Bún Riêu Cô Hương Béo — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

usually bún riêu has a lot of shrimp paste, which can make it a bit too smelly for foreigners or even some vietnamese to eat, but this place’s bún riêu doesn’t really have that. this brand apparently started in the north and came to saigon later. i think it’s a nice place if you’re not sure if you’ll be able to stand the original shrimp paste’s smell, since the bún riêu here has very faint scent of it. i personally love shrimp paste, so this isn’t the best bún riêu i’ve tried. also their specialty here is the tóp mỡ in their bún riêu, which are pieces of fried pork fat. i also tried their nước sấu - dracontomelon drink - which was nice and refreshing.

it’s very crowded during lunchtime for office workers and whatnot, so keep in mind that it might take a while for your food to come out. but the staff and manager here are very welcoming and not rude like many popular food places, so...

11am. Cute place. Working class locals eat there. Friendly staff. Overall pleasant experience.

I think the strong point of this place is that the seasonings (like shrimp paste, crab paste and chillies) are optional/on the side. Other places like to tell you how to live - not fun.

The broth is already good on its own, but if you like it hardcore fishy, you can add the purple shrimp paste or order the crabpaste. But I recommend first you try a small amount of broth + shrimp paste in your spoon, to see if you like it. The fresh chillies are crazy hot but really adds a nice flavor, a slice or two won’t kill you.

Please don’t forget to order the bagel twists/dough sticks with your bun rieu! As of posting: bun rieu with all the basic toppings: 56,000 vnd Dough sticks: 3,000

If you use the wet wipes, they will charge you 2,000vnd each...

Space and location: easy to find, located at the front of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai st. A big restaurant with big parking space. Lots of seats to choose from. Low chair and tables for those whose legs succumbed to numbness easily.

Food: particularly not my taste buds when it comes to bun rieu. Very northern style of flavouring. Broth is the combination of sutble sour and bland taste. I personally prefer a bit more sweetness and saltiness. The noodles came out with lots of toppings which is a pros. The drink had lots of lotus seeds but felt kinda disjointed- not very sweet and watery. Fried fermented pork sausage was also so so. Overall food was pkay, nothing to write home about. Their biggest props is they're opened till late and the hygiene seems to be on point.

Price: a tad bit pricey compared to other bun rieu places but...