Buzz
Some eateries are deeply tied to childhood memories, and it's because of those flavors that people can't forget, always seeking to return. Join Mytour in hunting down eateries with over 50 years of history, always reminiscent of the childhood of Saigonese!
Exploring 5 Saigon Eateries with 'Nostalgic Flavors' Over 50 Years
1. Grandma Út's Offal Porridge (almost 90-year-old porridge shop)
Address: 193 Cô Giang Street, Cô Giang Ward, District 1.
When mentioning Saigon eateries with over 50 years of history, one cannot miss Grandma Út's offal porridge shop, which has been serving for almost 90 years, offering familiar flavors that make many people crave at the mere mention.
The porridge here is cooked over charcoal fire, following the traditional style of old Saigon, with fresh blood directly added to the pot and then mixed with boiling water. That's why the porridge is very smooth, with an incredibly attractive reddish-brown color. A bowl of porridge at Grandma Út's always comes with a variety of accompanying ingredients such as liver, intestines, heart, stomach, thymus, a few vegetables, bean sprouts, fish sauce, and a plate of golden deep-fried dough sticks. If you visit the shop, you must try the secret recipe fried offal. The offal is made from pork, mixed with a bit of chewy cartilage and lemongrass, bringing a chewy, fatty, sweet taste without being overwhelming.
2. Nam Lợi Rice Noodle Soup (a 70-year-old noodle soup shop)
Address: 43 Tôn Thất Đạm, Nguyễn Thái Bình Ward, District 1.
Another iconic Saigon eatery not to be missed is Nam Lợi rice noodle soup, a 70-year-old original Chinese shop, quite familiar to lovers of noodle soup, especially fish noodle soup. Using traditional recipes, the food here impresses with its rich, delicious aroma. The broth is elaborately prepared, simmered from pork bones, fish bones for hours and seasoned with various typical Chinese spices.
The shop sells a full range of dishes such as fresh noodles, rice noodles, rice vermicelli. Among them, the dish most praised by diners is fish noodle soup. Unlike traditional noodle soup with small, soft noodles, fish noodle soup has larger, thinner, and chewier noodles. The fish on top is fresh snakehead fish thinly sliced. Before serving, the seller will arrange the fish in the bowl, pour hot broth over it, sprinkle with spring onions, and fried shallots to enhance the aroma. Moreover, each serving also comes with homemade crispy pateso cakes with a crispy outer layer and a rich filling inside.
3. Chuyên Ký Claypot Rice (a 70-year-old rice shop)
Address: 65-67 Tôn Thất Đạm, Bến Nghé Ward, District 1.
Broken rice, chicken rice, claypot rice,... are surely familiar to many. However, when it comes to claypot rice, few are aware, and some have never heard or tasted it before. This is a rare traditional dish of the Chinese people.
The rice here is cooked in a quite unique way. Tài Nguyên and Nàng Thơm rice are mixed in specific proportions, then put into ceramic pots and steamed until cooked. Thanks to this steaming method, each grain of rice retains its natural fragrance and sweetness. The variety of main dishes served with rice is diverse, such as stir-fried chicken with broccoli, savory braised shrimp, spicy Chinese sausage, crispy fried squid,... When customers arrive, the restaurant heats up the food and piles it on top of the rice. Because a claypot of rice here is very filling, it's often called 'mountainous rice'. The must-try dish at Chuyên Ký claypot rice is the 'stewed preserved duck eggs', which has a unique flavor, almost unavailable elsewhere. It's the uniqueness in flavor and presentation that has kept many customers coming back over the years.
4. Hoà Mã Baguette (a 60-year-old baguette shop)
Address: 53 Cao Thắng Street, Ward 3, District 3.
Established in Ho Chi Minh City in 1958, Hoà Mã baguette is a breakfast spot that has become deeply ingrained in the memories of many generations of residents in this city. Hoà Mã baguette still maintains its simplicity with a small baguette cart and plastic tables and chairs lining the alley.
This eatery offers a variety of baguette options, from sausage baguette to liver pate baguette, and sardine baguette. However, the most popular choice is the 'assorted cold cuts baguette' or commonly known as the mixed skillet baguette. Each serving includes a hot crispy baguette and a skillet with sunny-side-up eggs, ham, liver pate, fish cake, cold cuts, onions,... Accompanied by a small bowl of pickles to eat with, to avoid greasiness.
The skillet baguette at Hòa Mã shop stands out because it doesn't have the typical meat sauce like other shops, but just adding a little soy sauce or sprinkling some ground pepper is enough to fully appreciate the flavor of this dish. When eating, you can tear off a piece of baguette, dip it into the runny egg yolk, spread a bit of liver pate, and add a piece of sausage, ensuring the salty and fatty taste will make you addicted to this dish.
5. Lê Văn Sỹ Duck Bamboo Shoot Noodle Soup (nearly 60-year-old duck bamboo shoot noodle soup)
Address: 281/26/9 Lê Văn Sỹ, Ward 1, Tân Bình District.
When it comes to liquid and noodle dishes, besides pho and hu tieu, there is also duck bamboo shoot noodle soup. This dish is not only praised for its delicious and unique flavor but also for its ability to keep you full for a long time. Despite not having a signboard and being tucked away in a small alley, customers still line up every day to dine at Lê Văn Sỹ duck bamboo shoot noodle soup, which is enough to show how good the food here is.
The menu of the shop revolves around dishes made from duck, but there are only 2 main dishes: boiled duck and duck bamboo shoot noodle soup. The boiled duck dish here is served with ginger fish sauce. If customers want more flavors, they can order duck salad or boiled duck organs. According to many diners, the attraction of the shop lies in the processing and selection of ingredients. The shop always chooses medium-sized ducks, low fat content, thin skin, and skillfully processes them so the meat is fragrant, tender, and completely odorless. The most popular dish here is duck bamboo shoot noodle soup. A bowl only includes noodles, fresh bamboo shoots, pure broth from boiling duck, and a plate of boiled duck meat, simple as that but everyone who tries it gets addicted. If you want to try it, you should time it and come when the shop just opens, otherwise, it's 'see you tomorrow'.
As per Mytour
***
Reference: Travel guide by Mytour
MytourNovember 4, 2022
