When I was in Hanoi, my wife and I got up every morning at 7am to walk across town to get Bun Rieu.   I never had this dish before but the travel guide recommended it.   The recommendation was confirmed by groups of locals hanging out on those mini plastic stools waiting for the soup.  The soup has a tomato base, with tofu puffs, crab and a crab cake.

I have tried a few spots in Vancouver for Bun Rieu and I have been let down.  My thought is that places that don't get frequent requests for the dish will struggle to nail the broth as it requires crab to be marinating in it for hours.   As crab can be expensive in this city, you really need to find a place that specializes in this dish.

The broth here is banging.   One of those joints where you want to eat every last spoonful.  Noodles were done nice and I asked them not to plate the blood pudding.    I am down to eat a lot of stuff but I know already that I am not down with the congealed blood cubes.  They give you a nice plate of greens to put in your soup which was consistent with what I got in Hanoi.  We asked for a some additional greens as we like a plentiful amount in our soup.   Their version also includes two pieces of shrimp, and Vietnamese pork.