The Astronomer and I were sent to Nam Lợi restaurant for their famous hủ tiếu cá (fish noodle soup) by Loan Le, “The Lady” of The Pig and the Lady popup restaurant in Honolulu. We ran into her under The Lunch Lady‘s tree and got to talking after realizing we were in the company of Americans.
She told us that a trip to Saigon isn’t complete without a meal here. The noodles were fantastic, as were the bánh pâté chaud (pork pastries) served alongside them. “The Lady’s” enthusiasm was infectious, so The Astronomer and I made our way to the restaurant the following morning for breakfast.
As anticipated, fresh-from-the-oven bánh pâté chaud were delivered to the table the moment we sat down. The pastry was flaky and rich, with a heavy-on-the-black-pepper ground pork filling inside. Oh, so good.
During the morning hours, Nam Lợi serves four similarly composed noodle soups based on one delightful broth. There’s fish noodle soup with wide rice noodles or thin egg noodles and chicken noodle soup with wide rice noodles or thin egg noodles. The Astronomer and I both stuck to their specialty fish offerings this morning.
Continue reading ‘Hủ Tiếu Cá – Vietnamese Fish Noodle Soup’
