Beef noodles in Huế style (bún bò Huế)

This is not a widely famous beef noodles - Phở bò!
This is a beef noodles from Huế - our former imperial capital! Totally different from Phở.
It's not only bún bò Huế, it's a symbolic living style from that feudal central land!

Many stories about this dish in Huế.

About how to combine the two most important meats: beef and pork, symbolizing the unique harmony as expressed in "bò nấu thì teo, heo nấu thì nở"(literally means cooked beef is shrinking, cooked pork is stretching!) or about the legendary Bà Bún (Mme Bún) who was the founder of the village named Vân Cù, near to Hương river, where the best rice noodles has been produced!
That was a part of the past!
 

           Beef noodles in Huế style 

If we compare bún bò Huế to many other dishes originated either from North or Central, bún bò Huế could be one of the first dishes appeared in Sài gòn since long! I don't know when, but should be long long ago, along with the migration waves from Central to South in early 50s of the last century!

Again just my guess!

              Beef based soup but always served with pork knuckle or slices of beef shank (bò bắp)  

Difficult to make a judgment where in Sài gòn serve the best bún bò Huế!
Depends on many things! Beef & pork quality. Soup quality. Noodles quality. Even chili saté quality!
And million people, million taste! Some people may prefer this or that, or it's still a habit. Used to go there! Used to eat here!

Anyway I tried different bún bò Huế in town, but today I follow my friend who is also a big foodie to Bún bò Huế Hạnh at 135 Bành Văn Trân, Tân Bình district! The stall is simple, located in the large front courtyard of a quite nice house! All people working here are from Huế!

  Fish sauce and special chili saté for spicy lovers! Chili saté makes soup very tasty! 

Bún bò Huế here is good! The clear soup, sweet, tasty thanks to probably a special Huế's shrimp paste (fermented shrimp -Mắm ruốc) and lemon grass which is properly added to the soup during the cooking process. The pork knuckle is nicely cut, soft and chewy.

                   Eating bún bò Huế, chili and lime are a must-add!   

I do like a small-chicken-egg size shrimp cake they serve as topping, or we still call "mộc"!  

Squeeze a bit lime juice, add a bit chili saté! All of this makes soup much more tasty! 

             Shredded water spinach and banana heart (bắp chuối - banana inflorescence) 

As many other rice noodles dishes, we really can't eat bún bò Huế without veggie, and most common is shredded water spinach and banana heart (bắp chuối)! You can ask to dip veggie in the boiling water first, mostly for hygiene reason or to keep your soup always hot when the raw veggie is added! However!

In case you like to try a good bún bò Huế, this place is far from center, but if you want to discover new place, it's the one! 35,000 VND per bowl!

        Beef noodles in a Hue style at another place - O Nở at 29 Cống Quỳnh! 

          Beef noodles at O Nở is good, served with tendon knuckle (giò gân)  

          A side dish of pork ham in Huế style (chả Huế) 

In Sài gòn I saw a restaurant named Bún Bò Huế in the center. Looks nice from outside, but I never tried there, hope it's good!
As a super popular street food, bún bò Huế seems always better in small, simple eateries, street stalls! Đông Ba on Nguyễn Du street, O Nở on Cống Quỳnh or Ngự Bình on Nguyễn Văn Trỗi are among the most popular!