"Giant" plate of broken rice makes Western visitors fascinated when returning to Ho Chi Minh City

The dish that makes American families amazed

Recently, Dustin Cheverier (born in 1988) - an American content creator who has lived in Vietnam for about 10 years, famous for his YouTube channel with nearly 840,000 followers - took his parents on a tour of Ho Chi Minh City and enjoyed many delicious dishes here.

Dustin said this was his parents' second visit to Vietnam. In recent days, his parents have been talking about broken rice - the dish that made them "fall in love" on their first visit to Vietnam in 2023. In response to that expectation, Dustin took his parents to a famous broken rice restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City.

YouTuber Dustin Cheverier's parents are excited to enjoy broken rice soon (Photo: Screenshot).

As soon as they arrived at the restaurant, Dustin and his parents could not hide their excitement at the delicious aroma of meat being grilled on the charcoal stove. Dustin ordered a mixed broken rice dish, while his parents chose the restaurant's two best-selling dishes: broken rice with pork chop and broken rice with fried egg with pork chop.

Enjoying broken rice again after 2 years, the male YouTuber's parents commented that the grilled ribs they saw this time were even bigger than the grilled ribs they ate the first time.

Talking about the reason why she loves broken rice more than many other Vietnamese dishes, Dustin's mother said that this dish has delicious, flavorful grilled meat, suitable for her family's meat-eating habits in the US. In addition, she especially loves eating rice, so she is even more attracted to Vietnamese broken rice.

As for Dustin's father, he likes broken rice because of the diverse combination of ingredients, which helps the flavors blend together attractively and does not cause boredom when eaten. He said that unlike America - where dishes often have little mixing - Vietnamese cuisine has many unique combinations of vegetables, eggs, meat, fish...

Dustin's mixed broken rice dish (Photo: Screenshot).

Throughout the meal, the American couple kept praising this dish, and also appreciated the full portion, lots of meat, soft and fluffy rice. The couple also enjoyed the combination of ribs, pork skin, sausage, eggs, scallion oil... in a rice dish.

Dustin’s mother even gave it a 9.5/10 and ranked it at the top of her list of favorite Vietnamese dishes. Dustin’s father also admitted that he prefers broken rice over Vietnamese pho because it’s more to his taste. However, he said that the first time he ate broken rice was still a little more enjoyable than the second time.

Not only Dustin's parents, but some of his friends also commented that the food portions at the restaurant were quite large, to the point where they couldn't finish it all.

Broken rice restaurant has "the biggest piece of ribs in HCMC"

It is not surprising that the broken rice dish at this restaurant received high praise from the American family, because this is Ba Ghien broken rice restaurant - a famous dining spot in Ho Chi Minh City, which has existed for 30 years.

What many diners remember when talking about this restaurant is the "giant" ribs. Some people even commented that this is the broken rice restaurant that sells "the biggest ribs in Ho Chi Minh City".

Notably, not only is Ba Ghien the only broken rice restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City honored in the Bib Gourmand 2024 list (delicious, affordable restaurant) of Michelin Guide, but it is also the broken rice restaurant honored for 2 consecutive years in this category.

The restaurant is owned by Mr. Truong Vinh Thuy (born in 1982). Mr. Thuy is the second generation to take over the restaurant after his mother. Mr. Thuy said that since being honored by Michelin, the restaurant has been more crowded than before. In particular, many foreign guests come to eat and always praise the deliciousness.

Currently, the broken rice portion at the restaurant costs 78,000 VND. This is the lowest price, the portion of rice only has ribs and vegetables. If customers want to add pork skin, sausage, eggs, Chinese sausage... the portion of rice can be up to 149,000 VND.

Ba Ghien broken rice with typical large ribs (Photo: Moc Khai).

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Thuy said that many customers had complained that the ribs in the rice portion he sold were too big, they couldn't finish eating, making him think about changing.

"But if you cut it thinner, the meat will not retain its moisture, and when grilled it will be dry and less sweet. Therefore, I often encourage customers to order a portion for two people to be full but still fully enjoy the flavor," said Mr. Thuy.

That is why Mr. Thuy is determined to continue selling broken rice with large, thick ribs to ensure the flavor of the dish he desires. Customers come to the restaurant to order a portion of broken rice, and if they cannot finish the ribs, the restaurant will support them to take away.

"Then, they can still enjoy the soft, sweet, rich flavor of the meat without fear of not being able to finish it and wasting it," he shared.

Talking more about the process of creating flavorful ribs, Mr. Thuy said that if you want the pork to be well-seasoned, it must be marinated for 10-12 hours. At that time, all the spices will blend into the ribs, and when grilled, there is no fear of the ribs being dry or unevenly seasoned.

According to Dan Tri reporter, broken rice is served with cucumber, pickles and chili garlic fish sauce. The ribs are large but soft, you only need a fork to divide the ribs into bite-sized pieces. The ribs are slightly sweet, just right for eating, not dry.

The restaurant is crowded even outside rush hour (Photo: Moc Khai).

However, many diners commented that, apart from the large portion, the broken rice at the restaurant is not much different from other broken rice restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. Some people said that the price at the restaurant is quite high compared to the general level. However, some opinions said that with the large size of the ribs, the price is completely appropriate.

Ba Ghien broken rice

Address: 84 Dang Van Ngu, Ward 10, Phu Nhuan District, HCMC

Opening hours: 8am-8:30pm

Reference price: 78,000-149,000 VND

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/dia-com-tam-khong-lo-khien-khach-tay-me-man-khi-tro-lai-tphcm-20250516020741060.htm