Mouthwatering rustic dishes on Tuy An street

Thuy has sold banh duc on Tuy An street for more than 40 years

Neither luxurious nor ostentatious, but the food there still holds many diners back.

After work in the afternoon is the busiest and most crowded time of Tuy An street due to the attraction of restaurants. On the street less than 1 km long, there are nearly a dozen of eateries which only sell simple dishes.

Shops selling banh duc (rice cake cooked with lime juice), xoi che (steamed sticky rice with sweet porridge), banh ran (sticky rice doughnut), etc. are crowded with customers coming and leaving. Everyone patiently waits for their turn instead of hastening away when having to wait for a long time. This is enough to prove the deliciousness of the food there.

Thuy has sold banh duc on the street for more than 40 years. At first, there was only a flat basket of cakes on the pavement, but to date, she has rented a spacious house to serve customers eating on the spot.

Thuy's banh duc are famous for their specific taste since she cooks them on her own. The cakes are made from ivory-colored rice, dotted with a few peanut seeds, and served with shrimp paste or Ban soy sauce and spicy herbs. Despite this simplicity, the cakes make many people crave and have a craze for them.

In addition to banh duc, she also sells bun dau (rice vermicelli and fried tofu) as another option for diners.

Aside from Thuy's shop, there are two other banh duc eateries which are not less attractive to customers on the street.

Thao's xoi che shop at 20 Tuy An is a familiar address for those loving this rustic dish. Three generations of Thao's family has sold xoi che there. The street has changed a lot but Thao's xoi che shop remains unchanged and crowded like in the early days.

There are many kinds of xoi at Thao's xoi che shop, such as xoi vo (sticky rice cooked with ground beans), xoi do (sticky rice cooked with beans), xoi ngo (sticky rice cooked with corn), etc. Che kho (sweetened bean pudding), banh troi (sugar-stuffed sticky rice balls), and banh chay (sticky rice balls stuffed with green bean paste) are also favored by customers.

Nguyen Thi Chi in Tu Minh ward, a patron of Thao's shop, said in the present modern society, many people like foreign food, but she still prefers traditional one. Thao's xoi che shop is a place Chi and her friends frequent. The distinction of the shop is that Thao uses an earthen steamer for cooking, so xoi is more sticky and tasty.

Near Thao's xoi che shop is Dinh's banh ran stand. With only a small basket of banh ran closely kept with clean cloth and a set of a table and stools, Dinh can earn millions of dong a day.

She said the doughnuts are home-made and thus very clean, and the ingredients to make the stuffing and crust are carefully chosen.

Salty banh ran stuffed with meat, cellophane noodles, and moc nhi (cat's ear) are served with the heirloom chili sauce also made by her own hands.

Meanwhile, sweet doughnuts are stuffed with steamed green beans and sugar. The crust is covered with white sesame to add a buttery taste to the cakes.

Thanks to these distinctions, Dinh's banh ran stand is well patronized. Every day, she starts selling from 4 pm, and commonly until just over 6 pm, more than 1,000 doughnuts are sold out.

Usually, when coming to Tuy An street, diners do not just stop by one restaurant partly because these are cheap rustic dishes and partly because everyone wants to enjoy many dishes to satisfy their cravings since all restaurants there have their own attractiveness.

Aside from the above-mentioned dishes, there are many other restaurants selling mien ngan (goose vermicelli), banh xeo (sizzling pancake), banh da cua (crab noodles) etc. attractive to diners on the street.

NM