CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN
Mắm
Hanoi's bún đậu platter with fermented shrimp paste on Forsyth Street — a 2026 NYT top-30 pick.
Mắm is fermented shrimp paste — purple, pungent, and the dip that defines bún đậu, the Hanoi street platter this small Forsyth Street restaurant was built around. It is shared, hands-on food, and the room is small.
Order the bún đậu đặc biệt, a board of rice vermicelli cakes, fried tofu, herbs and several kinds of pork — the blood sausage is the best of them — with the shrimp paste for dipping. Snails stuffed with herby pork sausage and a raw surf clam salad with lemongrass are worth adding, and in cold months the dill-scented clam noodle soup, bún hến. The New York Times ranked it among the top thirty restaurants in the city in 2026.
Editor’s tip
Order the bún đậu đặc biệt for two and add the stuffed snails; save bún hến for a cold night.
Make an evening of it — beautiful stops nearby
Also in the neighborhood
Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 13, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.