Banh mi bot loc Mu Y: Just like home, eating it makes me miss Hue

Banh mi bot loc is a unique and creative dish that combines two seemingly unrelated elements: crispy bread crust and chewy banh bot loc filling - a familiar specialty of Hue.

The staff at Mu Y bakery have to work continuously to sell bread to customers in time - Photo: THUONG KHAI

Mu Y restaurant is located in alley 147/49 Tan Ky Tan Quy street, Tan Son Nhi ward, Tan Phu district, Ho Chi Minh city.

Besides selling mussel noodles and rice noodles in the early morning, the most popular dish at Mu Y restaurant is banh mi bot loc for 15,000 VND. Open from 13:00 to 19:00 every day, this is a place for lunch and snacks for people, especially students.

The name of the restaurant "Mrs. Y" makes many diners surprised when they first visit. Everyone thinks the owner must be an old woman, according to the common understanding of the word "mù" - a affectionate term for middle-aged women in Hue .

In fact, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu Y is only 28 years old. "Mrs. Y" is her childhood nickname in her hometown, so she used it as the name of the shop to maintain a close and friendly atmosphere.

Banh mi bot loc with rich Hue flavor

Ms. Nhu Y shared with Tuoi Tre Online : "I started selling banh mi bot loc in 2020. Before, in Saigon, very few people sold this dish. My husband and I thought for a long time before daring to do it. At that time, it was just an experiment, we made very little, because we didn't know if it would suit the taste of Saigon people.

But luckily, many Hue people live far away from home, they miss the taste of their homeland so they come to try it. Then they gradually introduce it, the number of customers starts to increase without realizing it."

The crust of the bread is kept in the traditional style of small, long bread, with a crispy, lightly buttery crust. When held in hand, the bread is still hot and fragrant, stimulating the taste buds at first sight.

Some typical ingredients in banh mi bot loc - Photo: THUONG KHAI

The special thing is the filling inside: instead of cold cuts, ham or pate as usual, the seller puts 3-5 shrimp and pork dumplings in the loaf. The small, chewy dumplings, with the sweet and salty shrimp filling mixed in the transparent dough, make the dish both unique and pleasing to the eye.

Indispensable is the rich fish sauce. It is usually a slightly sweet fish sauce mixed with garlic, chili, sometimes adding a little scallion oil or fried onions to increase the aroma and fat. This fish sauce helps connect the flavors between the crispy bread and the soft tapioca dumplings, creating a harmonious whole.

In addition, banh mi bot loc can also be added with Vietnamese coriander, pickles, cucumber, pork belly or pate to balance the flavor.

Close-up of a banh mi bot loc loaf served with pork belly for 15,000 VND - Video : THUONG KHAI

Vietnamese street food is simple and sharing

According to Ms. Y, everyone who eats it says "it's like home", "eating it makes me miss Hue"... Most of the ingredients are imported from Hue, and she and her husband make it themselves. Although it's hard work, it's fun, thanks to that, they can preserve the traditional flavor.

On average, the shop sells 600-700 sandwiches a day. To make it on time, from 8am, the couple starts braising meat, boiling banh loc, frying onions, making chili, pork rinds, mixing fish sauce...

The beauty of street food in Vietnam lies in its simplicity, sharing and accessibility. Many times people just need to pull over to the side of the road, kick down the kickstand and in about two minutes have a hot sandwich in their hands.

People flock to buy Mu Y bread to take home - Photo: THUONG KHAI

Even though the price of meat and ingredients has increased a lot, she still keeps the price at 15,000 VND. "Because I understand that times are tough, everyone has to save. I keep the price to keep customers" - Ms. Y said.

Ms. Phuoc Linh said: "I have been a regular customer of this restaurant for several years now. My daughter often asks to buy banh mi bot loc here to eat after school. The meat is soft, delicious and rich, with fish sauce to taste."

In the food review group, Mr. Than Cong Bao shared: "District 1 has Huynh Hoa bread and in Tan Phu there is Mu Y bread, if you want to eat it, you have to wait in line for your turn. The bread is very delicious, the pork is marinated well, authentic Hue flavor".

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/banh-mi-bot-loc-mu-y-giong-que-nha-lam-an-vao-thay-nho-hue-20250527231335933.htm