Bánh canh bột gạo cắt

Sep 032015

Bánh Canh Bột Gạo Cắt
75 Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, P. Đa Kao
District 1
0122 365 6973; 0904 499 298

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Hai eating a yummy bowl of bánh canh near Saigon’s tourist center

Having served her food at this street corner for over ten years, this Saigon street food vendor features a few special treats!

First, Bánh Canh Bột Gạo Cắt‘s District 1 location is rather convenient to Saigon’s tourist center. So, if you want to try some “real” Saigon street food, you won’t have to wander very far from your hotel.

Secondly, think for a minute about what exactly does Bánh Canh Bột Gạo Cắt mean!??

[OK, time’s up!]

“Bánh Canh” is a thick, udon-like noodle. Slippery in a slithery kind-of-way. Yet, firm and slightly chewy. “Bột Gạo”, describes the rice flour from which those thick noodles are made. And “Cắt” means “to cut off,” as in, make the flour dough yourself and “cut off” the long firm noodles for your soup. String them all together, and you’ll find that the wonderful noodles here are thick, and home-made with rice flour and hand-cut by this street-corner vendor! Unspoken in their name is that these thick, home-made rice noodles are very yummy.

But, the noodles are just the beginning.

Accompanying those great rice noodles are shrimp, pork and chả cá.

The soup broth here is slightly sweet and quite “quiet” (as Hai describes it.) That means it’s flavorful without being bold or super-spicy.

A convenient street corner to enjoy eating Bánh Canh in Saigon

But, drop the shrimp, pork and chả cá into the broth, amongst those yummy noodles, and the whole dish comes alive! (The pork’s a tad chewy, but what the heck.)

Oh, also, you can whip up your own small dish of dipping sauce at your table for the shrimp and pork by blending some fish sauce with a bit of chili oil and a twist of lime – YUM!

Eat Bánh Canh in Saigon

And finally, while you’re enjoying your bowl of yummy soup, who knows, you might be able to strike up an interesting conversation by dialing one of these numbers! 🙂

For a fun time, call … 🙂

So, why not head on down to this street corner? Not an out-of-this-world dish. But, convenient, inexpensive, yummy, and authentic Saigon street food! I’d give it a try.