Rice noodles "Mọc" (bún Mọc)

Not far from Bến Thành market there is one store selling Northern rice noodles called "bún Mọc" - very crowded, especially between 8-10 AM. And the stall opens only until noon!
I've been there few times and it's good! But I don't like when it's crowded, so my best advise better go there early in the morning - around 6-7 or 11 but don't be too late otherwise you may stuck in the new crowd for lunch!

            Two "Mọc" in the noodles - one deep fried , another one - probably cooked! 

What's "bún Mọc"? 

Originated from a Northern village called "Nhân Mục" near to Hà Nội, the name "mọc" come from two pieces of pounded pork paste - one deep-fried, one cooked, in this noodles. Both are good, very tasty! 

I didn't have a chance to try bún mọc in Hà Nội, esp. in the original village so I have no idea how to compare the taste, but I heard from my acquaintance who is from Hà Nội and a good cook, he said "bún mọc" here at this store is good but not the same (authentic!) as the one in Hà Nội! 

           Two pieces of ham : cinnamon ham (chả quế) and silk ham (chả lụa)! 

To me the soup is good, and probably same as for bún thang, where we need to cook not only pork but also chicken to make the soup sweet! The difference here is the toppings - bún mọc is always topped with pork rib, two or more of different Vietnamese ham (chả): chả quế (cinnamon ham?) and chả lụa (silk ham!), but the most important is the pounded pork paste (mọc) in ball shape. I don't know why we call "mọc" - this is a northern word - so I really have no idea!

            An extra bowl of mọc, ham and pork rib! 

Exactly as bún thang, eating bún mọc we need to add shrimp paste (mắm tôm), a bit chili and squeeze a bit lime juice! I go there with a friend, and he always orders a big bowl with an extra bowl of mọc, ham and pork rib!

            Fresh herbs with shredded banana heart and the blanched one in the background!  

And not only bowl of mọc, he still orders extra plates of blanched veggies, esp. shredded spinach and banana heart! It's true, when soup still hot, we better add many veggies with herbs to the soup - it's good if you are veggie lover!
I didn't try bún mọc at another place, so I have no comparison but I quite like the taste at this store - Thanh Mai at 14 Trương Định, right in the corner with Nguyễn An Ninh - the small road leading to Bến Thành market! 35,000 VND for big bowl and 30,000 VND for small one!