芳灵酒店

Tucked away down an alley, this compact shop with indoor and outdoor seating is a local favourite. The menu focuses on a single dish: bánh canh cua, a vivid orange crab rice noodle soup – in a smaller bowl for one or clay pot for sharing. With a zesty green chilli-lime sauce on the side, the silky broth is generously filled with fish cakes, crab leg meat and egg ribbons. The fried dough and tender pork trotter make for flavourful additions.

Its famous beef stew known as bò kho is served in a stone bowl. Diners may choose to pair it with bread, noodles or rice. The broth is sweet and tasty, with a robust meaty flavour. Help yourself to condiments and sauces.

This phở shop has been around since 2008 and the owner Mr Hoang is justly proud of his clear beef broth that takes over 12 hours to make. Feel free to customise your beef noodle soup by ordering tendon, flank, minced beef or even a raw egg on the side. Every bowl comes with garnishes like coriander, basil, lime wedges and onions. For drinks, try their monk fruit herbal tea made with over 10 different herbs.

This take-out only stall specialises in noodle soup topped with sliced beef, beef tendon and fish fillet. The broth made with onion, beef and pork bones is flavoursome. Add bean sprouts, chilli, lime and fish sauce according to your taste.

The meeting of Chaozhou and Khmer cultures gave rise to Hủ tiếu hồng phát noodles. The chả giò tôm cua (shrimp and crab spring rolls) and sủi cảo chiên (fried shrimp and pork dumplings) are great appetisers. The soft rice noodle soup comes with minced meat, liver, tiger shrimps or braised blood curd.

Vị Quê Kitchen champions a modern Vietnamese vegan repertoire, weaving together flavours from across the country with thoughtful, creative twists, using fruit and vegetables largely grown in the family’s own garden. Nem vuông, a Hai Phong speciality of deep-fried rice paper parcels, is reworked here with assorted mushrooms and glass noodles, offering pleasing layers of texture. Bún Vì Quê, a noodle soup topped with herbs and tofu puffs, is underpinned by a punchy, flavour-packed broth. A cosy atmosphere, complemented by well-chosen music, adds to the appeal.

An oasis amid the hustle and bustle of the city, Nhà Tú is depicted by green plants and a nostalgic vibe with the bonus of a lovely top-floor balcony. In terms of food, the owner captures the essence of her childhood with home-style cooking rarely found elsewhere. Steamed snails stuffed with minced pork seduces with umami and lemongrass fragrance. Mixed veggies dressed in a fish sauce reduction with pork crackling are simple, but addictive.