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Best Bun cha in San Francisco

A Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodles thought to have originated from Hanoi, where the city was 'transfixed by bún chả'

Bun cha

What the real thing tastes like

Bún chả (Vietnamese: [ɓun˨˩ ca˧ˀ˦˥]) is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodles, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam. Bún chả is served with grilled fatty pork (chả) over a plate of white rice noodles (bún) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce. The dish was described in 1959 by Vietnamese food writer Vũ Bằng (1913–1984), who described Hanoi as a town "transfixed by bún chả". Hanoi's first bún chả restaurant was on Gia Ngư, Hoàn Kiếm District, in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

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Bún chả is Hanoi's gift to itself—grilled fatty pork laid over delicate rice noodles, surrounded by fresh herbs and a bowl of dipping sauce that ties everything together. Born in the Old Quarter, this dish became so woven into the city's identity that in 1959, food writer Vũ Bằng could describe Hanoi as a town utterly captivated by it. Simple in construction, profound in execution.

Order it here when it has

  • grilled technique
  • historic Hanoi dish
  • served with fresh herbs

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