Danang is a food paradise with a wide variety of classic dishes available from local restaurants and food stalls at bargain basement prices. Averie Nguyen picks out some of the must-try dishes.
Chicken rice
Source: Foody.vn
Danang
is renowned for its chicken rice. The rice is yellow because it is cooked with
some turmeric extract and it is full of a refreshing pandan fragrance. The
chicken is shredded and mixed with onion, laksa leaves, lemon, chilli, salt,
pepper and chicken broth.
Good
chicken rice can be found in Hong Ngoc restaurant on Nguyen Chi Thanh street or
A Hai chicken rice restaurant on Thai Phien street. Tourists can also
experience the dish in Hoi An’s Ba Buoi restaurant, which is situated on Phan
Chau Trinh street.
Cao Lau
Source: Bon Appetit
Cau Lau is a large and flat kind of
noodle, which is made from rice and ash of a special herb in Hoi An, about 30
kilometres from Danang. Cau Lau is served with pork, bean sprouts, some other
herbs and a little sauce. Rice crackers are also added to create a touch of
crunchiness to the dish.
Tourists
can find Cau Lau vendors on many
streets in Hoi An and Danang but the most famous ones are Ba Be restaurant on
Tran Phu street (Hoi An) and Cao Lau restaurant on Thai Thi Boi street (Danang).
Mi Quang
Source: Khata.vn
Some
people mistake mi Quang for cao lau because of their similar
appearance. Mi Quang noodle looks
like Hanoi’s pho, but its yellow
colour is created by a sauce made of turmeric and caramelised salty chicken.
Roasted pork and shrimp are also added. Unlike cao lau, mi Quang
includes some onion leaves and a sprinkling of roasted nuts, plus a half boiled
egg.
The
restaurants that are said to bring the truest flavour of Danang’s mi Quang is Ba Ngan restaurant on Dong Da street and Ba Vi
restaurant on Le Dinh Duong street.
Hu tiu Nam Vang
Source: VOV
This
is a great dish for noodle lovers. The hu
tiu noodle is more crunchy than the normal noodles found in Vietnam. This
dish contains pork, liver, shrimp, quail egg, and meatballs. Chopped green
onion and coriander are added to create more flavour. Its broth is cooked using
pork bones and dried squid or dried shrimp.
In
Danang, tourist can find hu tiu Nam Vang
on Tran Phu or Ong Ich Khiem street.
Banh beo
Source: VnExpress
Banh beo is a steamed rice cake which is
served in small bows. A typical banh beo will feature a dimple in the centre
filled with ground dried or fresh shrimp, chopped green onion and crispy fried
shallots. People should add some sauce to each before eating.
Banh beo can be found in many restaurants
in Danang such as Be Be restaurant on Hoang Van Thu street or Truc Lam garden
café on Tran Quy Cap street. However, my favourite is Tran restaurant on Le
Duan street.
Pork rice paper rolls
Source: Cuonroll.vn
This
dish is very simple and fun to put together yourself. Take a slice of boiled
pork and all the vegetables you like and wrap them in rice paper. Dip the roll into a salty, sweet, and hot
sauce and enjoy.
Tran
restaurant on Le Duan street is one of the top places to try this dish.
Sea food
Source: Foody.vn
Since
Danang is a coastal city, tourists can enjoy fresh and diverse seafood here at
great prices. Waiters guide diners around the restaurant’s tanks of fish, crab,
shrimp, and shellfish. Once the seafood is selected, customers can choose
whether they want it steamed or grilled with onions or roasted nuts.
Tourists
can find good seafood restaurants along My Khe beach. One of the best is Hau Sua.
By Averie Nguyen/Timeout Vietnam