Nha Trang Guide
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8 places for Jellyfish Noodle Soup Nha Trang

Rating: 4.5 / 5 — Our own score, not an average of guest reviews

Our own score, not an average of guest reviews

The specialty you won't easily find elsewhere. Crunchy jellyfish in a clear fish broth

City centre

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Address
A dish rather than an address. Eight named shops are listed at the foot of the page
Opening hours
Morning to midday, until sold out
Price range
35,000 – 55,000₫/dish
Best time to go
March to July is jellyfish season. Go in the morning

Overview

Bún sứa is Nha Trang's breakfast and the thing you will struggle to find elsewhere: a broth made from sea fish, so it stays clear and lightly sweet rather than rich, with cured jellyfish that squeaks between the teeth, springy fish cake, and at some shops flaked fish or whole ponyfish served on the side. The jellyfish has almost no flavour of its own. It is in the bowl for its crunch and its coolness, so if you have not had it before, expect strange rather than strong.

This is a morning dish, and not just as a figure of speech: most shops open between 5:00 and 6:30 and sell out by ten or eleven, then close. Sleep until noon and you have largely missed it, except at the two that run all day. Quán Mịn at 170 Bach Dang and Bún cá Nguyên Loan at 123 Ngo Gia Tu.

If you eat one bowl, eat it at Bún cá sứa 22 Han Thuyen: a mixed bowl is 25,000–30,000₫, the jellyfish is fresh and crisp, and it fills with locals every morning. The broth here is lighter than elsewhere, so season it yourself with fish sauce or shrimp paste. This is a proper neighbourhood shop, noodles in the morning and a drinks stall by evening. For a more complete bowl, Quán Mịn at 170 Bach Dang: a clean sweet broth, firm white marlin, jellyfish that stays crunchy, a tidy room and an easy address on a main street; it prices a little above the rest, and the room is small, so it does not suit a group.

Two more if you want the version down an alley. Bún cá sứa cô Ba at 61/14 Thap Ba is deep in a lane but easy enough. There is a goldsmith on the corner, then a minute straight in. The broth is clean and sweet, the fish cake good, and it is worth adding the ponyfish alongside the jellyfish; the ponyfish is bony, which is easier if you know first. And Bún cá sứa Tang Bat Ho at number 9, beside Dam market, at 30,000₫ a bowl, small but clean, with an easy-going owner and several home-brewed cooling drinks. Both close around ten.

Two to know about before you go. Bún sứa Năm Beo in the Dam market block is the old name. More than twenty years, now cooked by the founder's daughter, but the room is cramped, hot and airless, a bowl with jellyfish is 40,000₫ and one without is 60,000₫, and plenty of people find the broth thin and short of the sweetness that fish bones should give. Go for the name, not for the best bowl in town. Bún cá Nguyên Loan at 123 Ngo Gia Tu cooks well and runs 5:00 to 22:00, which makes it useful all day, but the room is not the strength: hot and tight. Taking it away is the neatest way to eat it.

One practical note on Quán Bún Cá Sứa 87 at 87 Yersin: it is still trading and opens at 6:30, but people do turn up to a closed door. This dish is sold until it runs out and then the shop shuts, so with a small place, going early is the only certainty. For the same reason, do not put bún sứa in an afternoon plan.

In the same family: Bún cá Cô Ba and bánh canh chả cá. Another local sea dish: gỏi cá mai.

Some shops, with addresses

  • Quán Bún Cá Sứa 87

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    87 Yersin, Bac Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    3.8★ Google · 83 reviewsOpen 6:30 – 10:00

    87 Yersin. Small and busy, open from 6:30, 25,000₫ a bowl, with well-seasoned fish cake and crisp jellyfish. A light breakfast that still fills you. The owner is good company. One caveat: people do arrive to a closed door, and this dish is sold until it runs out, so with a shop this size arriving early is the only certainty. There is another noodle shop next door if you come late and 87 has finished.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Bún sứa Năm Beo

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    Lot B2, Cho Dam apartment block, Phan Boi Chau street, Nha Trang

    Open 5:30 – 20:30

    Lot B2, Dam market block, Phan Boi Chau. The oldest name on this list at more than twenty years, now cooked by the founder's daughter. Open 5:30 to 20:30, one of only two here that work all day. But it is not the best bowl: plenty of people find the broth thin and short of the sweetness fish bones should give, and the room is cramped, hot and airless because they also sell dried goods as gifts. A bowl with jellyfish is 40,000₫, without is 60,000₫. Go for the name and the hours.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Bún cá sứa cô Ba

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    61/14 Thap Ba, Bac Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    61/14 Thap Ba, deep in a lane but simple to find: a goldsmith on the corner, then a minute straight in. This is a neighbourhood shop in the proper sense. Clean sweet broth, good fish cake, low prices, and a lane that stays cool. Order the ponyfish alongside the jellyfish; it is bony, which is easier if you know first. They will bring a separate dish of small anchovies if you ask. Open from early until it runs out around ten or eleven; on full-moon days they switch to vegetarian bánh căn.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Bún cá sứa Tăng Bạt Hổ

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    9 Tang Bat Ho, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    Open 6:00 – 10:00

    9 Tang Bat Ho, beside Dam market. Handy if you are shopping there in the morning. 30,000₫ a bowl, fresh jellyfish and a clean-tasting broth, fish and fish cake with no muddiness, and a small but clean, airy room. The owner is welcoming, and there are several home-brewed cooling drinks. Open 6:00–10:00, so this is breakfast rather than lunch.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Bún cá Nguyên Loan

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    123 Ngo Gia Tu, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    4.0★ Google · 1,519 reviewsOpen 5:00 – 22:00

    123 Ngo Gia Tu, open 5:00 to 22:00. Useful all day, and the noodles and fish-cake bánh canh are well cooked, the cake springy, the herbs fresh. But the room is not the strength: tight and hot, and at the rush you may wait 10–20 minutes for a table. The special bowl is 50,000₫. If you want to try it, takeaway is the tidiest way.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Quán Mịn

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    170 Bach Dang, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    Open 5:30 – 21:15

    170 Bach Dang, right on the street and the easiest address here to find. The bowl is more complete than most: a clean sweet broth, white marlin with real firmness, jellyfish that stays crunchy, fragrant fish cake. The room is clean, the staff cheerful, and there is bánh canh with fish cake and jellyfish too. Two things to know: it prices a little above the rest, and the room is small, so a group will wait. Bikes park across the road with nobody watching them. Lock up.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Bún cá sứa 22 Hàn Thuyên

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    22 Han Thuyen, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    Open 6:00 – 11:00

    22 Han Thuyen: the map carries no shop name for it, so go by the number. If you eat one bowl of bún sứa, eat it here: a mixed bowl is 25,000–30,000₫, the jellyfish crisp and squeaking, the portions generous, and the room full of locals every morning. The broth is lighter than elsewhere, so season it with fish sauce or shrimp paste to taste. They also serve bánh mì, flaked fish, fish cake, bánh bèo and bánh ướt, and the bánh canh is good. Open 6:00–11:00, then it becomes a drinks stall in the evening. A plain neighbourhood shop, expect nothing of the room.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Bún sứa Bé Cây Si

    08 Cu Chi, Bac Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    08 Cu Chi, north Nha Trang. A small shop in a residential block with no real signboard, so the map tends to take you to the end of the street and stop. Go to the number and ask; people in the neighbourhood know it. It sells in the morning and closes when it runs out.

Addresses come from each shop's own Google Maps listing, and the Open map button opens that shop's pin rather than running a search. 18 shops on the site have no listing we could confirm, so they have no button: the address lookup returned a different business, and a button that points at the wrong place is worse than none. A Google score appears only when Maps carries both the score and the number of reviews — a bare average cannot be weighed, so this page leaves it out. Street-food stalls change hours and close without telling anyone; call ahead if you are travelling across town.

What to order

  • Jellyfish that's crunchy, cool and not fishy
  • A completely clear fish broth
  • Springy fish cake on the side
  • A dish you'll essentially only find on the Khanh Hoa coast

Practical tips

  • Ask for half jellyfish, half fish cake if it's your first time
  • Out of season (August to February) they may be out of jellyfish, ask before you sit
  • Eat it with ground green chilli and a touch of shrimp paste if the shop has it

Frequently asked

Does bún sứa taste fishy?

No. The jellyfish is well prepared, so it is crisp, cool and almost odourless, and the fish broth is clear and light rather than rich.

When is it in season?

Roughly March to July. Outside that the shops still open but may only have fish-cake noodles.

Where do I eat it?

Small shops in the centre, concentrated around Dam market and To Hien Thanh. Go in the morning, because they close when it runs out.

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