The ingredients are simple: mule duck, cellophane noodles or rice vermicelli, fresh bamboo shoots, watermint, scallions, fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, garlic and chili. The mule duck is cleaned, boiled, let dry and then cut up.

The soft and juicy pieces of meat are placed on top of the cellophane noodles. The stock is clear without any bubble or strange smell and has the natural pleasant taste of mule duck meat. Cellophane noodles or rice vermicelli is blanched until soft but not easily crushed or too dry.

The dipping sauce with a large amount of chopped garlic boasts a combination of sourness and spiciness. An alternative is soy sauce with garlic and chili.

Some recommended places in the capital city for renowned ‘bun ngan’ include Bun ngan Ben Beo at 65 Phung Hung Street, Hoan Kiem District; Bun ngan Nguyen Du at 39 Nguyen Du Street, Hai Ba Trung District; and Bun ngan at Chau Long Market, Ba Dinh District.