Review: Bun Bo Hue at Cong Ly

If you haven’t guess already by my last name, Nguyen, I’m Vietnamese. I grew up in a very Vietnamese area of Northern California – San Jose, so I’ve always been surrounded by fantastic Vietnamese food, both at home and in my neighborhood. Upon arriving in New York for college, I was very disappointed by the lack of Vietnamese community. It made me very sad *tear* During my first semester, I craved Viet food all the time (don’t tell me you’ve never had an insatiable Pho craving). The pho here cannot compare to the one at home, but luckily I found a restaurant that comes pretty close in authenticity. Although, I’ve never heard of putting grilled meat into my pho until I came here, but hey, we all have our variations.

But enough about my love for pho, that will be reviewed another time. The other day, I had an intense craving for Bun Bo Hue. In case you don’t know, Bun Bo Hue is a very popular noodle dish, whose origins lie in Central Vietnam. I call it the younger brother of Pho - they are both great and have distinctive, unique qualities, but because Pho is so popular it overshadows it. To me, broth is the most important component of any noodle dish: good broth can make up for other shortcomings. The broth in bun bo hue is prepared by cooking beef bones for a very long time, along with spices that include lemongrass, chili, and shrimp paste. When my family makes it, we do it extra spicy with the addition of chili flakes cooked in hot oil. It’s usually topped with think slices of beef shank, oxtail bones, or pork and garnished with bean sprouts, banana blossoms, and lime, as well as additional chili.

I had the Bun Bo Hue at Cong Ly, my go to spot for Vietnamese food in NYC. Its cheap($6 for a bowl that made me very satisfied), delicious, and the old man that works at the counter is very funny when you get to know him (he reminds me of my grandpa). I come here whenever I feel homesick.



I was pleasantly surprised when the bowl was brought to my table. The color looked right – slightly brown and red from the chili, and it smelled good too. I tasted the broth plain before adding the lemon or chili and was pleased. The broth was slightly sweet and salty, but not overly so. It also did not leave me with msg-overload. The noodles were a bit too soft for me, I like mine with a bit more bite. They give you lots of meat for one bowl though, so I was happy (quantity of meat is second to quality of broth on my list). Overall, I was very happy and my craving was satiated. So, if you too are craving Vietnamese, hit up Cong Ly. You won’t be disappointed!

Cong Ly
124 Hester St
(between Bowery & Chrystie St)