Throughout the short time we’d had in Vietnam upon coming to the end of Da Nang we had sampled what we would consider a fairly diverse range of foods. We had a taste of the fresh, vibrant South, and the punchier, richer offerings of Central Vietnamese cuisine. We’d sampled things from rice to rice paper, snails to beef, bread to chocolate, and a fair few in between. With a palate raised on variety and an inclination towards Southeast Asian flavours, we later decided at the conclusion of our trip that Vietnam had been our favourite country for eats.
Certainly, some of the best food we’d horked on our journey had been in Vietnam – bánh xèo, for example, was a definitive winner in Da Nang, and the bún thịt nướng we’d eaten in Ho Chi Minh was a turning point in Noms’ life. Still, our last breakfast in Da Nang without a doubt, snatched up the trophy for our best breakfast in all of Vietnam. Sit down bánh mì ốp la and bò né ốp la, as bánh mì chấm steps up to the plate.
To be fair, these three are essentially different flavours of the same dish, called bánh mì chảo. Originating in the Central Vietnamese city of Hue, chảo refers to the hotplate on which the dish is served, much like the bò né ốp la we had at Bò Né Khanh and the bánh mì ốp la at Bánh Mì Hòa Mã. Bánh mì chấm refers to a style of dish where you can dip the bánh mì (bread) into whatever it is served with. Consequently, these terms could be to some extent interchangeable, though we don’t know enough about the Vietnamese language or culture to know the nuances that may distinguish them. We suspect that it may be regional.
We can see why Mr. Mark Wiens hailed the humble bánh mì ốp la as his favourite breakfast in Vietnam – it’s downright delicious, be it simple fried eggs or a steamy hotplate of steak, meatballs, and eggs. The breakfast place we visited might be in the same family of dishes but in terms of the flavour it was, at least to us, a whole different ball game. It was so good we ended up visiting twice.
Điểm Tâm 26
Location
The details of this restaurant is a little confusing, so let’s break that down a little first. In this area there are two restaurants serving very similar dishes. One is called Bánh Mì Chấm Pate which is located at number 28 (rather than 26) which was the original location we had intended to go. We didn’t find it. Instead we went to Điểm Tâm at number 26 (hence, the name), believing it was Bánh Mì Chấm Pate and not noticing the difference up until we came to recording this information.
On Google Maps (as indicated on the map below), we have pinned Điểm Tâm 26 but also linked Bánh Mì Chấm Pate. The Google details for Bánh Mì Chấm Pate are more reliable than the info for Điểm Tâm 26. If you scroll the images of Bánh Mì Chấm Pate’s listing, the colourful red plates are from the elusive Bánh Mì Chấm Pate, whereas images with white plates show food from Điểm Tâm 26 where we ate. It seems that many made the same mistake as us, with similar mix-ups on Vietnamese restaurant reviewing website Foody. While we’ve never dined at Bánh Mì Chấm Pate, it seems like a strong equivalent, and we would also highly recommend it for the style of dish that they serve.
Menu
Without a proper Google or Foody listing it’s difficult to determine what is truly on offer at Điểm Tâm 26. The menu posted on their cart outside offers your typical bánh mì sandwiches as well as xôi (sticky rice) with a variety of toppings. What we were after was bánh mì chấm, the dipping style. Each portion set us back only đ12,000 (US$0.50), with fried eggs at đ6,000 (US$0.25) for 2.
The first time we came we were served a variety with thịt xíu (Vietnamese char siu, or barbecue pork), whereas the second (in the video), we were served a mixed platter, which we suspect is the bánh mì chấm thập cẩm (“mixed dipping bread”, or bread with a combination of meats). We ate different dishes on different days probably due to a mistake in ordering. We don’t speak a lot of Vietnamese and had no idea what we were supposed to order.
In either case, each plate of meat also came with a healthy serving of Vietnamese pâté (much like the French pâté though a crumblier mix made with minced pork and chicken liver), dollops of chilli, semi-melted butter (or possibly margarine), slices of fresh cucumber, and a few sprigs of fresh coriander, and of course a baguette each.
Eating
The best part. Again, there are no rules to how you should eat, so long as it’s delicious. We recommend doing as locals do and dotting seasoning sauce (which is a thin brown liquid that should be in a bottle found on every table) onto the meat and eggs before tucking in. It’s salty with complex flavours of molasses and umami, contributing to savoury flavours that make a great dish even better.
The hams were pretty standard Vietnamese processed meats. The thịt xíu (barbecue pork) was sweet, smoky, and savoury, with a healthy (or not!) layer of succulent fat that we personally adored. Balance it with the fragrant, herby coriander and a slice of crisp cucumber, and it makes for a moreish mouthful.
But with this dish being so similar to bánh mì ốp la and not even served on a hotplate, what makes it so much better? It’s the sauce. Even with the addition of Maggi and chilli sauces on the bánh mì ốp la we’d enjoyed in Ho Chi Minh City, it could not compare to the meaty juices that ran from the pâté, the mild, sweet-sour chilli jam, and the butter sitting at just the perfect temperature to be a malleable gel on the plate. Besides the meat and cucumber, everything else could be dipped into. Pinch a slice of ham or thịt xíu in a chunk of bread, run that through the plate to sop up all the savoury juices, pop it in your mouth, and you have a definite winner.
This is a breakfast that we would without a doubt recommend if you’ve got a morning in Da Nang. Make sure you pop in long before 10am in the morning or you may be out of luck, but if you ever indulge yourself in Da Nang’s bánh mì chấm it’s a pretty good reason to come back. And for the most important question: will it be the best breakfast you have in Vietnam? Well, that’s completely your decision to make.
Điểm Tâm 26
26 Chu Văn An, Bình Hiên, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng 550000, Vietnam
Mon-Sun 6am-10am (though we recommend before 9.30am!)
Google listing of Bánh Mì Chấm Pate which is more informative
