‘Banh canh’ is a ‘must-try’ reasonably- priced dish for visitors to Da Nang and other regional localities. Depending on the recipes to use in each localities, this dish has different flavours.

Mouth-watering bowls of ‘banh canh’ are ready to be served

‘Banh canh’ (literally ‘cake soup’) is a thick Vietnamese noodle that can be made from tapioca flour or a mixture of rice and tapioca flour. ‘Cake’ refers to the thick sheet of uncooked dough from which the noodles are cut.

The making of tapioca noodles in progress

Noodles which have the thickness and length of a chopstick are very chewy and soft. The broth can be cooked with shrimp, meat, pig bone, ‘cha lua’ (pork bologna) and fish.

Most notably, the broth is stewed for many hours to ensure the moreish flavour of the dish without the need to add too much monosodium glutamate, sugar or other seasonings.

‘Banh canh’ in Da Nang has its own distinctive taste. The noodles are usually made from rice flour, wheat flour or rice starch, unlike other localities in the south where noodles are made from tapioca starch, and they are circular in shape like “bun” noodles.

Visitors to Da Nang can enjoy ‘banh canh’ featuring fried or steamed fish cakes, meat on the bone, pork knuckles, shrimp, prawn cakes, duck, and quail eggs.

A mixed bowl of ‘banh canh’ features such various ingredients as fish cakes, meat on the bone and quail eggs.

It is very pleasant to enjoy a hot bowl of ‘banh canh’, which is mixed with fresh ingredients, a few thin slices of chilli, and decorated with various types of vegetables to give it fragrance.

First, squeeze a little lemon juice into the bowl, then add a tablespoon of chili sauce. The sweetness of the fish, crab or fish cakes already tickles the tongue. Enjoying a stick of the hot yellow fried bread into the soup is also wonderful.

The amazing mixture of the various flavours really gives a pleasant texture and a smooth aftertaste!

There are many eateries and restaurants serving this delicacy, especially those located on Nguyen Chi Thanh and Nguyen Luong Bang streets.

‘Banh canh’ is more delicious when it served with ‘nem chua’ (fermented pork roll), and ‘cha bo’ (grilled beef patty), quail eggs and hot yellow fried bread

Shrimps, crabs and other types of seafood add more sweet taste to ‘banh canh’

Little lemon juice, thinly-slice onions and chili power make ‘banh canh’ more tasteful

Each bowl of ‘banh canh’ is served at between 10,000 and 20,000 VND in local eateries and between 30,000 and 70,000VND in popular restaurants. Restaurateurs serve the dish in spacious indoor areas with finely decorated and neatly arranged tables and chairs.

The highly inviting taste of this dish leaves a deep impression on many visitors to Da Nang, and stirs a deep nostalgia amongst the city-born people who are now living far away from their roots.

‘Banh canh’ is an easy-to-make dish