Part of the charm of visiting a new city is to try some of the local dishes, and when it comes to Hanoi, there are plenty to choose from, with one of them being Bun Oc, or snail soup.
bun oc hawker by the streets of Hanoi
While this dish may sound a little weird at first, do remember that most of us readily eats all sorts of shellfish, clams, and even escargot, which isn’t at all too different from this Vietnamese offering.
We chanced upon this Bun Oc place by the streets at Old Quarter in Hanoi (you can find quite a number of these stalls) and decided to give it a try.
The snails are cooked and extracted out from its shells before being served in a sweetish soup base that’s packed with fresh vegetable and a hint of fish sauce (what else doesn’t have fish sauce in Vietnam?)
a warm bowl of snail soup, anyone?
The dish usually comes with vermicelli to make it a meal, we opted out of the carbs since we had just completed a full meal prior. The snail has a subtle taste with texture that isn’t unlike topshell or well cooked shellfish, which was quite pleasant. I
‘d recommend anyone to give it a try. Good stuff.
Address:
Old Quarter,
Hanoi,Vietnam
Ooo, I love to eat escargots so I should have no problem gorging this down. It’s like balithong with a piece of membrane covering the opening. So, it’s wonderful that they extract them from the shells for your eating pleasure.
eatwhateatwhere: haha yea, for most malaysian it shouldn’t be a problem.
Ooooo…I love those snails, just boil and eat – so so sweet and nice. They stick to floating logs in the river. So cheap before – 10 cents for a condensed milk tin, not so now.
suituapui: wah, 10 sen? Must be a long time ago!
snails are the nicest creatures to hunt for food – they won’t run away or swim away fast-fast 🙂
Sean: hahaha true that, but they do move, unlike oysters!
It’s surprising just how many cultures around the world eat snails (it’s not just the French) 😉
Monica: Yes, we eat a lot more weird stuff. haha.
Ah… I think this I can digest. I love balitong and escargot so I have no doubt I will love this too. Anything other than insects I can.
Merryn: yes you should have no problem, you’re a Malaysian!
Arrr…. I cannot >__<
Choi Yen: apa la orang malaysia!
I once had a Bun Orc, it did not end well…
Hodor: I have a sense that we’re talking about different things…
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Wow… very rare…..
EIMAS: memang!