A Common Breakfast Dish on Phu Quoc Island

Before the tourists wake, before the fish sauce factories open their doors, the island eats. A bowl of bún quậy — fresh noodles, hand-crushed shrimp paste, lime, chili — sits on every plastic table along the waterfront.

The Ritual

You order by pointing. The woman behind the counter mashes shrimp with a mortar and pestle, adds hot broth, and sets the bowl in front of you with a plate of herbs. You eat quickly. The fish sauce factory next door is already starting to smell.