Banh Beo shop in Hai Phong sells 2,500 cakes per day

Banh Beo May is located behind Lach Tray Stadium, a favorite snack spot for young people in Hai Phong, selling more than 2,500 servings every day.

Mrs. May's Banh Beo restaurant is located at 65 Chu Van An, right in the center of Hai Phong city, behind Lach Tray stadium. The restaurant is about 50 square meters wide, has 10 tables, and can accommodate 45-50 people at a time.

When mentioning banh beo, many people will think of Hue banh beo, round, about 5 cm in diameter, served in a bowl, eaten with shrimp floss, scallion oil, and fried pork skin. But with the same name, originating from Hai Phong, banh beo here is a completely different variation. Hai Phong banh beo is wrapped in banana leaves, quite similar to banh duc and tastes like banh gio but harder.

Banh beo is served in the restaurant.

Entering the restaurant, right in front is a 2m long table. On the table are various utensils, spices and some of the restaurant's dishes such as banh beo, banh do, banh gio, banh cuon and side dishes. During peak hours, 4-5 customers can sit and eat here. Next to the table, there are 5 Styrofoam boxes, each containing 500 banh beo to serve customers at the restaurant and for take-away.

Ms. May said that the restaurant prepares 2,500 cakes every day, 3,000 on weekends, not including other types of cakes. The restaurant opens from 12:30 until the ingredients run out. "On days when there are many customers, the goods are sold out by 4:00 p.m.," Ms. May said. The restaurant has 7 servers, each in charge of a step: one cuts the patties into the dipping sauce, one cuts the cakes, and one pours the sauce.

Every day, the restaurant prepares about 30 kg of rice flour, 50 kg of ground pork, 10 kg of wood ear mushrooms and 60 liters of broth, not to mention other ingredients.

The dipping sauce is Mrs. May's secret, simmered from bones.

Every morning at 6am, Mrs. May and her husband begin the preparation steps, from grinding flour, making the filling, frying onions, and arranging leaves in the mold. The cake crust is made from rice, soaked in water for at least 6 hours, and ground into flour. Then, the rice flour is cooked and stirred until smooth. The filling includes pork, fried onions, and chopped wood ear mushrooms, mixed well and then put into the mold with the cake crust, steamed for about an hour. Each cake has a ratio of 60 grams of flour and 40 grams of filling, wrapped in banana leaves measuring 12 x 16 cm.

Next, put the mixed filling into the banana leaf-lined mold and pour the dough on top. When the cake is done, the crust will turn opaque white and have the aroma of rice flour, meat filling, wood ear mushrooms, black fungus and fried onions. The steamed cake is placed in a thermos. When guests arrive, it can be served immediately with a dipping sauce made from simmered bones heated on the stove. The cake can also be served with cinnamon sausage, meatballs, fried onions, coriander...

The dipping sauce is Mrs. May's secret, simmered from bones for 12 hours on a charcoal stove. The owner has her own recipe with traditional fish sauce, with a sweet and fragrant taste. The dipping sauce is golden brown, shimmering, and blends into each piece of meatloaf. When eating, diners can add coriander, fresh chili, and lemon.

A serving of four rice cakes, fried onions and pork patties with dipping sauce costs from 20,000 to 30,000 VND. This price has remained the same for the past two years.

Banh Beo May restaurant attracts many young diners.

In recent years, when Hai Phong food tour became a trend, the number of visitors on weekends increased, customers had to queue up to wait for service. Customers come here to enjoy and then introduce their friends. Customers who come by motorbike can park inside and customers who come by car can park right in front of the restaurant, very convenient and free of charge.

Ms. Diep, manager of the market at 65 Chu Van An, said that for decades, banh beo has become a famous snack in Hai Phong. Mrs. May's shop has been here for nearly 20 years and is known by many tourists for its quality cakes and reasonable prices.

Joy, 28, a Russian tourist, said he had eaten many dishes in Vietnam. Banh beo may is a dish that is soft enough, full of meat, has many spices and a very fragrant, rich, sweet dipping sauce. He said that next time he returns to Vietnam, he will definitely try this dish.

Ms. Khanh Linh, 22 years old, and a group of friends traveled from Hanoi by train to experience the food tour on May 21, also praised "Hai Phong's banh beo is soft, rich, has a lot of meat filling and especially the broth is very sweet and rich. The cake will taste better when eaten hot". Ms. An Nguyen, from Hai Phong, said that for the past 4-5 years, she has been coming to the restaurant with her friends around 4pm and also has similar feelings about the cake.

Some other dishes that visitors can enjoy when experiencing Hai Phong food tour are Bich spicy fish noodle soup, old lady's crab rice noodles, beef noodle soup, Miss Thuy's vinegar beef noodle soup, Hien Beo's coconut jelly, and baguettes.

Article and photos: Thuy Linh

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