Ms. Phuong's restaurant is one of the most famous places in Ho Chi Minh City that sells beef wrapped in betel leaves (or grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves). She originally named the restaurant after her daughter, but for the past 15 years, customers have been calling it "beef wrapped in betel leaves on the railway", because the restaurant is located next to the railway tracks, in an alley on Hoang Van Thu Street (Phu Nhuan District).
From a few meters away, the fragrant smell of grilled beef with betel leaves wafted out, attracting diners and making their stomachs rumble. By around 6pm, the restaurant was full of customers, and the number of orders kept coming in. The owner and staff were working tirelessly.
Although less honored and mentioned than other traditional Vietnamese cuisines, beef wrapped in betel leaves still wins the hearts of many domestic and foreign diners. Recently, author Ben Groundwater - travel reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's leading newspaper, expressed his excitement when enjoying grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves in Vietnam.
He emphasized that international tourists exploring Vietnamese cuisine should definitely not miss this dish. The journalist even fondly described Vietnamese beef wrapped in betel leaves as "the most wonderful thing on the planet".
According to Ms. Phuong, she has been selling beef rolls with her parents since she was a child. When her parents got older, they passed on the recipe. Around 2010, Ms. Phuong opened this beef restaurant to make a living, with signature dishes such as beef rolls with betel leaves, beef with caul fat, beef dipped in vinegar, grilled beef... Currently, Ms. Phuong is teaching and continuing to pass on the profession to her youngest daughter.
"Every day, the shop opens from 4pm to 9:30pm, but most of the time it sells out early. Sometimes it only takes 3-3.5 hours to sell out," Ms. Phuong shared.
The space of the restaurant is a clean, airy house, looking straight out onto the railway. There are a few small tables inside. Right next to the entrance is a charcoal oven operating at full capacity.
Ms. Phuong Thao (31 years old, commonly known as Na) is Ms. Phuong's youngest daughter, and has been learning the trade with her mother for more than 10 years.
"Every day, the restaurant receives about 10kg of beef, 10kg of fat or tendon at 8am. Then, we mix the meat, fat and tendon in the right proportions and then grind it. The restaurant will let the ground meat rest in the refrigerator for 3 hours before wrapping it in betel leaves and grilling it.
If you only grind lean meat, the beef will be very dry, and if there is too much fat, the beef will be greasy, so mixing the mixture in a harmonious ratio will help the finished meat to be softer, more fragrant and more appetizing," Ms. Thao shared.
As for the betel leaves, according to her mother's experience, Na should choose the type that is not too old because then the leaves will be hard and bitter, but should not choose the type that is too young because the leaves are easy to tear, difficult to roll the meat and less fragrant.
6-8pm is the busiest time of the restaurant. The beef skewers in betel leaves sizzling under the red charcoal fire, smoke billowing, the kitchen assistants quickly flipping each skewer of meat.
Hot beef skewers wrapped in betel leaves are placed on a plate, sprinkled with some roasted peanuts, served with raw vegetables such as green banana, star fruit, lettuce, bean sprouts and a little vermicelli. The beef wrapped in betel leaves is shiny, spreading a fragrant aroma throughout the restaurant. The combination of betel leaves, meat and other dishes helps the meat taste delicious, not too greasy.
The special thing about this dish is the "divine" fish sauce. According to Ms. Na, the dipping sauce at the restaurant is mixed from 4 main ingredients: pineapple, garlic, sugar, and fish sauce.
"Depending on your preference, you can add sugar, chili or more flavor to the dipping sauce. If you are not used to eating fish sauce, you can use sweet and sour fish sauce," Thao shared. Each beef skewer wrapped in betel leaves at the restaurant will have 10 large, plump beef balls, rolled beautifully and evenly. Each portion of beef costs 80,000 VND.
"Many customers, when hearing the price, say that the restaurant's prices are high and expensive. But I have been in business for more than 10 years, and I dare say that you get what you pay for, and the price goes with the quality. I guarantee the freshness of the beef. The beef balls at my restaurant are also big, soft, sweet, and not dry like many other places. A portion at my restaurant can feed two people," said Ms. Thao.
Although it is located in an alley and traffic is quite difficult, the restaurant is still popular with many customers. Ms. Thanh Tam (42 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) and a group of nearly 10 friends arrived at the restaurant at 7:30 p.m. However, the restaurant only had 2 last beef portions left to serve customers, making the group of friends a bit disappointed.
“We came here quite early but the restaurant still didn’t have enough to sell. Every weekend when we have free time, the whole group comes here to eat beef wrapped in betel leaves. This dish is not boring to eat thanks to the vegetables served with it and the delicious dipping sauce. The beef rolls here are fresh, sweet, and have the characteristic aroma of betel leaves,” Ms. Tam shared.
Nhu Khanh - To Nhu
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