Three specialties of Phan Thiet

Ha Manh, born in 1991, currently living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, is working on a documentary project about culinary experiences across Vietnam. The film follows Manh’s footsteps walking across the country on the North-South railway, randomly getting off at stations along the way, eating and chatting with the people who make the specialties. The project was named by him “Going to eat alone” because his life in Ho Chi Minh City was alone. During meals when no one is around, he often watches a movie about food to reduce the feeling of loneliness.

City Phan Thiet In the minds of many people, it is a dry place, hot weather and full of sand dunes. Therefore, this is not a popular tourist destination until 1995, a total solar eclipse occurred with the ideal viewing point being this land. People are more interested in the beautiful scenery of Phan Thiet such as white sand, blue sea and of course attracted by many street foods.

The first dish is Duck Quang noodles at A Gioi breakfast bar on Hung Vuong Avenue. The shop is always busy with customers coming in and out from early morning, is one of the names that make Quang duck noodles only available in Phan Thiet. The shop owner is Ms. Bay, 37 years old, used to be an accountant working in Ho Chi Minh City before returning to her hometown to restore her mother’s burden of Quang noodles on the roadside. After many years of preservation and development, now Quang noodles of Ms. Bay’s family have become a big brand not only for locals but also for tourists.

Coming to Phan Thiet but eating Quang Nam specialties is something that many people wonder, but Quang noodles with duck meat are not everywhere. Initially, the shop was called Anh Gioi (Goi is the name of Bay’s father) but because she wanted the name “chou” more, Ms. Bay changed it to A Gioi to attract customers. Every weekday, Ms. Bay makes 12 kg of pork (pork sausages, ribs) and on weekends, 15 kg to boil water. She said, to be suitable for tourists, she has to cook less sweet because tourists from all over the world come to Phan Thiet to play or jokingly call Quang noodles here “tea” because it’s too sweet.

Herring rolls is the second dish that Manh learns about. Dung rolls brand has been around for more than 40 years in Phan Thiet. The dish uses two locally available ingredients, herring picked up from the harbor every morning, and cassava roots (legumes) combined to create a signature dish that spans three generations. Hang – who is in charge of the shop’s activities, continues to inherit and improve the recipe left by her grandmother. As she recounted, her grandmother is the one who invented and sold the herring rolls here.

To make large quantities, the restaurant needs about 10-12 people from preparation, cooking and helping. Ms. Hang is proud of the restaurant’s peanut sauce. “The dipping sauce is made from pure peanuts, the taste of which many people praise, can’t be found anywhere other than my family.” As for Ha Manh herself, she praised the herring rolls, saying that this is an “above excellent” afternoon snack.

Then, Manh met a third character, a woman in her 50s who witnessed the change of Phan Thiet’s skin after the total solar eclipse in 1995. That was Ms. Loan, the owner of Cay Bang restaurant, the restaurant. The only one located close to Ong Dia rock. She is the one who found out how to process squid leaves, an unpopular ink that has become a specialty of Phan Thiet.

“In 1996, people only liked two types of squid. Squid to make dried squid, cuttlefish to stir-fry. Why is squid ink not delicious?”, Ms. Loan shared. Fishermen at that time told her that when eaten fresh, squid leaves are crispy while most people like to eat soft, and when eaten dry, squid leaves are hard. Listening to opinions, Ms. Loan thought of a way to make squid so that it was both dry and fresh, crispy and soft, and decided to let it dry for one day. According to her, maybe this has become the secret to making the dish ink leaves one sun famous throughout Vietnam today.

After the trip, Ha Manh was surprised at how arid Phan Thiet land creates specialties. All are simple, ingredients are easy to find, available, but through the hands of dedicated chefs, they have their own unique and attractive taste.

loyalty
Image: NVCC