I love Vietnamese cuisine, especially in the summer when its refreshing dishes are often served cold. And its use of uncooked dipping sauces for flavoring is a great alternative to the greasiness and saltiness of Beijing fare. (I really love fish sauce!) As of late, anything Vietnamese has been my favorite food.

You’d think that, with Vietnam so close to China and its food sharing many similar ingredients with some regional Chinese cuisines, that good, cheap Vietnamese wouldn’t be so hard to find. You would be wrong, like I was, though. I mean, why would you pay more than 6 bucks for a bowl of pho? You don’t even have to do that in the U.S., and if you do, it’s a total rip-off. But alas, any foreign cuisine, even if it’s Asian, automatically means developed country prices, so my limit for a bowl of pho is 40 kuai. They can be 60 RMB or more here.

There are actually quite a few Vietnamese restaurants in Beijing, including two popular ones in my second home of Sanlitun. One is pretty expensive and not worth the price; the other has French influences and a hefty menu that makes it too easy for me to run up a pricey tab. There’s also a couple of sketchy-looking banh mi shops that have gotten decent reviews. At any rate, I’ve never really cared for banh mi, but now that I think about it, I’m kind of craving one.

None of these places beats my small neighborhood Vietnamese dive. This is exciting! We’ve been frequenting this place near once a week since we moved. The first time we went, it was just us. The second time, one person came in for takeaway. Now, every time we go, there seems to be more and more diners. It’s affordable: a large bowl of pho is 20 kuai ($3.08) and if you get a combo meal, you get a tiny side and drink for about a buck more. The dish itself isn’t as amazing as what you’d find in the U.S. because the quality of ingredients in China just isn’t there, and the ratio of noodles to beef always errs on the side of the noodles, but I am more than satisfied with the broth (never too oily or sweet) and the fact that $3 still gets me all the trimmings (basil, bean sprouts and a lime wedge).

My only complaint about this restaurant is that its menu is rather limited. It has three kinds of pho (with beef, beef tripe and chicken) and a rice dish that came with grilled pork. It has sides of include chicken wings, spring rolls and fish cakes. Basically, I only eat the pho.

But then, to my delight, when boyfriend and I went last night, the place was nearly full and they had expanded their menu. (They also raised their prices slightly, but not by too much.) In addition to pho and rice dishes, they had bun, which is pronounced like boon and you have to inflect your tone up. I’ve been craving this dish ever since I had it in Yunnan at my mommy’s second cousin’s house. I’ve actually had it, or similar, a couple of times already (in London and last Friday at Muse), but my craving just won’t go away! MMMM crispy lettuce and vegetables, cold rice noodles and grilled pieces of pork. I could eat this all day. Bun is also really fun to say, like a balloon inflating.

Now if only I can find a place that serves banh cuon, banh beo and decent goi cuon…