Chau Doc fish noodles Bún cá
Bún cá is the Châu Đốc breakfast: rice noodles and freshwater fish in a turmeric-yellow broth, topped with crunchy điên điển flowers. The broth runs deep with shrimp paste, lemongrass, chili, and garlic, and you sharpen it at the table with chili and lime.
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Search on KlookWhy it matters
Bún cá bông điên điển is the bowl people mean when they talk about eating in Châu Đốc. It is sold at the edge of Chợ Châu Đốc in the morning, next to cups of strong coffee.
Texture
The điên điển flowers stay crunchy in the hot broth. The cá lóc is boiled with lemongrass and crushed turmeric, pulled off the bone, then stir-fried with more turmeric so it firms up and turns yellow.
Taste
The broth is deep, with shrimp paste, lemongrass, chili, garlic, and fresh turmeric. The soul of the bowl is also given as mắm cá linh and mắm ruốc, which leave the broth pale yellow.
How to enjoy it
Add chili and lime, then eat it early, before the market heats up.
The plate on the side holds điên điển, bông súng, bitter herb, banana blossom, shredded morning glory, and beansprouts. Many people add roast pork or chả, and you can order a fish head on its own.
The older bowl got its sweetness from cá linh, with dried shrimp, ngải bún, mắm ruốc, lemongrass, chili, garlic, and fresh turmeric, and today’s bowl is cá lóc in a clear broth of ống bones. Some stalls add ống bones for a sweeter broth.
Where to try it
The edge of Chợ Châu Đốc in the morning, and stalls across the town center. Breakfast bowls also line the Hậu landing.