Tran Quy Khoach meatball sandwich with fresh meat, simmered with chili, soaked in sauce, the taste of Dien Khanh in the past

In the drizzling rain of Saigon night sky, diners chatting and sipping on a bowl of meatball sandwich on the sidewalk of Tran Quy Khoach street also feel warm enough...

The attractive dish of meatballs attracts many diners of the restaurant - Photo: HO LAM

Nestled at the intersection of Tran Quy Khoach and Tran Nhat Duat streets, Tan Dinh ward, district 1, Ho Chi Minh City, the meatball sandwich cart sits quietly on a small sidewalk corner.

The restaurant opens from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., so this place is not only a breakfast place for office workers, students, but also a dating place for couples and groups of friends at night.

This is also the store that started the chain of Den Dau meatballs that sell all night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meatball bread, sandwiches from Dien Khanh

The restaurant only sells two main dishes: meatballs in a bowl for VND27,000 and sandwiches for VND20,000. Notably, the sandwich recipe comes from the restaurant owner's hometown in Thanh market (Dien Khanh district, Khanh Hoa province).

The dish includes: meatballs, quail eggs, coriander, fried onions... - Photo: HO LAM

According to Mr. D., the owner of the restaurant, the soul of the sandwich is the braised meat and the sauce that flows from the meat, and the meatballs are the flavor that accentuates this dish.

As for the meatball dish, the attraction for diners lies in the taste of fresh, hot, sauce-soaked meat.

The best way to eat it is to take a few spoonfuls of the sauce, then mash the meatballs and enjoy with bread.

Taste the bowl of meatballs and you can feel the rich and sweet flavor.

Mr. D. said that the restaurant's sauce recipe does not add too much salt so the sweetness will be stronger.

With a bowl of sauce that is not too salty, diners can season it to their taste.

Diners can enjoy meatballs with chili sauce to enhance the flavor.

All the ingredients here are tried not to use preservatives, so at first, Mr. D. also "struggled" in preparing, cooking, transporting food and then finding the best way to preserve it as it is now.

Tran Quy Khoach's cozy meatball sandwich shop - Photo: DANG KHUONG

Street food is about simplicity and sharing.

Confiding in Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. D. said he decided to sell meatball sandwiches on a cart on Tran Quy Khoach street about 2 years ago.

At that time, a friend of his went abroad and gave him the recipe and asked him to sell it. Over time, Mr. D. gradually fell in love with this job because he loved the feeling of seeing customers enjoy the food he made.

Mr. D. smiled and said: "When I first opened the shop, I practiced making meatballs and watched the first customers enjoy them. I felt extremely nervous, but when I saw their faces weren't too... wrinkled, I was very happy!"

Sandwiches with flavors from Nha Trang - Photo: DANG KHUONG

And above all, Mr. D. also loves the noisy, vibrant atmosphere typical of the shops on the streets of Saigon. Around here, there are always busy streams of vehicles and people, creating a very Saigon scene that cannot be found anywhere else.

According to Mr. D., the beauty of street food in Vietnam lies in its simplicity, sharing and accessibility.

Many times people just need to pull over to the side of the road, put down their kickstand, and about two minutes later they have a hot loaf of bread in their hands.

"Sidewalk stalls usually serve all types of customers.

Grab drivers, lottery ticket sellers, scrap collectors, office workers, students can all stop by.

I also often tell the sales staff that if suddenly the shop has a customer who is a manual worker or has to work outside a lot, then add more meat and send them water," said Mr. D.

On the Google Maps review page for this restaurant, Nga Huynh commented: "Delicious meatballs with firm meat, fragrant fried onions and quail eggs that are quite delicious. Shredded papaya, eaten with coriander and Vietnamese coriander, has a sweet and sour taste.

The bread at the shop is crispy and spongy, not dense but goes well with the meatballs. The accompanying condiments include chili sauce, chili sauce, and soy sauce.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/banh-mi-xiu-mai-tran-quy-khoach-thit-tuoi-ot-rim-dam-sot-huong-vi-dien-khanh-ngay-xua-20241106233918152.htm