp told me of Cafe Bunn Mi's bun rieu cha, and the photos looked really good. This dish did not disappoint. The noodles were firm, the broth was thick with crab and tomato flavour, the tofu was a nice touch that was not in my Hanoi version, and the vegetables and garnish were super fresh. I would definitely go back to the Inner Richmond for that. Yes, it was THAT good.
Lingon made it on this odyssey with me to the Inner Richmond. He got the Saigon noodles. Those were good too, but to me they were not any more special than stuff we could find near our apartment.
Well, for those who like or are interested in this dish, please do visit Cafe Bunn Mi. I have dreams of this place now.
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