🌟 A Surprising Find: O Lien’s Bún Bò Huế in Denver! 🍜

Denver has plenty of Vietnamese spots, but most stick to the classics: Phở, Bún Chả, Cơm — mostly Southern Saigon-style. The broth is tasty, but it often leaves me thirsty — like there’s a little too much “magic powder” behind that umami. I’ve missed the days living in SoCal’s Little Saigon (Westminster), where Vietnamese beef noodles truly shined 🌸 Especially my beloved Bún Bò Huế — that spicy, lemongrass-rich bowl with pork knuckle, tendon, blood cake, and herbs. Every shop had its own secret touch. So imagine my joy discovering O Lien here in Denver serves it! I rushed over around 2 PM — not even peak hours — and the place was half full. Already a good sign. We started with Chè Bánh Lot — a warm Vietnamese dessert with red and mung beans, chewy green starch threads, rich coconut milk, and crunchy ice 🍧 One spoonful took me back to those golden afternoons in Little Saigon: palm trees, bougainvillea in bloom, and that Pacific breeze 🌴 Next came the Bún Chả — grilled beef and pork, full of charred aroma. A bit salty, but so much better than the sad electric-grill versions elsewhere. The spring rolls were lovely, too. Then — the star arrived: Bún Bò Huế 🌟 The bowl was loaded: pork knuckle, blood cake, beef balls, tendon, and sliced beef — almost half the bowl! A squeeze of lime, some chili, then that first sip of broth… Sour, sweet, savory, spicy — all there! The lemongrass sang, the pork knuckle was tender but still bouncy, the tendon soft yet chewy. The blood cake? Silky and fresh, no off-flavors. I love wrapping herbs and beef in shrimp paste with extra chili — that spicy, fresh, deeply savory combo brought me right back to memory lane 🥢 Oh, and at other spots you hunt for meat in the noodles — here, you hunt for noodles under the meat 😂 Who says Denver is a food desert? Not anymore. 📍 O Lien Vietnamese Cuisine 🍜 Must-try: Bún Bò Huế, Bún Chả, Chè Bánh Lot #DenverEats #VietnameseFood #BunBoHue #OLien #ComfortNoodles #LittleSaigonVibes