Din Chon noodles cost hundreds of thousands of giant duck legs, it's delicious but also expensive.

Din Chon noodles are controversial because the price of 100,000 VND does not match the quality. However, the taste of Din Chon noodles has left an impression on many people, so much so that finding the restaurant again makes them 'overjoyed'.

Din Chon noodles receive many compliments for its special flavor - Photo: DANG KHUONG

Every night at 7pm on Nguyen Kiem Street (HCMC), a small noodle shop with a very old, almost unreadable signboard becomes crowded with customers.

It's a long-standing Din Chon noodle shop, not too ostentatious, making many people "overjoyed" to find it.

However, nine out of ten people have different opinions. Most agree that the duck noodle soup here is delicious, but many question the price of 100,000 VND/bowl.

What's in the 'classic' bowl of Din Chon noodles?

Order a bowl of "classic" Chinese barbecued pork noodles with shiitake mushrooms and braised duck noodles from Din Chon noodles, a bowl of broth with a huge duck leg that will amaze the diners. This is the "face" that receives a shower of compliments from diners.

Braised duck noodles are a "classic" of the shop - Photo: DANG KHUONG

A large quarter of the thigh is fried until golden brown before being stewed. The stewed duck meat is soft and fatty. When eaten, the meat gives off the aroma of Chinese herbs, mixed with a bit of tangerine peel. The thigh is stewed just enough, so diners can easily feel the spices permeate without being tough.

However, the aroma of tangerine peel in the broth requires the connoisseur to be more delicate, because it is not too strong, just faint, making the diner feel comfortable. The seller sets the duck bowl and the broth separately, which is also a way for the diner to fully enjoy the delicious flavor of the broth.

The broth gives the diner a rich, refreshing feeling without being as sweet as some other places. However, when swallowed, the broth leaves a unique, slightly sweet aftertaste.

Although the duck stew strongly stimulates the appetite of diners, to fully enjoy it, diners must wait for the noodles with watercress.

The noodles are seasoned with some spices such as salt, fried onions, sauce... However, the bright yellow noodles are the minus point of Din Chon noodles.

On the Foody page, some diners agreed that the restaurant's noodles were dry, affecting the "perfect" dining experience. In addition, a large bowl of char siu noodles with shiitake mushrooms for 60,000 VND was also noticed by diners when coming to the Din Chon noodle shop.

Char siu noodles with shiitake mushrooms at Din Chon noodles - Photo: HO LAM

On top of the golden, chewy noodles is a layer of firm char siu, cooked just right, not mushy. When you eat it, you can feel the sweetness in every piece of meat. The layer of minced meat and watercress is like a decoration for the bowl of noodles.

For those who love vegetables and mushrooms, each piece of shiitake mushroom is probably the soul, because it has a very light vegetable flavor. The broth does not have a strong MSG smell because the sweetness from the mushrooms and meat is enough.

Spices help diners freely adjust the flavor as desired - Photo: DANG KHUONG

A plus point of this dish is that it is not too salty, from the meat to the broth. Diners can customize the saltiness with a bowl of dipping sauce on the side.

A small minus point in the restaurant space is that there are no dipping bowls available on the table even though there are many spices available such as: chili sauce, satay, yellow mustard...

Found the restaurant, "very happy"

However, a bowl of noodles with rich broth and a huge thigh still cannot escape controversy because of the price of 100,000 VND.

On the Google Maps review section, the Tramie's Dairy account shared: "The food is okay. The space is clean and the staff takes great care of the dishes. But it seems like the restaurant has "fake prices", the quality of the food and the price are not proportional to each other."

The humble noodle shop still makes many people remember it - Photo: DANG KHUONG

Some diners also commented that the restaurant's negative points are the space and the attitude of the staff. Many users said that the staff and the owner have a "snobbish" attitude towards customers.

Besides, the small space and diners often sharing tables with other guests make the price of 100,000 VND even more unreasonable.

However, Din Chon noodles still retain many Saigon people from the past to the present. Some compliments that diners give to the restaurant are: "Such a big thigh, the price is also right, with pickled papaya. The duck noodles here are "extremely" delicious";

"The duck meat is tender and not smelly, the wontons and shiitake mushroom noodles are also very refreshing"; "Probably the best duck noodle shop I've ever eaten. The restaurant is Chinese, several decades old, and still retains its flavor"...

On the Foody page, Xubin account shared: "My husband and I have been eating here since the restaurant was still on Phan Dinh Phung. Then we lost track of time and found out that the restaurant moved to Nguyen Kiem. We were so happy!".

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mi-din-chon-tram-ngan-dui-vit-to-to-chang-ngon-thi-kinh-dien-ma-dat-cung-chang-vua-20241105193158702.htm