Fishy noodle soup stall going strong, 20 years on

Shop 144 on Khanh Hoi Street catches the eye of both regulars and passers by with its display of noodle soup ingredients and sides, like banana flower strips, shrimp, roasted pork and steamed fish.

Opens for 12 hours a day, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m,  about 100 kilograms of noodles are consumed daily, and this can go up to 150 kilograms sometimes, the shop owner says.

There's one dish on the menu. This noodle soup has a broth that is somewhat salty, but when it is mixed with fresh vegetables, sprouts and other sides, the flavors blend well to make a tasty, popular dish. The key to the soup is mam, which is fermented fish or shrimp paste.

The dish comes with several sides including eggplants, knot grass. It would be a crime to enjoy the fermented paste noodle without some interesting side dishes like eggplants, knotgrass and water lily stems.

Fish cake wrapped inside a whole chili is a special addition that makes the dish more attractive, not to mention spicy.

Roasted pork is an indispensable element of the bun mam.

A bowl of bun mam with shrimp, roast pork, squid and chili fish cake costs VND 55,000 ($2.36). Shop 144 is crowed and lunch and dinner times, but people can also take their soup away in plastic containers.