Top 10 Da Lat dishes you should not miss

By Di Vy   November 15, 2018 | 11:25 pm PT
Mini pancakes, shumai baguette and avocade ice cream are among the most popular foods for travellers in the  resort city of Da Lat.
Top 10 Da Lat dishes you should not miss

Banh mi xiu mai chen (baguette with shumai bowl)

This is an absolute must-try dish in Da Lat cuisine. The shumai balls are served in a bowl of hot sauce, in which you can dip the baguette. You can also ask for fried pork skin or chilli pepper to add to the soup.

Address: Mrs. Thuy's, at the intersection of Bui Thi Xuan and Thong Thien Hoc streets, Anh Sang Hamlet. 

Price: VND4,000/shumai ball ($0.17), VND2,000/baguette ($0.09).

- 1

Banh can (mini pancake)

Mini pancake is a popular breakfast dish in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat. Travellers can find it in many places such as Tang Bat Ho Street and Anh Sang Hamlet.

The pancakes, filled with eggs and slightly burned, are eaten with fish sauce. Some places add meat balls to the sauce to make it tastier. A serving of 5 pairs of pancakes usually costs VND20,000 ($0.86).

- 2

Bánh uot long ga (steamed rice paper with chicken intestine)

Many people like this dish for its unusual taste. It is a bit sour as it is served with chicken salad rather than the more common pork roll. The dish is made of simple ingredients like rice paper and chicken meat or intestine mixed with fish sauce.

Address: Tang Bat Ho Street, Phan Dinh Phung Street

Price: VND35,000 ($1.5)

- 3

Banh trang nuong (grilled rice paper)

Grilled rice paper is becoming more and more popular in Da Lat with an increasing number of restaurants serving the dish. At these restaurants, you can sit near a coal stove, watching the chef make this dish. The chef applies a little oil to the rice paper and then adds shrimp paste, cheese and green pepper. An egg is later added and stirred with chopsticks until the dish is fully grilled. It tastes even better with fried onion and pork floss.

Grilled rice paper is usually sold from 3 p.m. until night at street food stalls in Da Lat Market, Thong Thien Hoc Street, Nguyen Van Troi Street, Hoang Dieu – Tran Nhat Duat.

- 5

Bun bo Hue (beef noodle soup)

Bun bo Hue is popular for its tasty broth and meaty components. The dish is quite popular in Da Lat and usually eaten for breakfast. Each restaurant has a different recipe for beef noodle soup, but the common ingredients are beef, pork roll (gio) or deep-friend pork roll.

Address: Anh Sang Hamlet or Ba Thang Tu Street

Price: VND40,000 ($1.72)

- 6

Nem nuong (grilled pork sausage)

Nem nuong, though not quite popular with locals in Da Lat, remains the top choice for lunch among travellers. This simple dish needs a lot of preparation before eating. The grilled pork sausage is eaten with greasy yellow sauce made from pork broth and ground chilli. The fat of the pork, the sweet taste of the sauce, and the crispiness of the fried rice paper makes this dish unforgettable.

Address: Hoang Van Thu, Phan Dinh Phung, Bui Thi Xuan streets

Price: VND45,000 ($1.94)

- 7

Bun rieu (crab noodles)

Crab noodles is not quite popular in this city. Travellers can find the dish at an eatery on Nguyen Cong Tru Street or Mac Dinh Chi Street. The owner said the eatery has been around for 20 years.

The highlight of the dish is the sweet crab paste made from paddy crabs. It also has pork bone and blood paste. Cooked tomatoes make the dish more delicous.

A normal bowl costs VND25,000 ($1.08) and a super bowl, VND35,000 ($1.5). The dish is served with fresh herbs and vegetables.

- 8

Mi Quang (Quang-style noodle)

Not the birthplace of Quang-style noodle, Da Lat invented a different style with the dish served with more sauce. It looks delicious with the red-orange sauce, yellow noodles, and cashew-colored meat. You can eat it with vegetables and herbs.

Address: Nguyen Cong Tru Street, Nguyen Du Street

Price: VND35,000 ($1.5)

- 9

Lau ga la e (chicken hot pot with basil leaves)

The hot dishes are always sought after at night. While the south prefers chicken hot pot with aganonerion (giang) leaves and in the north it is chicken hot pot with wormwood, in Da Lat hot pot of chicken with basil leaves has been popular for the past two years. The chicken is eaten with fresh bamboo and basil leaves and pepper lemon sauce, and is a mixture of sweet and chilli tastes.

A serving, including half a chicken, a large noodle disk, a plate of mushrooms, and a plate of basil leaf and vegetables, costs VND200,000 ($8.6).

Top 10 Da Lat dishes you should not miss - 9

Kem bo (avocado ice cream)

Though Da Lat is usually cold in the evenings, people like to eat avocado or fruit ice cream around this time. The fatty flavor of the ice cream combined with the taste of avocado, the famous fruit of this mountainous city, turns this simple snack into an amazing dish.

Address: Nguyen Van Troi Street

Price: VND20,000 ($0.86)

 
 
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