Bún Mắm Cô Ba
55/9 Phan Huy Ích Street – P.14
Gò Vấp District
*****
My good friend, Rick (also originally from the California Bay Area), lives in the Gò Vấp district of Saigon. That’s an area of town that Hai and I don’t get to visit often enough.
Just “some” of the ingredients we’d be enjoying for lunch!
So, Rick, where’s your favorite place to eat in Gò Vấp? A difficult question he explained (Rick avoids Saigon’s “tourist eateries” at all costs. Instead, like Hai and I, he chooses to enjoy Saigon’s authentic neighborhood restaurants and amazingly delicious street foods).
Lucky for him, he explained, Gò Vấp has few tourist places, and is filled with great local eateries.
Fine, fine, Rick. But, what’s your favorite?
Maybe, Rick’s favorite place to eat!
Hard to choose, but just maybe it’s the bún mắm place near my house, Rick finally decided.
OK … let’s go!
Rick, Hai and I, along with our mutual good friend Danh, and Kien, one of Danh’s Easy English School employees, jumped on our motorbikes and headed off to Gò Vấp’s Bún Mắm Cô Ba …
OK! We’re all ready for our bún mắm
So many amazing flavors packed into one bowl of bún mắm
… and WHAT A FIND!
Clearly bún mắm is not the most common dish you’ll find in Saigon. Why? Perhaps because its flavor is strong, complex, and unique (maybe even out on the edge of most folk’s culinary limits.)
And Gò Vấp is not exactly nearby Saigon’s tourist center.
BUT, believe me, it’s worth the trip. The bún mắm here is really really amazing !
Just a glance at the bowls set down in front of us for lunch tells the whole story.
- bún noodles (of course)
- white, firm, boneless fish meat
- squid (tentacles and all)
- large prawns
- deep-fried chả (ground pork cake)
- stuffed chili pepper
- Vietnamese “bacon” (roasted pork stomach)
- green onions
- eggplant
All in a scrumptious rich sweet, tangy, pungent, spicy broth with shades of garlic, lemongrass, shallots, lime and chili. Did they forget to include anything else in the kitchen? 🙂 MAJOR YUM!
A truly wonderful culinary treat.
Oh yes, a small bowl of nước mắm dipping sauce (just in case anyone needed a little extra flavor 🙂 )
Thank you Rick! Certainly many more trips to Gò Vấp will be in our future!
And, there’s no question that Bún Mắm Cô Ba will soon appear in Eating Saigon’s “Our Favorites” page.
Only 55,000 vnd ($2.60), a true bargain for an authentic delicious, hearty, filling, meaty, seafoody Vietnamese meal.
Open from 11 am to 9 pm.
Bún Mắm Cô Ba
55/9 Phan Huy Ích Street – P.14
Gò Vấp District
# 0939 370 972
View Bún Mắm Cô Ba in a larger map