I’ve been hearing a lot about Bún Mam Sóc Trang, so I finally stopped by the small restaurant one Saturday afternoon.
The restaurant is named after a soup, so that’s what I ordered. It looked like a grandma was cooking, so that was a really good sign. I have a lot of respect for grandmas.
I talked to Brenda of Bites & Bourbon, who grew up eating Vietnamese food, about my experience and this is what she said:
You may have ordered it as “bun mam soc trang” at the restaurant, but no one calls it that. It’s really called bun mam or bun nuoc leo. It’s the most popular dish in Soc Trang, a province in the Mekong Delta located in southern Vietnam. “bún” = rice vermicelli and “mam = fermented fish.
photo: Christina Mitchell
It was a fish soup with shrimp and steamed pork belly ($8.50) and it was basically comfort in a bowl. According to Brenda, “the key to the sweet, rich and flavorful broth is the fermented fish they use.” I added sprouts, herbs, banana blossom, house-made hot sauce and asked for a few more limes as I slurped my way through that steaming bowl of goodness. It touched my soul in a real way and I devoured EVERYTHING.
1326 E 18th St, Oakland
510-534-2828
Christina Mitchell
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Mmmm! I want a bowl of that right now. It looks hella good. So happy you loved it. Thanks for the shout outs!
Thanks for the tip! I’m on the hunt for soul satisfying soups from all around the world, so let me know if you can think of any others.