A Soup Like No Other and Another Like No Other

The glistening orange droplets of chile oil that refused to mingle with the broth stood in about a one-to-one ratio to the latter; in short, it was spicy. The noodles, three inches long and one quarter inch in diameter, thick and translucent and chewy, just like tapioca but in the shape of a noodle. Several pieces of that pork product that is somehow compressed, dense and firm with little air pockets, then sliced. (Anyone who knows what that stuff is, please comment.) One fish ball - shredded white fish mixed with spices and who knows what else and then deep fried. A handful of the ubiquitous scallion and cilantro and bean sprout mix. Dress it with tiny pickled red onions and chiles, and eat with a warm and crusty baguette, all washed down with some icy cold crazy tannic Vietnamese tea.

It was tasty and novel but not quite all there. I returned today to find, to my delight, the perfected product: true pearl tapioca this time, hundreds of clear little spheres, not overly chewy but undeniably tapioca floating in a mildly spicy chicken broth. Shredded chicken throughout, the green herb mixture, several chickpea-like white beans, a few hard-cooked quail eggs here and there, and loads of cracked black pepper. Dress with the same condiments as above.

A 10 cent beer as the sun sets over the river, and now I'm going back for another bowl. I'm taking my camera, and am sure to get laughs and stares, but it's worth it for the best food yet in Vietnam.