#1. District 1, Bun Cha Restaurant QUAN NEM Review
The famous bun cha restaurant QUAN NEM is located near the University of Humanities and Social Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City District 1. It is a bit far from the tourist attractions of District 1, but it is about 1km away from the Pink Cathedral, the Presidential Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Le Thanh Ton Japanese Town, so you can visit it on foot.
QUAN NEM is a fairly large restaurant with two floors, but it gets crowded during meal times and you always have to wait. If you don't want to wait, it's best to visit an hour before or after mealtime. I visited alone after 1pm on a Sunday and was able to get a seat right away without having to wait for a number.
When I sat down and ordered, the staff quickly served me bun(rice noodles), herbs, and nuoc mam sauce first and informed me that it would take about 20 minutes for the meat to come out. Because there are so many customers and take-out orders, it often takes more than 20 minutes for the food to come out.
They sell a variety of drinks, including soft drinks, beer, coconut, and iced tea. Since this is a restaurant with a lot of foreign customers, they also have Coca-Cola Zero, which is hard to find in Vietnamese restaurants.
The first dish I ordered was Nem Cua Bien(Deep Fried Crab Spring Roll). QUAN NEM only sells two menu items, bun cha and crab spring roll, so if it's your first time visiting, it's worth ordering at least once.
The crispy fried rice paper is filled with various fillings such as crab meat, glass noodles, carrots, chives, and cabbage. These fried food is so delicious and it is more delicious when dipped in the nuoc mam sauce that comes with ordering bun cha.
After waiting for a long time, the second dish and the main dish bun cha's Grilled Pork & Meatballs, came out. It consists of 3 meatballs and 5 pieces of pork grilled over charcoal.
Bun Cha consists of grilled pork & meatballs, various herbs, nuoc mam sauce, bun(rice noodles), and red pepper slices. You can choose between nuoc mam sauce: Southern style(strong + cool), Hanoi style(light + cool), or Hanoi style(light + warm). Adding pepper slices to the southern style, which has a strong sweetness and acidity, adds a spicy taste to create a delicious nuoc mam sauce that is well suited to me.
Tear an appropriate amount of herbs and bun(noodles) into a bowl with your hands, add a few pieces of meat, and pour in the nuoc mam sauce. The scent and texture of various herbs and the fatty taste of meat are added to nuoc mam sauce, which has a sweet, sour and slightly spicy taste, creating perfect harmony.
#2. Bun Cha Restaurant QUAN NEM Menu
Until a few years ago, QUAN NEM, a popular bun cha restaurant, was controversial for its high prices for a local restaurant, but these days, prices across Ho Chi Minh City have risen, so it does not feel noticeably expensive. Rather, it is definitely worth a visit as you can pay a few extra bucks and enjoy delicious bun cha in a clean restaurant.
I visited alone on a Sunday afternoon and ordered the meal below.
Nem Cua Bien(Deep Fried Crab Spring Roll): 81,000VND
Bun Cha: 91,000VND
Coke Zero: 24,000VND
Wet Wipe: 2,000VND
For a total of 198,000VND, I was able to enjoy a full meal of delicious bun cha. The cost in Ho Chi Minh has risen a lot, but QUAN NAM is a bun cha restaurant that can be confidently recommended to those visiting Ho Chi Minh because the prices have not increased much and you can taste classic Vietnamese bun cha in a clean restaurant.
#3. Bun Cha Restaurant QUAN NEM Hours and Location
The famous bun cha restaurant QUAN NEM is located near the University of Humanities and Social Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City District 1. It is a bit far from the tourist attractions of District 1, but it is about 1km away from the Pink Cathedral, the Presidential Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Le Thanh Ton Japanese Town, so you can visit it on foot. For detailed location, click the Check Location button below to check on Google Maps.
Address: 15E Đ. Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh
Phone: 02862991478
Hours: 10:00 ~ 22:00
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