Bún đậu mắm tôm
Rice noodles, fried tofu, herbs, served with fermented shrimp paste. An acquired taste — try a small bite first.
- Where to find it
- Alley shops all over; the student districts do the cheapest and often the best trays.
- When it is sold
- Lunch, mostly. Some places run into the evening.
- What it costs
- 50,000–120,000 VND
How to order it
The mắm tôm needs work before it is edible: add lime and a little sugar, then whip it with chopsticks until it foams pale purple. Unwhipped, it is brutal.
We list neighbourhoods rather than street numbers: Hanoi stalls move, and a wrong address is worse than none. The guides below name specific places we stand behind.
2 guides mention Bún đậu mắm tôm
Bún đậu mắm tôm: an honest guide to the shrimp paste
A tray of cold noodles, hot fried tofu and fermented shrimp paste. Bún đậu is the Hanoi dish visitors are most likely to bounce off — here is how to give it a fair try.
What to eat in Hanoi: the complete food guide (2026)
The best food in Hanoi, dish by dish — 20 must-try dishes in the order to eat them, what each costs, when it is sold, and a full index of every dish guide on this site.