Bun Vietnamese Food in Antwerp, Belgium

One of the most intriguing dining experiences during the trip was at a place called Bun in Antwerp. We discovered that it had pretty good reviews and menu items that were off the beaten path, and that pretty much fits the dining on vacation criteria.

The restaurant’s tag like is "Our story is one of East meets West" referring to the chefs, Hoa Truong & Huibrecht Berends. I spied some books for sale in the restaurant so there’s a larger story about the restaurant’s history and chefs that I would certainly love to explore if we had more time in Antwerp. The books are written by the chef of Bun’s sister restaurant, Little Asia in Brussels. To clarify, Hoa Truong’s sister is the owner of Little Asia, so they really are sister restaurants. At least what’s what I can piece together with the translations. 

Since we arrived at the restaurant for lunch right at opening, we were able to snag some seats near a large window. However, do be warned that the restaurant is limited in seats so you may want to make reservations during busy hours.

We ordered a variety of dishes, and each one was distinctly unique and delightful in its own way. Let’s take a walk through the menu.

We started with the dog cockles, otherwise known as European Bittersweet clams served with Vietnamese flavors. These were refreshing, simple, and divine. 

Next up was a warm beef bun that oozed of umami. This was comfort food!

And the next savory course was the ca kho which was spicy caramelized plaice fillet over white rice. This was one of the best rice and fish dishes I have ever had, and I have had many rice and fish dishes. The fish was sweet but not sugary. The texture was firm yet delicate. I would highly recommend this dish. 

Dessert was fermented sticky rice. It does not sound interesting, and it certainly did not look sexy. However, it was super tasty. Fermented sticky rice is made with the same yeast that is used to make sake. This tasted like a porridge spiked with fizzy sake, and it was very interesting.

And you know that a dish is really remarkable when you look up how to make it at home. I ordered some rice yeast balls from Amazon in preparation for my next experiment. 

Lastly, we were gifted with some ginger chocolate truffles to finish off our lunch. If I had an extra meal to spend in Belgium, I would ride over to Brussels and try the sister restaurant, Little Asia.

Tips I learned in Europe

You might have noticed that I took trip over to Europe, and it was incredible. I’m breaking up the vacation into a series of short but deliciously fun blog post. The trip started in Amsterdam with a run down to Brussels, Antwerp, Maastricht, Valkenburg, Vaals, Aachen, and then back up to Amsterdam with short jaunts over to Wageningen and Leiden. This first post will be a combination of travel tips and what I learned while I was in Europe.

Hello, Wafels!

1. European facilities are tall. The toilets are tall. The mirrors in the bathroom are tall. I could barely see the top of my head in them. If you are short, you might have some challenges.

2. People there use TripAdvisor much more than Yelp. Yelp has little to no presence.

These flower pots were a genius way to hang them on the side of the rail. Genius I say. 

3. When you are driving in Holland and Germany, you still drive on the right side of the road like you do in the United States. The driver’s side of the car is the same as in the United States as well. However, most of the roads are just wide enough for 1.5 cars and there is no dividing line. Everyone shares the road. You don’t get a lane. You just move over to let people get by and you pray that the other person is in sync with your driving intentions.

4. Even though Discover card doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee, the only place in Europe that took Discover was the Enterprise rental car in Maastricht. Otherwise, get Euros or bring your Charles Schwab card.

Cappuccinos of Europe. They were all so consistently tasty!

5. Tea and coffee in Europe gets dressed up with snackies. Sometimes it is served with cookies, truffles, or other little bites. And the cappuccinos always come with a cookie or biscuit. 

 
 

6. There are some pretty neat ways to solve annoying problems. For example, to keep doors from slamming, a leather pouch is attached to the door jam to keep it quiet. And a few photos above was a smart way to hang flower pots on the rail.


  
































This anti-door slamming device was at the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam.