(Fatherland) - The bamboo hedge restaurant in Dong Anh is famous for its rustic yet quality dishes, but the overcrowding of customers makes many diners feel... discouraged.
I have heard about the bamboo hedge restaurant in Dong Anh, Hanoi for a long time but have not had the chance to enjoy it, so during the free weekend, we decided to invite each other to eat. From the center of Hanoi, the distance to the restaurant is about 20km, the road is not too difficult but it takes about 40 minutes by car to get there. The distance is long enough for people to joke that "eating a bowl of porridge is worth running three fields".
Many people still call this the bamboo grove restaurant.
Cars line up to go eat, during rush hour customers have to get their own food
The restaurant is called Tung Minh but many people still call it the bamboo hedge restaurant because the customers' seats are right next to the lush green bamboo hedge. When we arrived at the restaurant, the first thing that caught our eyes was a long line of cars. There was no parking attendant or staff, customers had to find their own space to park their cars. As for motorbikes, there was a parking space right next to the restaurant.
Long lines of cars lined up because most of the customers who come here to eat come from far away.
We visited the restaurant around 11:30 am, which was probably the busiest time. Therefore, the staff kept running back and forth, and it was not easy to call them. We saw an empty table so we sat down without anyone coming to guide us. A moment later, a staff member came out to order, without giving us a menu, but asked us if we wanted to eat tripe, pork belly, or grilled pork belly. Because we had researched beforehand, we knew that these were the 3 types of grilled meat that people often ordered. After choosing the meat, the staff asked us if we wanted to eat vermicelli or tofu because these were 2 familiar dishes at the restaurant that we saw at every table.
The dining area is outdoors and covered with a tarpaulin above.
After sitting for about 15 minutes, customers kept coming but the restaurant ran out of tables. The staff called each other to temporarily stop accepting any more customers and return the food to the tables that were already seated. We sat looking at each other, not knowing when the food would be ready.
The meat is grilled continuously but still cannot be served to customers in time.
From the food preparation area on the opposite side, the staff continuously brought trays with dishes that people often order such as burnt noodles, tofu with onions... The meat grilling area was right next to the bamboo grove, 3 grills continuously grilling meat, smoke billowing up, but still not enough time to serve the customers.
The three types of grilled meat people often eat here are pork belly, pork belly and tripe.
It turns out that the secret to eating here is to order the food right away when the staff brings the food by. Because when there are many customers, the staff can't remember who ordered first or last, just bring the right order. Even the staff who bring the food will conveniently ask the customer if they ordered this dish or not, if they did, they will bring it right away.
The staff put the marinated meat on skewers to grill.
Many people who are more confident are standing at the grill area. The skewers of meat, once cooked, are transferred to the table next to the table to be put on a plate. Customers constantly urge, "Hey, I still have 2 plates of beef!", "I have 1 plate of beef, I've been waiting for a long time" ... As soon as the meat is placed on a plate, a customer takes it away.
A plate will serve 2 skewers.
One customer even said: "With so many people, if you don't come out and get your own food, you don't know when you'll be able to eat." First come, first served, last served... that's probably normal here. The atmosphere during rush hour makes many customers feel a bit... confused, because of the customers' calls for food, the staff's urging each other... Some people even got tired and didn't see their food so they got up and left.
Customers had to come out to order because the food took too long.
The staff ran back and forth continuously.
As for us, after hoarsely calling the staff, we finally got enough food after about 40 minutes. Not to mention, when we asked for fish sauce to eat grilled meat, the staff ran away and said to us, "Please go over there and get the dipping sauce for me."
Pickled cucumbers are pickled right at the shop.
Anyone who comes to eat must order Mach Trang burnt noodles!
The first dish we ate here was burnt vermicelli, also known as Mach Trang burnt vermicelli. In Mach Trang village, Co Loa commune, Dong Anh, Hanoi, there is a vermicelli village that is over a thousand years old. Mach Trang vermicelli is also called "black vermicelli", so called because the vermicelli here has a grayish color, not pure white like many other types of vermicelli.
Mach Trang burnt vermicelli is a dish that almost everyone who comes here orders.
A plate of burnt vermicelli here will have a burnt layer on top, and below is vermicelli stir-fried with celery. This burnt vermicelli layer is made in a large pan, requiring skill and dexterity. The result is a crispy burnt layer, fragrant with scallion oil, not too greasy and very delicious to eat. As for the fried vermicelli, the vermicelli, although stir-fried with celery, spices, pepper... is still very loose and retains its crunchiness, not broken at all. That is also the special feature of Mach Trang vermicelli.
Crispy rice noodles are placed on top of stir-fried rice noodles with celery.
A portion of burnt noodles here costs 60,000 VND and is quite a lot, suitable for 3-4 people. This dish is delicious but also gets boring quickly, so the restaurant will put a plate of pickles on the table (charged 20,000 VND) for customers to eat with it to relieve the feeling of fullness.
Grilled meat strips and pickles.
The price of tripe and grilled pork belly here is 200,000 VND/plate, and grilled pork belly is 150,000 VND/plate. When ordering with the staff, we ordered a portion of tripe, but because we waited too long and the staff suggested switching to grilled pork belly because the batch had just been grilled, we had to agree. Talking about the pork belly, the meat was marinated just right so we could clearly feel the fresh taste of the meat. However, there were some places that were a bit burnt. The pork belly has a soft and fragrant inner membrane, so the texture of the meat is not dry.
A bowl of pickled onion fish sauce makes the grilled meat more complete.
When eating, the meat will be dipped in fish sauce with onions. This dipping sauce consists of mixed fish sauce, pickled shallots and a little chili. It is simple but has a very fragrant onion smell and the spiciness of the chili. Dipping it with grilled meat and eating with pickles is perfect.
The onion tofu was not so good when the tofu was no longer crispy. Because it was fried in a hurry, some pieces were a bit burnt.
We also ordered a portion of onion-marinated tofu. Unlike many other places, the onion-marinated tofu here is fried in large pieces and then cut into pieces, then drizzled with a lot of diluted fish sauce so the tofu is no longer crispy. The tofu inside is soft and creamy. A plate of onion-marinated tofu here costs 40,000 VND.
Plates of burnt noodles were brought out continuously because almost every table ordered them.
Because we went to eat with 2 people and wanted to experience many dishes, and the food portions here were quite large, we had to take it home. The total meal cost 320,000 VND. If you come here to eat, you should go with a large group to enjoy more dishes.
In fact, the restaurant not only has familiar dishes such as grilled meat, burnt noodles or onion-marinated tofu... but also has a very diverse menu, including hot pots. Therefore, to eat many other dishes, you should probably go during the time when it is not crowded. However, if you want to find a restaurant with comfortable seats and fast service, you should probably consider it a bit. In addition, in this area, besides the bamboo restaurant, there are many other restaurants that also have similar dishes. You can learn more to try!
If you are looking for a restaurant with indoor space and fast service, you should consider before coming here.
Source: https://toquocweb.dev.cnnd.vn/lan-loi-may-chuc-cay-so-di-an-thu-quan-rang-tre-nuc-tieng-dong-anh-xe-o-to-xep-hang-dai-gio-cao-diem-khach-phai-tu-phuc-vu-20250310162813708.htm
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