Vietnam, as an arguably oddly-shaped country, runs along an enormous coastline and spans enviable longitudinal coordinates. Bordering China, Laos, and Cambodia, Vietnam teeters on the vague distinction between East and Southeast Asia, and it really shows in their cuisine. Simply the presentation of food differs noticeably as you travel up and down the country, with Northern Vietnamese cuisine influenced heavily by their Chinese neighbours, such that seasonings such as soy sauce and vinegar is common. In the South, you’re more likely to see fresh herbs served with your phở, and a much sweeter palate.
In the southern city of Ho Chi Minh, one unlikely must-try dish is sea snails. Unlike in the north, where it’s most commonly prepared by steaming, the methods in which they’re cooked in the south is as varied as you’d find seafood. Be it grilled, fried, or poached, Saigon offers the local delicacy in any way you’d like, so long as you know where to find them, and an open mind.
Of course, we’re all about local eats. And so far, we’ve yet to come across something too bizarre to eat. Besides, how does this differ too much from the prized French escargot? We’d had snails before, and plenty of shellfish. Our biggest challenge, however, was finding an eatery to enjoy at.
So we turned to the local we had most contact with: our AirBnb host. We’d already had some luck a few times upon their recommendation of cơm gà (chicken rice) and bò lá lốt (grilled beef in betel leaves), so they were an obvious resource to turn to in hopes of reliably good food.
We were directed to Quán Ốc Nho, a restaurant only a 10 minute Grab ride (or 2km, 1 mile walk) from the infamous Bùi Viện backpacker street, it’s surrounded by a good number of competitors that serve fairly similar fare. We’d recommend trying your hand at any of them, though the size of the crowd is often a good indicator of who does it best.
Each restaurant has a selection of tables with or without cover, and a station at which the chefs cook a wide variety of seafood. While Quán Ốc Nho has a menu, there’s no English translation. In our situation, we were lucky to be allocated a staff member who spoke some English, who explained to us the popular recommended dishes. Simple as we are, we went with them.
Ốc hương hoàng kim (Golden snails)
It’s pretty established that we love salted egg from our rampant trawl throughout Singapore, so this one was a dish we were pretty keen to try. Comprising of sea snails cooked in a salted egg sauce, we may have only received a scant 7 snails, but well-drowned in sauce.
We were informed that true locals suck the snails from its shell, but we had difficulty doing it. It seems like an impossibly strong suction is needed, or maybe we weren’t doing it quite right. Instead, we found it easiest to grasp the hard scale at the opening of the shell and to wriggle the body gently but firmly from the opening.
Much like a shellfish cooked to a safe degree, sea snails are quite firm with a fighting chew. It has some bounce like cartilage, and not a particularly strong flavour, especially when paired with a salted egg sauce. The sauce was sweet without too much saltiness, with a fair salted egg flavour. Still, it was moreish, the sort that makes for good mopping with the bánh mì that we’d also purchased.
Sò điệp trứng cút (Scallop with quail’s egg)
Along with the golden snails, this dish was one that virtually every table ordered. This we feasted with the eyes first, but not for very long. Eight scallop shells each held a tiny scallop cooked with a quail’s egg, topped with crushed peanuts, aromatic herbs (which we suspect to be Vietnamese coriander, and not the curry leaves we’d mentioned in the video), and a coconut foam.
Each piece, though not too generous with the scallop, was a burst of flavour and texture. Creamy from the egg with a crunch from the peanuts, it was also well-balanced in the sweet, savoury, and salty aspects, making it a surprisingly complex dish. The herb added a sweet, bright note to it, which hugely changed the flavour of the dish.
It’s easy to see why this dish is popular. And as it came in a bite-sized piece, it would have been easy to eat more than four each.
Gỏi khoai môn (Taro salad)
If all salads were as delicious as this one, it would be easier to eat healthily. Only called such as it’s a mix of chopped vegetables, the fried root vegetables, onions, and sesame seeds tasted more like an onion ring than anything green. With a light, crisp-crunchy texture and a sweet, sour dressing, this dish doesn’t require an explanation as to why it’s so delicious.
Good as it was, we had some regrets with ordering the salad. It’s a large portion, more appropriate to share between a bigger group of people, rather than two small appetites on the hunt for seafood. Still, for those who like fries and onion rings, this is guaranteed to be a hit.
Unknown grilled shellfish
When in doubt, a visual guide is always a good way to go. As the menu in our case had no photos, we instead surveyed the dishes on the tables around us, and decided that our extravagant meal finale would be the large shellfish we spotted our neighbours eating.
Cooked with garlic and topped with peanuts and Vietnamese coriander, this one seemed to focus more on the flavour of the seafood than the other two dishes we’d tried. Admittedly, it had a resistant chew, but it was fragrant and garlicky. The best bite was the creamy orange roe, much more tender comparatively. While we liked the rich sauce and the quail’s egg of the other dishes, we agreed that the simpler method of cooking this dish showcased the shellfish better.
Snails may not be the top option even for foodies in Vietnam, but those looking to try it should definitely venture Saigon to taste a variety of flavours. In any case, seafood is expectedly cheap, with these 4 dishes (and a bánh mì baguette) setting us back only ₫244,000 (US$10.50). If you’re keen for shellfish, Vietnam has no shortage of non-snail options you’re sure to love.
Quán Ốc Nho
178 Lê Quốc Hưng, Phường 12, Quận 4, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Mon-Sun 4pm-10pm
