Quy Nhon food guide

Bun cha ca Bún chả cá Quy Nhơn

Fish cake in a broth of fish bone and fish head, usually tuna or sailfish rather than pork, with a chili sauce particular to Binh Dinh. The broth is gently sweet and not fishy, and fried and steamed cakes share the bowl.

Cha ca Chả cá Quy Nhơn

Quy Nhon's tuna fish cake, fried until chewy and crisp or steamed with a thin yellow egg layer. It is the same cake that goes into bún chả cá.

Banh hoi long heo Bánh hỏi lòng heo

A morning plate from Diêu Trì: rice strands finer than bún, with sliced pork intestine and pork, a bowl of hot porridge, and a slightly sweet garlic-chili fish sauce.

Banh it la gai Bánh ít lá gai

A glossy black cone of ramie leaf and sticky-rice flour around mung bean, dried coconut, and ginger. Expect a little bitterness from the leaf, sugar sweetness, and a chewy skin that does not stick to the teeth.

Chao bo Cháo bò

Beef porridge on a beef-bone broth, full of tendon, bone, and offal, with scallion and sawtooth herb. The broth is rich, fragrant, and slightly hot from the herbs.

Goi bo Gỏi bò

A beef salad served beside cháo bò, Quy Nhon's beef porridge.

Bun rieu cua Bún riêu cua

Crab noodle soup: the crab is pounded, mixed with egg, and set into brown-gold sheets you can break with chopsticks, with seaweed in the pot. A full herb plate comes alongside.

Goi ca chich Gỏi cá chích

A small freshwater fish, fried whole and rolled in a phở sheet with herbs and cucumber, or served raw as a salad once the bones are out.

Chao cau gai Cháo cầu gai

Sea-urchin porridge made only with fresh urchin: the meat and roe are seasoned, stir-fried, and poured into boiling rice.

Banh xeo tom nhay Bánh xèo tôm nhảy

A thin yellow pancake with small shrimp that turn red in the pan, bean sprouts, and scallion, crisp on the underside. Some cooks use freshwater shrimp, others tôm đất from the Thị Nại lagoon.

Bun nem Bún nem

Fresh noodles with nem chua, grilled fish cake, herbs, peanut, pickled mustard, and coriander. The sauce balances sour, hot, salty, and sweet, and each shop keeps its own.

Banh mi lagu Bánh mì lagu

A thick, glossy pork soup with a large piece of fragrant, tender pork, eaten hot with bread.

Hu tieu mi hoanh thanh Hủ tiếu mì hoành thánh

A breakfast bowl that brings hủ tiếu, mì, and hoành thánh wontons together, served on Ngô Thời Nhiệm by a Hoa family shop nearly 50 years old.

Banh beo Bánh bèo

Bánh bèo is the cheap cake younger visitors eat in Quy Nhon, on Nguyễn Tất Thành nối dài, Nguyễn Thái Học, and Mai Xuân Thưởng.

Nem nuong Nem nướng

Nem nướng is a night snack on Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở, eaten as walking food. It is a different plate from nem chợ huyện.

Banh trang trung Bánh tráng trứng

Bánh tráng trứng, rice paper with egg, is a night snack on Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở.

Banh canh Bánh canh

Bánh canh is one of the night bowls on Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở.

Ca muc kho nuong Cá mực khô nướng

Grilled dried fish and squid, a night snack on Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở.

Oc Ốc

Snails of many kinds, eaten at low tables on Tăng Bạt Hổ, Mai Xuân Thưởng, and Đào Duy Từ at night.

Rong bien Rong biển

Seaweed from the Bãi Xếp fishing village, dried for a cool summer drink or cooked into chè.

Ruou Bau Da Rượu Bàu Đá

A rice spirit stronger than 50 degrees from Cù Lâm in An Nhơn: clear, hot, and sharp, then sweet in the throat. On Hòn Khô it is poured with the island seafood.

Nem cho huyen Nem chợ huyện

Fermented pork from Tuy Phước, chewy, nubbly, sour, and crisp with a clean sweetness. It is less soft than nem Thủ Đức and less sweet than nem Lai Vung or nem An Cựu.

Bun song than Bún Song Thằn

Mung-bean noodles from An Thái, named for the strands pulled in pairs, cooked with shrimp or lean pork. In An Thái the bowl comes with chicken offal.

Banh trang nuoc dua Bánh tráng nước dừa

A Tam Quan rice cracker with coconut milk in the batter, eaten grilled and fragrant and rich from the coconut.

Chim mia Chim mía

A small bird of the Tây Sơn cane fields, the color of a dry leaf, eaten in late winter and early spring. It is grilled over charcoal with pepper-lime salt or fried in peanut oil with toasted sesame.

Bun tom Chau Truc Bún tôm Châu Trúc

Shrimp noodles from Châu Trúc: live shrimp from the Trà Ổ lagoon pounded and stirred into boiling noodle water, with scallion, coriander, and pepper. A grilled rice cracker comes on the side.

Cua huynh de Cua huỳnh đế

The yellow, heavily spined crab of Tam Quan and Đề Gi, scarce and called the king of crabs, in season from lunar month 12 to lunar month 3. Steamed, it keeps its sweetness and the roe is rich.

Gie bo Gié bò

A Bahnar beef broth from the An Khê and Vĩnh Thạnh highlands, now eaten in Tây Sơn, made with fresh small intestine and soured with lá giang. Chili, ginger, and lemongrass go in, and a few drops of bile add the bitterness locals look for.

Banh uot Hoai Nhon Bánh ướt Hoài Nhơn

Thin steamed rice sheets from Hoài Nhơn, stacked in layers and rolled with oil, fried scallion, and a sweet-sour fish sauce.

Bun cha ca Bún chả cá Quy Nhơn

Nguyễn Huệ

Fish cake in a broth of fish bone and fish head, usually tuna or sailfish rather than pork, with a chili sauce particular to Binh Dinh. The broth is gently sweet and not fishy, and fried and steamed cakes share the bowl.

Cha ca Chả cá Quy Nhơn

Quy Nhon

Quy Nhon's tuna fish cake, fried until chewy and crisp or steamed with a thin yellow egg layer. It is the same cake that goes into bún chả cá.

Banh it la gai Bánh ít lá gai

Quy Nhon

A glossy black cone of ramie leaf and sticky-rice flour around mung bean, dried coconut, and ginger. Expect a little bitterness from the leaf, sugar sweetness, and a chewy skin that does not stick to the teeth.

Goi bo Gỏi bò

Quy Nhon

A beef salad served beside cháo bò, Quy Nhon's beef porridge.

Bun rieu cua Bún riêu cua

Quy Nhon

Crab noodle soup: the crab is pounded, mixed with egg, and set into brown-gold sheets you can break with chopsticks, with seaweed in the pot. A full herb plate comes alongside.

Goi ca chich Gỏi cá chích

Quy Nhon

A small freshwater fish, fried whole and rolled in a phở sheet with herbs and cucumber, or served raw as a salad once the bones are out.

Banh xeo tom nhay Bánh xèo tôm nhảy

Diên Hồng and Đống Đa; Mỹ Cang, Tuy Phước

A thin yellow pancake with small shrimp that turn red in the pan, bean sprouts, and scallion, crisp on the underside. Some cooks use freshwater shrimp, others tôm đất from the Thị Nại lagoon.

Bun nem Bún nem

City center

Fresh noodles with nem chua, grilled fish cake, herbs, peanut, pickled mustard, and coriander. The sauce balances sour, hot, salty, and sweet, and each shop keeps its own.

Nem nuong Nem nướng

Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở

Nem nướng is a night snack on Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở, eaten as walking food. It is a different plate from nem chợ huyện.

Banh canh Bánh canh

Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở

Bánh canh is one of the night bowls on Phan Bội Châu and Ngô Văn Sở.

Oc Ốc

Tăng Bạt Hổ, Mai Xuân Thưởng, and Đào Duy Từ

Snails of many kinds, eaten at low tables on Tăng Bạt Hổ, Mai Xuân Thưởng, and Đào Duy Từ at night.

Rong bien Rong biển

Bãi Xếp

Seaweed from the Bãi Xếp fishing village, dried for a cool summer drink or cooked into chè.

Nem cho huyen Nem chợ huyện

Tuy Phước

Fermented pork from Tuy Phước, chewy, nubbly, sour, and crisp with a clean sweetness. It is less soft than nem Thủ Đức and less sweet than nem Lai Vung or nem An Cựu.

Cua huynh de Cua huỳnh đế

Tam Quan and Đề Gi

The yellow, heavily spined crab of Tam Quan and Đề Gi, scarce and called the king of crabs, in season from lunar month 12 to lunar month 3. Steamed, it keeps its sweetness and the roe is rich.

Gie bo Gié bò

Phú Phong, Tây Sơn

A Bahnar beef broth from the An Khê and Vĩnh Thạnh highlands, now eaten in Tây Sơn, made with fresh small intestine and soured with lá giang. Chili, ginger, and lemongrass go in, and a few drops of bile add the bitterness locals look for.

Banh uot Hoai Nhon Bánh ướt Hoài Nhơn

Hoài Nhơn

Thin steamed rice sheets from Hoài Nhơn, stacked in layers and rolled with oil, fried scallion, and a sweet-sour fish sauce.