Today I was passing by Phu Minh street, Soc Son, and I saw a traditional bun ca ro dong (field perch noodle soup) restaurant. Actually, there were two reasons why I stopped: first, I was craving bun ca ro dong; second, it was too hot, and I wanted to find a cool place to eat comfortably.
This restaurant is not wide but long in depth. At the entrance, they hang a transparent plastic strip to keep the air conditioning inside. When I walked in, I had to lift the plastic slightly. The cooking area is right at the front, where you can see staff frying fish and cooking broth. After ordering, customers go further inside to sit in the air-conditioned room.
Overall, the restaurant is quite clean. The tables and chairs are arranged neatly, and the floor has no oil stains or food crumbs like many other local restaurants. This is a big plus for me because I care a lot about cleanliness.
The dish I ordered: banh da ca ro dong – 35,000 VND I ordered a bowl of banh da ca ro dong, priced at 35,000 VND, similar to many other restaurants I’ve tried. However, the difference here is the use of field perch (ca ro dong), which I don’t often see in other bun ca restaurants.
In previous reviews, I talked about farmed perch, which is usually bigger. They slice it thin and fry it. Farmed perch meat is soft but often mushy and lacks the firmness and sweetness of wild fish.
Field perch at this restaurant is different. The fish is smaller, but the meat is firmer and sweeter. Especially, the fish here is marinated with turmeric and fried until crispy and golden. When I ordered, the staff asked if I wanted steamed or fried field perch, and of course, I chose fried because I wanted to try the crispy texture.
One thing I really like about this restaurant is they put a lot of mustard greens in the bowl. I love eating vegetables, so seeing a hot bowl full of greens made me happy. There’s also a basket of fresh herbs on the table for anyone who wants more.
The banh da (brown rice noodles) here is thick, wide, and brown in color. This type of noodle is different from regular vermicelli and suits my taste better because it is chewy and has a slightly nutty flavor. Eating it with crispy field perch and lots of greens made it perfect for a lunch meal.
Overall, this is a local restaurant but serves good food and is very clean. The space is cool with air conditioning, the staff is friendly, and service is fast. 35,000 VND for a bowl of banh da ca ro dong is reasonable to me, especially for the quality field perch and generous amount of vegetables.
If you pass by Phu Minh street, Soc Son on a hot summer day and crave a bowl of bun or banh da ca ro dong, I think you should try this place. This article has images and content 100% from me @a-alice!! See you in the next post