When in Central Vietnam, eat as the Central Vietnamese do – though disregard the moderation. With huge culinary influences from both Northern and Southern Vietnam, as well as its neighbouring countries, Central Vietnam is home to a huge number of specialty dishes, with many labelling the city of Hue as its undisputed city for food.

While we hadn’t the time to visit, we were more than ready to sample everything that was available to us. Luckily, with the increasing spread of regional dishes all throughout Vietnam, it was easy to access food originating from outside a city. One such dish that held our curiosity was mì quảng (pronounced mee wang), a dish which is as broadly varied as the number of people who make them.

Truth be told, we had never heard of mì quảng prior to our own personal research, as it’s hardly featured on the menus of the few Vietnamese restaurants available in New Zealand. Still, with the headstrong few vouching for its deliciousness, we figured it was one of the dozens of underrated dishes that we had to give a go.

Much like burgers, miso soup, or omelettes, mì quảng is one of those dishes which have very few qualifying features. Firstly, it has rice noodles. Finally, it is served in a small quantity of broth, usually containing turmeric to paint the whole dish a vibrant, warm, orange-yellow. Besides that, there’s really no restrictions either on the protein or the additions involved.

For Da Nang, a trusty Foody search – a Vietnamese website and app equivalent to reviewing site Yelp – led us to the restaurant Mì Quảng Thi. Rushing from a day trip, we rolled up close to the end of their lunch service to unsurprisingly be told that they were out of their most popular dish, the pork and shrimp (tȏm thịt) mì quảng. No matter, we ordered instead two others to see if we could taste the difference.

Both had the same basic components: sliced flat, wide rice noodle sitting in a small amount of a thin, yellow broth and fresh salad vegetables, and topped with spring onions and crushed peanuts. We also received a plate of extra salad vegetables to add to taste, which added more texture.

Mì quảng gà (chicken mì quảng) đ20,000 (~US$0.90)

If you’re not sure what turmeric tastes like, you’d be unlikely to identify its mild, earthy flavour infused throughout the dish. Some might associate it with the taste of curry, due to its widespread use in such dishes. Besides that, the broth is a light, savoury chicken broth not unlike a typical soup broth used for noodles. The chicken, braised in turmeric, is mildly salty though complements the noodles and vegetables well.

Mì quảng cá lóc (snakehead fish mì quảng) đ20,000 (~US$0.90)

While the chicken noodles seemed to be a fairly standard version of the dish, the snakehead fish seemed to lend its own flavour to change it up entirely. The broth is still very mildly flavoured, though with the addition of a taste reminiscent to the fatty layer between the flesh and skin of a fatty fish. It also tastes as if it had already been seasoned with lime prior to serving, though adding it also brightens up the flavour of the mild noodles, and pairs well with the soft, flaky fish.

Of course, eating Vietnamese food is not complete without adding the condiments which suit your palate the best. In addition to the fresh chilli and other spice-inducing sides, there was a chilli jam that seems commonplace in Da Nang eateries. Much like a thicker, richer, spicier sweet chilli sauce, we preferred its sweeter flavour over the alternative chilli options to soothe our penchant for sweeter savoury dishes.

Ram thịt (pork fried spring rolls) đ3,000 each (~US$0.15)

A trip to Vietnam wouldn’t be complete without at least one fried spring roll. We hadn’t ordered these, and instead fell prey willingly to upselling, which was understandable due to their impending closing time. At such a low price, we thought we might as well give them a go rather than refusing them.

Compared to its Chinese counterparts, these are often longer and thinner, and filled with a drier and more cohesive filling. The ones we had here were crunchy. Truthfully, it needs little other description, as it was otherwise a very standard spring roll. Perhaps you should stick to their noodles.

In any case, one can’t stop off in Central Vietnam without appeasing the enthusiasts and having a taste of mì quảng. While we would have liked to try the famous pork and shrimp noodles at Mì Quảng Thi, we figured that we weren’t missing out on too much if there’s no such thing as the original dish. Still, it’s ideal for people looking for a light meal and a change of noodles from the all-too-mentioned phở.

There are tonnes of restaurants offering this meal, but if you’d like to give Mì Quảng Thi a go, we can certainly recommend it.

Mì Quảng Thi
251 Hoàng Diệu, Nam Dương, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng 550000, Vietnam
Mon-Sun 6am-1:30pm; 4pm-9pm