Vietnamese Food in McAllen: A Guide to Pho, Bun and Banh Hoi

"Vietnamese food" covers a wide range of dishes depending on where you eat — pho, banh mi sandwiches, bun noodle bowls, grilled meats, spring rolls. Not every Vietnamese restaurant serves all of it, and Hop Tung is no exception. Here's specifically what's on the menu.

What Hop Tung's Vietnamese Menu Actually Covers

The Vietnamese side of the menu is built around two things: noodle soups and cold or room-temperature vermicelli bowls, plus a section of Vietnamese-style grilled meats and rice plates. If you're looking for banh mi — the baguette sandwich — that's not something Hop Tung serves; the Vietnamese menu here is centered on noodle soups and vermicelli rather than sandwiches. Pho, bun, and banh hoi are the three things to know.

Pho — Hop Tung's Vietnamese Noodle Soup

Pho is a hot noodle soup built on a long-simmered broth, served with flat rice noodles and fresh herbs and lime on the side. Hop Tung's pho section runs thirteen ways: brisket, chicken, seafood, shrimp, steak, meatball, and a combination version, plus pairings like steak and brisket, steak and meatball, steak and tendon, and steak and tripe, with a vegetable and a tofu version for anyone skipping meat.

Pho isn't the only hot Vietnamese noodle soup on the menu — Bun Bo Hue, a spicier beef noodle soup, and Vietnamese wonton soup are both listed separately under noodle soups, along with a Vietnamese beef stew.

Bun and Banh Hoi — Vietnamese Cold Noodle Bowls

Bun (listed on the menu as Bun Rice Vermicelli Salad) is a different dish entirely from pho — thin rice vermicelli in a bowl, topped with grilled protein or a fried spring roll, and served cold or at room temperature with a light fish-sauce dressing instead of broth. Hop Tung's bun options include grilled beef, grilled chicken, grilled pork, grilled shrimp, a coconut bun with shredded pork, and versions topped with a fried spring roll.

Banh hoi is built the same general way but uses woven rice vermicelli sheets instead of loose noodles, plated with grilled beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or a pork-and-shrimp combination.

Other Vietnamese Dishes Worth Knowing About

Beyond the noodle dishes, Hop Tung's Vietnamese section includes grilled meats served on their own — BBQ pork, grilled chicken, and grilled beef — plus rice plates that pair those same grilled proteins with steamed rice. Vietnamese iced coffee is on the drink menu as well, alongside Hop Tung's bubble tea and slushie lineup.