Quán Cây Khế – Hamburgers in Saigon?

Looking for a great hamburger in Saigon?  Wanting to enjoy some authentic local Vietnamese food in Saigon?

Now you can have your cake and eat it too!  More exactly, you can have your chả đùm and eat it too – at Quán Cây Khế restaurant in Phú Nhuận District.

Let me explain.

Some may recall that personally traumatic day some months ago when I was in desparate need of a hospital to look at my injured eye and to tell me whether I would ever again be able to peer into a plastic bag of bánh tráng trộn and identify the ingredients.  That day, Hai took me to Fortis Hoàn Mỹ Hospital where I received immediate and competent attention (details of that day here).  Today, I continue to be able to spot the quail egg, and even the shredded mango in that bánh tráng trộn bag, so all worked out fine.  Thank you Dr. Nguyen.

What I never mentioned at that time was that down the street from the hospital, Hai and I passed a 2-story local eatery that Hai often visited in his youth.  He told me it was great and we would have to try it soon.

We did!  And it was!

Quán Cây Khế features BÒ lá lốt mỡ chài on its bright verticle street sign.  That’s what I want to eat!

A plate full of green-colored bò nướng lá lốt sprinkled with crunchy peanut bits surrounded by rows of golden-brown bò nướng mỡ chài arrived at our table.  The bò nướng lá lốt, a small ground beef patty (actually a small ground beef log) wrapped in a dark green lá lốt leaf, was grilled to a slightly crispy perfection.  The surrounding bò nướng mỡ chài, another ground beef treat, but this time wrapped in a web of pork fat, was grilled, moist and succulent.  Major Yum!

Okay, but I had rushed a bit, biting into the savory treats and gulping them down.  Actually, these food items should first be properly assembled before consumption.

Place the bò nướng lá lốt in a sheet of rice paper (moisten it first), add a small lettuce leaf, drape some bún noodles over the meat, add a slice or two of cucumber and unripened banana, a few herbal leaves, and roll.  Rolling is the tricky part … but practice makes perfect.  Now, dip the entire neatly rolled package in your choice of nước mắm chua ngọt  ̣(sweet & sour fish sauce) or mắm nêm (minced pineapple, fermented anchovies, chili, lemongrass and more).  I loved both sauces!

But, what were they eating at the next table?  Was that a …… a hamburger??? 

Well yes, kind of.  It turned out that another Quán Cây Khế specialty was chả đùm – very much a Vietnamese hamburger, but with a few important differences:

• The ingredients included not only ground beef, but also ground pork, ground liver, onion, garlic, vermicelli thread noodles, mushroom, egg, spices and, of course, fish sauce.
• The hamburger was steamed, not fried or grilled.
• The hamburger was not served on a sesame seed bun, but rather on a shrimp chip.
• And condiments?  Not catsup and mustard, but green onion oil, pickled carrot, lettuce, cilantro, peanut bits and mắm nêm (see above).
• The sliced red tomato, however, remained a common link between the two world-views of a hamburger.

A very very delicious and fulfilling eating adventure for sure at Quán Cây Khế.

So, if you make it to Quán Cây Khế, I recommend you don’t choose between a plate of lá lốt mỡ chài and chả đùm.  Arrive hungry and try both!

Open only in the evenings for these dinner treats.  Another YUM YUM YUM eating adventure here at Eating Saigon!

Quán Cây Khế

6 Phan Xich Long St.
Phu Nhuan District
(near the intersection with Phan Đăng Lưu street)
(08) 3517 6022