Banh Cuon Luu Luyen

There are a handful of other menu options, all done well enough, but none as strong as the banh cuon. Classic Vietnamese fans will enjoy good crispy spring rolls and rice paper-wrapped shrimp, as well as solid bun vermicelli with pork. Central Vietnamese food fans will find pork and beef sausages on the menu, as well as banh canh, a pork, shrimp, and fish cake udon noodle soup, which is above average here. By contrast, a novel item called banh duc thit tom chay includes slices of steamed coconut rice cake topped with shrimp flakes and fried onions, then served with fish sauce; despite its authenticity, it’s bland and rubbery – hard to justify eating more than one piece.

The biggest issue with Luu Luyen is that it’s a small, cramped restaurant in a business plaza, and only open for breakfast and lunch. We’ve wanted to visit many times outside of its normal business hours, and sometimes found lines outside the front door when trying to show up for lunch. Depending on when you hope to visit, you may have an easier time getting in at our #2 pick, Banh Cuon Thanh Tri, or may prefer to sample a larger menu (with generally impressive lemongrass beef banh cuon) at Quan Hy. But if you can find a way to make it work for your schedule, Luu Luyen is most certainly worth a visit.