Vietnam, as a long, skinny nation bordered by a handful of distinctly different countries, is often roughly sectioned by geography to Northern, Southern, and Central Vietnam. This goes for a number of things: political views and climate, to name a couple, but also very notably the cuisine.

As such, we thought it appropriate that our stops include at least one city in each. The city in Central Vietnam turned out to be Da Nang – not quite the food paradise that Hue is famous for, but offering its own delights in masses.

One of the dishes recommended to us by a local host to eat was bánh bèo, best described as a steamed savoury cake made of rice and tapioca flour. Each tend to be cooked individually, so its small size often denotes it as a snack item. However, with many vendors serving a variety of steamed goodies in larger portions, it is now also enjoyed as a meal as well.

As a light meal, we figured it would be good as a breakfast option. A quick search on Foody – Vietnam’s equivalent of reviewing site Yelp – yielded the restaurant Bà Bé, only a few short minutes’ walk from the Airbnb where we stayed.

We headed in the direction with peeled eyes, searching for the restaurant’s name on a sign, but it turned out we didn’t have to. In the entrance of the shopfront from which they operate were a group of people folding freshly-made dough into banana leaves for steaming – a dish we would later learn is called bánh nậm. The sight meant we were immediately sold. In every instance we’ve eaten, a freshly-made food item has always been miles beyond when it’s made too far in advance.

At Bà Bé, ordering is as simple as it gets – we asked for one portion each. Alternatively, you can point to the images of the menu items on the walls, if you know what you want but aren’t sure how to say it.

Each dish is not all that large. Think, the portion size of an item at dim sum, enough for a few bites per plate. As this style of Vietnamese cooking is virtually non-existent in New Zealand, so we were very keen to try them all.

Bánh ít ram (fried sticky rice dumplings)

The first dish perplexed us as one that didn’t look quite like its Google Image counterpart, a situation more befitting of the airbrushed posters promoting fast food burgers. It’s a steamed rice cake stuffed with dried shrimp, stacked on top of a crispy cracker, and in this case topped with pork floss and served with a side of fish sauce dressing.

Our one was not quite so picturesque. It came with all the components, though tossed together in a somewhat haphazard manner. We didn’t even notice the crackers due to its uneven distribution until we were halfway through the meal.

Still, visuals aren’t necessarily indicative of a dish. Compared to how it looked, it was downright tasty. It had a firmer chew closer to a Japanese mochi than the usual tender, melty rice cakes we had expected, flavoured with the dried shrimp. The dressing is milder than a normal fish sauce, with a light saltiness but no sweetness. The meat floss added sweetness, and the cracker some texture. It’s simple in its composition, and also in its enjoyment.

Bánh bèo (steamed rice cake)

The famed Central Vietnamese dish, these often come individually steamed in small bowls or saucers, to be peeled off for eating. Here, they served a pile on a plate ready for eating, topped with an orange gravy, fried shallots, and meat floss.

Texturally, this one was softer compared to thebánh ít ram, much more like what we had initially expected. The orange gravy was almost void of any saltiness or sweetness, though instead had a faintly pungent, savoury scent of something like fermented fish. Much of the flavour came from the meat floss, as the steamed cakes themselves were also on the verge of bland. The flavours for this dish are best described as light – arguably, a little lacking. Still, it was an experience.

Bánh nậm (steamed rice cake in banana leaf)

Banana leaf is a common seasoning in Southeast Asian cooking, imparting flavour to the food it wraps as it steams. This one was no different, fragrant with a fruity, lightly woody scent. It was surprisingly chewy. The prawn, though tiny, is larger than dried shrimp, adding a crunch from the shell and a bite from the meat. Compared to the fish sauce for the bánh ít ram, this one was a little spicier.

It wasn’t until we’d put the camera away that we discovered that there were two kinds of fillings for the bánh nậm. The second was minced meat, offering a different texture yet again. We agreed that the shrimp ones were tastier, but we may just be high maintenance gals.

In all, a very interesting meal. Each of the three dishes, though a combination of almost identical components and cooking methods, had distinctly different flavours and textures. They make for great sharing. As Jos describes: Like a dim sum, but purely with rice rolls – and a far lower price tag. We spent đ45,000 (~US$2) in total, but those looking to get a full meal out of it will hardly spend too much more.

Bánh bèo Bà Bé
100 Đường Hoàng Văn Thụ, Phước Ninh, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng 550000, Vietnam
Mon-Sun 6am-6.30pm