The street food dish costs 35,000 VND/serving, with bitter melon soup for 15,000 VND, making the Japanese customer eat non-stop, exclaiming and praising "the best I've ever eaten in my life".
Papaken (35 years old, content creator) is Japanese and has lived in Hanoi for more than 2 years.
Kazuki Matsumoto (also known as Kiki) is a famous Japanese blogger, currently living and working in Ho Chi Minh City.
On their personal YouTube channel with hundreds of thousands of followers, the two Japanese visitors regularly share videos about their travel and culinary experiences in some Vietnamese provinces and cities they have had the opportunity to visit.
Most recently, on the occasion of Papaken's visit to Ho Chi Minh City, Kiki took her fellow countryman to a local restaurant on Co Giang Street (District 1) to enjoy the famous broken rice dish.
Papaken revealed that he had experienced broken rice in Hanoi and this was the first time he had authentic broken rice in Ho Chi Minh City.
Kiki said that although it is not a popular dining spot for tourists, the restaurant attracts a lot of locals and neighboring people to enjoy sidewalk broken rice every day.
Here, 2 guests ordered 2 servings of broken rice with pork ribs and sausage, served with bitter melon soup stuffed with meat.
The restaurant serves free soup. If you order bitter melon soup separately, you have to pay an additional 15,000 VND/bowl.
One thing that surprised Papaken was that the broken rice dish at the restaurant was only served with a spoon and fork instead of chopsticks like other places.
Kiki explained that this is the typical local way of eating broken rice.
“If you are used to it, it will seem normal because they don’t put chopsticks here. But if you are not used to it, it will be more difficult,” Kiki said.
Before enjoying, Papaken poured sweet and sour fish sauce evenly over the rice dish. Kiki said it could be drizzled or dipped depending on preference.
Tasting the first piece of grilled ribs, Papaken immediately exclaimed, “So delicious.” He commented that the ribs had the perfect ratio of lean meat and fat, the grilled meat was tender, fragrant and flavorful, not too dry.
“The broken rice here is really delicious because it has a smoky smell. As soon as you put it in your mouth, you can feel the extremely fragrant smell,” he said.
Chung commented, Kiki thinks that the ribs here are marinated well, with spices absorbed evenly. When eating, diners feel the smoky smell gradually melting in the mouth.
“This fat is so delicious, it's fat but not greasy at all,” Kiki said.
According to Papaken's opinion, not only the grilled ribs but also the broken rice is delicious, the rice grains are soft and hot. Besides, the sweet and sour fish sauce is just right, suitable for the taste, and the sausage is very delicious.
“I ate broken rice in Hanoi and found it delicious, but it is even better here,” commented the Japanese guest.
Kiki revealed that he had tried broken rice at many different restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. However, he was more impressed with the sidewalk broken rice here because of its affordable price and the side dishes such as ribs and fish sauce were well-seasoned and not too sweet.
With the stuffed bitter melon soup, Papaken was also impressed by the delicious and attractive flavor. He did not taste the bitterness but felt the sweet, rich flavor of the broth.
Because he loves the sidewalk broken rice dish in Ho Chi Minh City so much, Papaken can't stop enjoying it. He keeps bringing the food to his mouth, nodding and praising how delicious it is.
"The best broken rice dish I've ever had in my life, really," Papaken shared.
Kiki admitted that the broken rice dish was “so delicious that I wanted to eat the whole thing around the bone.”
It is known that the broken rice restaurant that the two Japanese guests visited is owned by Ms. Ngoc Thanh (52 years old) and her husband Mr. Tan Phong (53 years old).
Sharing with VietNamNet reporter, Ms. Thanh said that before that, she and her husband used to sell broken rice on Co Bac street (District 1) for about 10 years and then stopped. After that, they reopened the restaurant on Co Giang street, operating for about 4 years now.
It is called a restaurant but it is actually just a broken rice cart located right at the corner of Co Giang Street with a small kitchen. The cart is filled with neatly arranged dishes.
The shop is open from 5pm to 11pm, busiest in the evening.
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Ms. Thanh said that the broken rice dish is made and processed by the couple themselves. In addition, they hire brothers and relatives to help, creating jobs for them every day.
Every day, the restaurant sells about 30kg of ribs.
In addition to rice with ribs, diners can order rice portions with different side dishes such as braised pork with duck eggs, egg rolls, fried chicken with lemongrass and chili, Chinese sausage, grilled meat, meatballs, fried eggs, etc.
Prices range from 35,000 - 50,000 VND/meal, depending on the customer's preferences and food portions.
Photo: Papaken - family Life in Vietnam
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khach-nhat-thu-mon-com-tam-o-via-he-tphcm-khen-ngon-nhat-tung-an-2342657.html
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