Saigon Seafood Street Food

Phố Ốc

271 Nguyễn Duy Trinh
District 2
(08) 3743 7277

*****

During my first months living in Saigon (many years ago), my good friend Tan offered me a place to stay in his District 2 apartment.  Quite a ways outside of Saigon’s tourist center, life there was far less hectic, the street traffic almost gentle by comparison, and the street food, truly authentic and perhaps more delicious!

I mentioned one of my favorite Xôi Gà eateries in that area of the city on my blog ealier this month.  But, this weekend I had a chance to return to perhaps my favorite Saigon Seafood Street Food eatery there.

I began my walk-down-memory-lane on Friday night at the Bến Thành central bus terminal. In the past, Bus #88 was, in fact, a xe trạm, a small pick-up truck-sized vehicle in which I would cram in the covered back with up to a dozen other locals.  Now, four years later, Bus #88 has been upgraded to a full-sized passenger bus, complete with non-functioning air-conditioning!  In the past, Bus #88 didn’t cross the Saigon River.  I would jump out of the  xe trạm and cross the river on the passenger ferry, then continue by xe ôm (motorbike taxi) or on foot.  Now, I raced across the new Cầu Thủ Thiêm bridge connecting Districts 1 and 2 in the semi-comfortable, large bus directly from Bến Thành central bus terminal deep into District 2.  More evidence how quickly life in Saigon is changing.

Twenty minutes later I was knocking on Tan’s apartment door.

Tan was anxious to show off his newly acquired bar-tending skills – after completing an evening introductory course on wine, spirits and bar-tending. I happily acquiesced.

The margaritas were excellent!

• 1 part freshly-squeezed lime juice (sweetened a bit with sugar)
• 1 part Tequila
• 1 part Triple Sec

Served over ice cubes in a glass rimmed with Jose Cuervo Margarita Salt (smuggled in my luggage across the Pacific Ocean from California’s Beverages and More). An excellent, refreshing, buzz-inducing start to a great Friday night District 2 Saigon street food seafood dinner.

 

Friday night was one of Saigon’s wonderfully balmy, breezy evenings.  We jumped on Tan’s motorbike (I always carry my helmet in my backpack) and 4 minutes later jumped off under the bright, slightly gawdy, blue neon crab sign at Phố Ốc.

At Phố Ốc you have choices!

The first choice, immediately upon stepping off your motorbike – Do you head into the half of the eatery that’s glass-enclosed, highly air-conditioned, brightly lighted and featuring a large-screen TV marketing the various seafood delights available?  Or, Do I choose the open-air area, with only fans, live seafood tanks, periodic electrical blackouts, and Vietnamese women’s volleyball showing on the big screen?  Tan and I both agreed on the latter.  Too nice an evening to be inside!

The most important choices of the evening, however, would have to be made from the extensive menu (English version available). Shrimp? Snails? Squid? Frog? Fish? Crab? Eel? Clams? Oysters? Troi oi! How does one decide?

I began by insisting on hào sống mù tạc (raw oysters grilled with wasabi sauce).  I recalled from years earlier, having eaten here some of the freshest and most delicious oysers.  Huge in size, yet tender and yummy.  Served on a bed of ice, the bivalves were chilled to icey perfection.

BUT – BEWARE OF THE WASABI SAUCE!

Now, I consider myself an experienced eater.  But, I’ve never encountered wasabi with the intensity of that served here.  The tradition here in Vietnam is to mix the soy sauce with the wasabi and perhaps the salt/pepper mixture as well.  We did.  But one bite into the first oyster set off a burning electrical shock explosion inside my skull.  Troi oi! Once I gasped, caught my breath, re-opened and wiped my eyes … recovering, I realized the oyster itself was amazingly delicious.  YUM!  Another please – a bit less wasabi, thank you.

The next dish turned out to be the taste treat of the evening –  sò điệp nướng mỡ hành (scallops grilled with pork fat & green onion).  What a flavor burst with each mollusk slurped down!  Luckily we ordered the large platter – but another half dozen scallops (each) would have been more than welcome.

Finally, main couse did not disappoint, even after such tastey starters.  Cá điêu hồng nướng muối ớt (red carp grilled with chili salt).  Beautiful in presentation, the crispy, perfectly cooked fish was first presented, then prepared (opened/boned/sectioned) by the helpful server.

Our only job was to assemble the tastey seafood treat.  Slightly moisten the rice paper, insert an assortment of green herb leaves, a bit of bun noodles, some fresh vege slices, and as much of the succulent fish and its crispy/salty/chili’ed skin as you can fit into the rice paper wrapper.

Roll it all up.  Dip it in the sauce! Enjoy!

Another wonderful Saigon street food adventure in District 2.  And the price?  So resonable at 256,000 vnd ($12 usd) – $6/person!

Here at Eating Saigon!, Phố Ốc earns a YUM YUM YUM rating on our Yum Meter.

Only one problem (a small one).  Bus #88 stops running at 7:30 pm. 🙁  The taxi fare back home to District 10, 275,000 vnd – more than dinner!  Regardless, a wonderful Friday night.  Thank you Tan!

Phố Ốc
271 Nguyễn Duy Trinh
District 2
(08) 3743 7277

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