If your restaurant is called Bún Mắm, you'd expect at least that one signature dish to be good. The soup tasted extremely watered down, with very little flavor or substance. The noodles were chopped into tiny pieces, making them almost impossible to pick up with chopsticks, and they were also very oily. On top of that, the portion was surprisingly small for a $15 bowl. Overall, it just didn't taste good and definitely not worth it. The one thing we did love was the purple decor and decoration inside the restaurant it had a really nice atmosphere visually. But unfortunately, the food itself was a huge disappointment. read more

We stopped by again and I'm very happy that they expanded to a bigger location! Love the purple decor as well, I heard that it's the owner's fave color!! I got the bun mam and the broth is thinner than I remembered. Maybe it's because I haven't had it in a while? Regardless it was still pretty tasty with tons of meat, shrimp, and a big chunk of catfish. The bun bo xao was also very tasty! Both portions are huge! read more

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bún mắm is a recent dish fixation for me and it definitely isn't for everyone, but this place would be a good segue for beginners to bún mắm the broth isn't too pungent with the fish sauce, and they given plenty of meat including catfish and cha. milder in flavor and a litter thinner of a broth than what i prefer we got the salt tossed snails and those were plump and juicy very yummy everything is purple haha very fun theme read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - salt tossed snails - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I've only had Bun Mam a handful of time in my life because this particular noodle dish has a bold and pungent taste that's not for the faint of heart. Much like durian, it's one of those dishes where people absolutely love it or can't get near it. Bun Mam is exactly that kind of roller coaster. The deep, dark broth is infused with fermented fish and lemongrass creating a flavor that is complex and intense. As soon as the aroma hits you, you're not entirely sure what you're getting into, but it's surprisingly delicious. The bowl is loaded with Pork Belly, Squid, Shrimp, Fish Cakes, Catfish, Eggplants and fresh herbs, every bite feels like a treasure hunt. I would've loved to see the essential vegetables like shredded banana blossom, water spinach or cabbage to balance out the bitterness of the edible flowers. The dish still made a great impression, I'd recommend Bun Mam Mien Tay to anyone seeking an adventurous flavor to fulfill. read more

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Was craving for fermented broth hot pot and noodles and this one fill that cravings . The owners was amazing and provided great services to us . We ordered basically the whole menu for a big group . Everything was delicious and the broth was so authentic and flavorful remind me of Vietnam . read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Vietnamese Fish Soup at the Purple Palace on Bellaire Yep... I've named this place, The Purple Palace due to their love of purple. Even a purple auto parked outside. Totally cool. A while back, Greenway Coffee had a small coffee shop located on North Main. And it was close to where I live, and I had the opportunity to get to know the people there. One of the young ladies had recommended to me a very interesting Bangladesh grocery store way out west on Bellaire, specializing in all types of fish. well, today was my first opportunity to come and check out Bangla Bazaar. And as luck would have it, I discovered. Bún Mǎm. Some further research into their specialty revealed it to be a southern Vietnam dish, a fish soup. What immediately drew me in was the purple interior. Prince would have loved this place . Because I was solo today, I chose a banh xeo. But I must go back soon for the soup and I will report back with an update. Bun Mam, baby! But with the intention of returning soon to sample their specialty. read more

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If you're into strong, funky, super flavorful Vietnamese dishes, this one's a must-try. The broth was wildly good--salty, savory, funky in the best way, with that fermented fish sauce kick that hits just right. Tons of flavor going on. The bowl came loaded with seafood (shrimp, squid, fish, and some pork belly too), and everything tasted super fresh. One heads-up: there are fish bones in the dish, so eat slow and be careful when eating the catfish parts. Nothing major, just something to know going in--definitely not a dealbreaker for me, but worth noting if you're not used to that. The vibe in the restaurant is chill, kind of low-key, and the staff was really friendly. They even brought out extra herbs when I asked without blinking. Overall, if you're into bold Vietnamese flavors and don't mind navigating a few bones, this place is 100% worth checking out. read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Bun mam - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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As one of Vietnam's funkiest foods, bun mam is one of the few specialty noodle dishes that is not easy to find outside of concentrated Vietnamese communities. One of the most popular establishments for this is Bun Mam Mien Tay, where many locals feel offer the best version of this fermented fish noodle soup. Mien Tay (#1) has the same kind of vibe as many Vietnamese places in Asia town: low key, casual, and ambiance can be stale when the crowd is sparse. Since bun mam is in close to every order, there is a certain potency that permeates the air. Novices might find this overwhelming, but it's important to expect it prior to visiting. The super cute, naturally lit, and very purple interior is always a welcome sight. Personally I can dig the funk. Bun mam makes for a nice alternative to all the mainstream Viet noodles soups. It's nothing like pho, bun bo hue, bun moc, bun thang, etc. I appreciate the condiments that include fresh veggies and edible flowers. Bring a group of funk lovers and the hot pot version (aka "Lau Mam") is a great communal meal with fish, squid, shrimp, and pork with a nice bundle of rice noodles, condiments, and herbs. A small runs close to $50 and a large is $66. While the mam is the star dish, there are other items worth considering. One of them is the fried mini-egg rolls, which are basically nem cua, the northern style cha gio that is wonderfully crunchy and even a little crabby. The bo luc lac (#2) is abundantly beefy with nice cuts and a solid portion. Even the stir fried beef noodles ("bun bo xao") is a nice comfort food option and might even be a fairly underrated dish. The service is always very patient and sweet. English is not preferred in this roof and cash is always preferred. Parking can also be a challenge, but I've always made it work by coming at non-busy hours. I recommend going hungry and with good company, which is really a good approach for any quality experience. ___________ (#1) Mekong Delta if I'm not mistaken. (#2) Ahem "shaking beef" read more

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First time at this restaurant and we like it..We had 'lau bun mam' and it was good, but not the best in town . I also want to mention the portion we got was not equated to the $68 price tag... read more

We were greeted with an abundant of purple colors as we walked in: purple walls, purple flowers, and other purple decor all around! It was very cute! When the herbs came out, I was very impressed with the variety of herbs. Other than the fresh typical green herbs and banana blossom, there were other additional ones that I rarely see-- but my mom said it's authentic for bun mam and she was also impressed they included the proper herbs for the dish. The broth was extremely umami with that fermented fish broth. Adding that lime will help balance the broth more! I definitely had to add multiple limes and some thai chilies to spice it up. There was a good amount of seafood in the bowl. Bun mam is rarely offered in vietnamese restaurants and I'm glad this restaurant in Houston offers this dish and highlights it well! 1 less star because service could have been better as we were the only table at the time. I will definitely be returning if I crave bun mam :) read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - It's beautiful :') The variety of herbs is so nice - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

We were so excited to find a place that offer Mam Lâu! Service is pretty fast. Upon entering we were greeted by the owner and were immediately seated. We ordered mam lâu and it was pretty tasty. I never had that with roasted pork before. Usually there is pork belly which we love. I wasn't too fond to the roasted pork for it threw off the mam. Catfish was good but I wish it absorb the broth more and wasn't precooked to toss into the broth. We also ordered the fried salt and pepper calamari. The squid was ok and chewier than most places. Squid was under seasoned. It was crispy but I wasn't a fan of this dish. The worst dish we had was the crispy fried noodle dish. When we first look at the noodles they seem fine but when we took a bite, it was really bitter and burn tastes like they had over fried the noodles. We told the owners but they came to take a look and didn't offer to remake the dish or at least comp the dish or discount it. We ate only the toppings and didn't touch the noodles which is really sad because the crispy noodles should be the best part of the dish. Overall experience if you like mam and craving in a pitch this place may help curve some of your satisfaction. Do we recommend this place? Unfortunately doing nothing for the burnt noodles was an experience we don't want to revisit so we can't say we recommend this place. read more

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I tried the bun mam mien tay and they gave us a lot of fresh veggies which was the best part about it. As far as the soup base, I wasn't too much of a fan. I will give it a 6/10. Maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea and you may think otherwise. Service was good and ambiance was not to my liking. It felt like I was eating at Planet Fitness. read more

Their noodle soup is amazing here. No place can make their noodle soup like them. Soup comes with all the BEST vegetables that you need to put in to go with the soup. The owner loves purple. Everything is purple. Super nice Vietnamese place for food. The ambiance is so cute. All purple. read more

A friend and I rendezvoused at Bún Mắm Miền Tây for lunch because we missed it so much. This is a southern Vietnamese dish that not many people know about and enjoy it including our husbands who are northern Vietnamese. My friend and I enjoyed this noodle soup thoroughly. It was as delicious as ever. However we both noticed the size of both the noodle soup and the fresh herbs/vegetables that typically came with this soup has shrunk down. We were not hungry at the end and somewhat glad we didn't over eat with the current size but just knew everything was about 80% of what it used to be. Service was quick. Ambiance was cute as ever with purple theme decorations. We'll be back. read more

Good foods and good service . Very clean with a wonderful purple theme. The beef was super tender and juicy.

The shaken beef here is amazing and the beef melts in your mouth. The owner is always super sweet when I come and get my food Togo. They are super sweet , food is delicious and decoration in there is beautiful read more

Bun Man Mien Tay is the best Bun Mam restaurant in the Houston, TX area. This is the only place where I can enjoy eating Bun Mam. The broth is perfect and does not smell fishy. The service is always wonderful. The restaurant owner is a very nice lady, and purple is her favorite color; therefore, the entire restaurant's decoration is purple. The restaurant is super clean, and I would highly recommend this restaurant to everyone who likes to eat Bun Mam. read more

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My first time here and I had the Bun Mam and it was delicious! I'm a huge huge fan of that fermented shrimp paste flavor! I am definitely coming back. read more

Wow, I didn't really know what to expect coming here but I'm so happy I discovered them. We came on Thanksgiving and it really wasn't too bad. I did have to wait a good while for ALL of our food to come out but they are a small family business. From what it looks like, the owner takes orders and her mom and dad help clean tables and run food. Food was still delicious and they were so very kind so it didn't really matter to me. Lau mam (fish paste hot pot) 4.5/5 - this is my favorite dish that my aunt makes. I haven't had it in so long. The flavor was on point, plenty of veggies come with it. Good portion of add ins that included: roasted pork, noodles, shrimp, squid, & fish cakes. My aunts is still #1 in my book but honestly their lau mam is soooo good - they're runner up! Garlic butter wings 5/5 - y'all, I was honestly surprised with how good these wings are. I usually don't expect a lot when it comes to wings since you really can't go wrong BUT when you come across wings like these - you've got to call it out. Plenty of garlic and the PERFECT crunch in every bite. It was so good we tried to order another serving but they ran out. Com chien ca man (salted fish fried rice) - 3/5 I would say this fried rice is decent. I've definitely had better. Thai tea 3/5 it was okay but it wasn't as creamy as I normally like it to be. Iced tea 5/5 can't really go wrong with ice tea. Their tea was nice and flavorful Lastly the interior of this place is super cute! Its all purple which gives a nice vibe to it. read more

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The place was empty on a Saturday night and another time we stopped by. The man that worked there did not have a professional attitude at all and blasted off his phone conversation on speaker when we ate. Before that, he started sweeping around us when we were the only customers there. And the AC was not turned on. It was hot eating hot soup. Food: The broth was not flavorful at all. Definitely not rich in flavors. The fish tasted freezer burn and the pork tasted overcooked. Worst part was the noodles, which was hard and cut into pieces. It was the noodles usually served with bun bo hue. Not worth $15 a bowl. We had their hot pot the first time and it was good, but it was at the old location. However, it's $50 for a small pot. We won't be coming back here. read more

The owner of this restaurant has an obsession with purple. EVERYTHING in the place was purple- form the decor, to plates, to dessert- it was purple overload. The bún mam was decent, presentation was nice, service was good. The nước mát was refreshing; the complimentary dessert (yogurt) was not good. Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience. read more

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Quick update: was craving for bun mam today. Went here again. Did not get disappointed. Got the lau mam. Big portions. Lots of food. Excellent as usual. Greeted by owners and service was great! read more

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The restaurant decor all purple is cute. Service good but food is so so. The anchovy fermented soup which claimed as their specialty was lack of some lemon grass and the fish smell grassy! I had better bún mắm elsewhere! read more

THE place for bún mắm or lẩu mắm in Houston. I've had bun mam at several places but the broth is always loaded with MSGs. The broth here is deep, rich, flavorful, and hits the spot every time. My favorite is the mắm hot pot, serves around 2-3 people. Price is a bit steep (around $50) for the hot pot, but you get a big plate of fresh vegetables that are harder to find in Houston and plenty of protein. My favorite is the fish, so soft and fatty, and especially good when dipped in fish sauce. Shrimp and squid are also cooked perfectly - never dry. Other than the bomb food, service is a bit lacking and you do have to wave them down for stuff, but overall friendly. read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Ok this is my go to place for bun mam or Lau mam. I get the bun mam when it's just myself, and the Lau for my whole family. I love how they always give sooo much vegetables to eat with! During certain seasons, they even give edible flowers. The broth is so flavorful and I like that they add bitter melon to it. I also get the mini egg rolls! It's pretty tasty and addicting because it's so small. They don't always have it so have to ask. I do not care for the normal size egg rolls though. Only the mini ones. Tip: They prefer cash like other small Asian establishments, but also accept Debit card. No credit card. read more

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This tiny restaurant is CASH ONLY. Customer service was quite good and everything came out fast. Although the purple is a little overwhelming for us but it's tastefully done and they made it fun and memorable. We're mostly here for the food so let's get to it. Chanh dây (Passionfruit Tea) ( 4 stars) was very unique and refreshing. Yep, we ordered it because it's a pretty drink but turns out its really yummy too, so *WIN*! Nước mát (Artichoke Herbal Tea) (5 stars) was refreshing and delicious. This is one of the best iced teas we've had. Order it! Chả Giò Ong Trúc (5 stars) were the best eggrolls we've ever had in a restaurant. It's super crunchy without it being dried out inside. The fillings were very savory. It's perfectly bite size for lettuce wrap...we're obsessed! Bún mắm (5 stars) is Vietnamese Fermented Fish Noodle Soup. This is not something you will find at many Vietnamese Establishments. This restaurant specializes in this authentic noodle dish. It's a savory dish full on umami but also very pungent so it's definitely not for everyone. We came here specifically for this dish and it did not disappoint. It's our first time so we didn't know what to expect but we really enjoyed our experience. The garnishes are not only pretty but adds so much for textures and profiles to every bite. If you are feeling adventurous, give this place a try! read more

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We came here for one dish, bun mam, and it did not disappoint. Bun mam is so nicely flavored. They gave us a generous amount of side veggies. The staff are older but so they are attentive to us. We like their Bo luc lac fried rice. They kids enjoyed it. Their home made nuoc mat is very refreshing . Definitely will come back whenever we are in Houston. Also, the owner favorite color must be purple because almost all the decor, including the plates and napkin baskets are putple read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Yummmm... - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Yes, they have very good Bun Mam., a lot of vegetable that is a plus point, the store is clean. I will come back. .................. read more

Visiting from out of town and wanted to bún mắm so friends took me here. My friend ordered two sets of lẩu mắm that came with an abundant amount of vegetables as well as a tamarind dipping sauce, which was very tasty. Strong pungent smell, but oh so tasty. Needless to say I was hooked after the first bite. The owner is very friendly and accommodating. Decor of this place is purple. The lady boss apparently is obsessed with the color purple. It was my first time here, but definitely not my last. read more

Bún Mắm Miền Tây giữa thành phố Houston, tiểu bang Texas, Hoa Kỳ. Mang ẩm thực xứ Việt đến với nước Mỹ, cho cộng đồng người Việt có nơi để ăn món quê, vơi bớt lòng nhớ. Youtube: https://youtu.be/I4fIaGdVXYQ Add: 13442 Bellaire Blvd #E, Houston, TX 77083, United States Local guides: https://goo.gl/maps/JKJFtgWeVjwyNcn37 read more

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Best bun mam ever for a restaurant. Sizing is perfect, everything is delicious, shrimp is jumbo, fish is good portion, eggplant is roasted, they give so much veggies here! The pork is roasted too, the traditional way. The bum mam doesn't smell but you can taste it, the pineapple chucks are really good with it. Everything is purple here, its amazing. Even the toilet water is purple read more

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Great authentic food. Friendly environment. Truly authentic south vietnam food. Reminds me of home.

Their bun mam (Vietnamese fermented fish noodle soup) is amazing. You can easily find authentic pho or banh mi in the States, but it is super hard to find a place that serves authentic bun mam. The seafood and the veggie plate on the side are fresh and tasty. On the downside, it is pretty pricey for the amount of meat you get. read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Bun mam - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Cute Decor! I cringe a little at the color but it's very beautiful at the same time! Food is amazing if you can handle the strong bun mam smell! With the entire hot pot they give a great portion and variety of veggies with it! read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

I was invited to have Lau Mam for the first time last week and I loved it! Most people may be turned off by the fermented fish but not me. The broth had so much flavor, the seafood was good. I normally don't like catfish because it tends to be fishy in taste but this fish was fresh. Therefore, there was no fishy taste. The fresh flowers were so good it created another dimension to this meal. I really enjoyed the lau mam and would recommend this place to anyone willing to try something other than pho or hu tieu. I would definitely go back to this place! read more

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I'm from the Pacific Northwest. Every time travel to Houston, this is my first place for me to stop by. The people and the atmosphere there are awesome. The owner is very friendly. Highly recommend it. read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Lẩu mắm và nước mắt - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Great place to come alone or with friends and family. Staff are incredibly nice and with very quick service. Food is made fresh and the soup and rice dishes are served hot. We had the soup dish (bun mam), rice with beef cubes (bo luc lac), and chicken wings. Everything tasted great. Will return! read more

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This is my go to spot for bun mam and we make it a point to eat here at least once every couple of weeks. Their menu now includes other entrees but we typically order the small lau mam for me and my plus one. Everything about the broth just warms my soul. The vegetable plate is loaded with fresh vegetables and flowers. Fresh locally grown flowers. They serve whatever is fresh and in season so it's always a surprise each visit. I love that they add bitter melon to the soup. So many different flavors and textures! The one thing that I do have to point out (warn the public about)... there is a lot of purple in the decor. Even the ceiling tiles are purple! It's not offensive. There's just a lot of purple! It's such a huge contrast to their original location, I was a bit taken aback when I visited their new location. read more

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Got the largest Bun Mam Lau and shared it amongst 5 people. One of the most satisfying Vietnamese dishes I've had in awhile. I love the abundant amount of veggies and flower buds that came with the dish and don't forget lime and plenty of chili peppers. Some people don't love bun mam because of how pungent the taste is but even my husband who was hesitant at first find it quite satisfying and delicious because the mam in the broth was not too potent nor overwhelming - the flavors were just right! Also tried the salty fried rice and that was very good too! Beautiful dish - authentic flavors - so happy I've found this place! read more

Bun Mam Mien Tay - Largest Bun Mam Lau can feed 5-6 people! - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Best bun mam. love the purple decor and plants around. Been coming here for a while for the bun mam specifically. Bring cash or debit card read more

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