Banh Xeo 46A

You'll get a look at the specialty of the house before you even sit down.

Stateside, they're commonly called "Vietnamese crepes," but the thin, crisp exterior of a banh xeo (Bahn say-Oh; 20,000 dong, or about $1.20 at the time) is prepared from rice flour, not eggs, and the namesake item at 46A is anything but common. Because there's a continual parade of banh xeo from the open-air kitchen, the bean sprouts, shrimp, and pork within are light and fresh-tasting — even crunchy, in the case of the sprouts.

To eat a banh xeo, slice off a small portion with your chopsticks, place it on a wrapper leaf (at 46A, lettuce or mustard greens), add your choice of fresh herbs (basil, mint, la lot), and dip it it nuoc cham, the watery orange condiment that combines fish sauce, sugar, peppers, and often garlic.

Many folks wash down banh xeo with beer; I find that soda chanh da (10,000 dong) — a can of soda water and a glass of ice, lemon, and sugar — is a better pairing for such delicate fare.

Banh Xeo 46A
46A Duong Dinh Cong Trang, Ho Chi Minh City
(From a November 2006 visit)

Comments

[minh]

hey guys! just want to tell u dat, see the picture of the street where there are 2 boards saying banhxeo?, WELL the original one is on the left is you're looking at the picture ok?, get that right, Trust me! or if u want a bad mood, feel free to eat in the "right" one!

[Dave Cook]

Minh is correct. In the bottom photo, the sign for 46A is on the left of the lane, and partially obscured; the place on the right is an imitator. You'll figure that out yourself, quickly enough, when you walk to the entrance: 46A has a squad of ladies making banh xeo close to the street, and the communal tables have many customers, while the tables at the knock-off joint, at least on the evening of my visit, were almost empty.