Even though I’ve never been to Vietnam, I can tell a good pho from a bad one. I’ve been to Thailand, but the experience didn’t add to my ability to distinguish a good tom yum from a bad one. I did, of course, finally learn to detect whether or not the soup was authentic, but this is only important if:
(1) you assume that the only people who try the place after reading your article are people who have already been to the country,
(2) you think that authenticity in food is more important than flavor.
Fortunately 95% of our readers will try this place out without ever having been to Thailand, Vietnam or India (our readership would otherwise be disappointingly small), I’m extremely confident in describing Hai Nam as a really fine bistro.
The biggest problem right off the bat is getting a table. From noon on it’s impossible, so reserve a table or get something to go. You can drop in here at 12:15, and you aren’t going to get a seat. Or you can wait for half an hour. But the food is quickly made and served. My pho was on the table ten minutes after I ordered it.
The soup is in the middle, surrounded by lime, coriander, sprouts, chili sauce, garlic and chili pepper. It costs HUF 1290 with shank, but HUF 1390 with sirloin. Both prices are perfectly fine since the portion is enormous. This is not just soup. It’s a full meal in a bowl.
Even without seasoning it, it tastes just right. It’s not greasy, and it’s not loaded with flavor enhancer. Then you begin to carefully add the spices sitting next to it and the experience gets better in direct proportion to the amount you put in. After three or four minutes I decided to toss everything into the soup, from the chili sauce to the last drop of lime juice, and since it was still moving, I drowned it in coriander and sliced chili pepper.
And the soup suddenly went from good to fantastic. Maybe it’s no longer Vietnamese when it’s this hot. Maybe it’s a Thai pho, but it can’t be because I wasn’t shedding any tears while I was eating it. But one thing’s for sure: the soup came together in a flavor that worked marvelously. You have to try it someday if you haven’t done so yet. A lot of people, though, have already tried it. The place is fabulously popular, and its popularity is built on the hearty, perfectly balanced soup.
A bit of advice: you can park for free for an hour across from the Allé if you want to reserve a table or get takeaway. Otherwise, it’s hard to find a place to park in the neighborhood.
Thanks to Móni and many others for the recommendation.
Hai Nam pho
Budapest, Október 23-a utca 27.
06-30-529-9969
Mon–Sat: 10:00–21:00
Sun: 10:00–15:00
Translation provided by Helpers Business and Immigration Services. Find us at www.helpers.hu
