Rainy afternoon walking around Lac Quang market eating Phan Rang food: Banh canh, can, xeo, cha ca evoke the taste of home

In Ho Chi Minh City, Lac Quang market (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) is not a famous Central market, but it is a familiar place for many Central people living around the area because it sells all kinds of specialties that remind them of their hometown.

A full bowl of Phan Rang noodle soup with fish cakes, leaf-wrapped pork rolls and fish paste at Ms. Hien's shop, Lac Quang market - Photo: NHA XUAN

From fresh ingredients such as shallots, perilla leaves, figs, sesame rice paper, fish sauce, Phan Rang and Quang Ngai sea fish... to many Central dishes can all be found here.

Phan Rang fish cake noodle soup

During the day, fresh food stalls are bustling with activity, and in the evening, the area around the market turns into a food "paradise" with dozens of shops located next to each other in small alleys.

There are a few shops here selling fish cake noodle soup, Phan Rang style pancakes, and banh can, not too noisy, not too crowded. The dishes are simple, the flavors are familiar, enough to satisfy the cravings of people far from home on a rainy afternoon.

From the main gate of the market at the beginning of alley 265 on Truong Chinh street, go straight to the 3rd intersection, turn left, and you will see Ms. Hien's Phan Rang fish cake noodle shop.

Small noodle shop opens from afternoon to evening - Photo: NHA XUAN

The shop opens from about 4:30 pm every day until evening, in a small kiosk with about 6-7 small plastic tables.

A bowl of banh canh here costs from 20,000 VND, depending on whether the diner wants to eat 1 or 2 types of sausage, and whether or not to add fish paste. A full bowl with fried fish sausage, leaf-wrapped pork sausage, and tuna meat costs 30,000 VND. The restaurant also has bread for those who like to dip bread in the banh canh.

Ms. Hien said most of the ingredients, from the sausages to the noodles, are brought from Phan Rang.

The noodles are flat, made from soft but not crumbly rice flour, and when eaten, they feel slippery and slightly chewy. The fried fish cakes are thickly sliced, rich in flavor, chewy, and fragrant with pepper. The noodle soup is clear, sweet, and well-seasoned.

Add a piece of fish sauce and chili, squeeze a piece of lemon, then slurp and exclaim over the hot bowl of noodle soup in the rainy afternoon, both the taste buds and the stomach are soothed.

Fish cakes brought from Phan Rang - Photo: NHA XUAN

Too many pancakes and banh cans

Within a radius of less than 500m from Ms. Hien's shop is Phan Rang Co Thoa's banh xeo and banh can shop, open in front of house number 28/8 Tan Thoi Nhat 12 from late afternoon to evening.

The tiny shop has only a few tables but sells a ton of dishes, from banh can, banh xeo, to bun mam nem, cha cuon, bun thit nuong... priced from 15,000 to 50,000 VND.

Phan Rang Banh Can and Banh Xeo Shop - Photo: NHA XUAN

Banh can has two options: egg banh can and seafood banh can, and those who like banh xeo can order seafood banh xeo and special seafood banh xeo.

Banh xeo is poured into small clay molds, has a crispy golden crust, filled with meat, shrimp, squid, bean sprouts, served with three types of fish sauce: chili fish sauce, peanut fish sauce and fermented fish sauce.

When eating, you can mix all three types of fish sauce, then add the pancakes and raw vegetables to the bowl. For those who like to roll, the restaurant also has rice paper for rolling and dipping separately. In addition, the restaurant also adds a plate of pickles to "reduce the feeling of fullness".

Banh xeo served with three types of fish sauce - Photo: NHA XUAN

Banh xeo is eaten with raw vegetables, perilla leaves, and fish sauce - Photo: NHA XUAN

The interesting thing about this restaurant is that the raw vegetables have basil leaves, a familiar herb to people in the Central region but not every restaurant in Saigon has it. The vegetable stalks are “small but powerful”, just a few leaves are enough to give the dish a distinctive aroma.

If you still have a craving, try going deeper into the residential area around the market, where there are several stalls selling Phan Rang-style grilled rice paper with shrimp paste, the aroma from the charcoal grill easily making anyone passing by turn back.

Add another 15,000 VND grilled rice paper roll to complete a rainy afternoon of wandering around, filling your stomach with familiar dishes with Phan Rang flavors in the middle of Saigon.

A corner of the food court near Lac Quang market at night - Photo: NHA XUAN

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NHA XUAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chieu-mua-dao-cho-lac-quang-an-do-phan-rang-banh-canh-can-xeo-cha-ca-goi-vi-que-nha-20250618184413638.htm