Recently, famous American chef Chad Kubanoff posted a video on his personal YouTube, sharing his experience eating banh xeo at two restaurants with two quite different prices in Ho Chi Minh City. He affirmed that the quality of the dish's flavor does not depend on whether the dish is expensive or cheap.
Accordingly, the American chef and his son tried banh xeo at Banh xeo 46A (Dinh Cong Trang Street, District 1) and banh xeo Ngoc Son (Ngo Quyen Street, District 5).
Banh xeo 46A restaurant has a rather small area, in addition to tourists, there are still many Vietnamese people coming to enjoy. There is also an English menu for foreigners to conveniently order. Chad Kubanoff ordered a special banh xeo, an avocado smoothie and a cup of iced tea.
Banh xeo here has tops of onions, shrimp, pork, bean sprouts... with a thickly coated crust. A special banh xeo costs 180,000 VND. The cake is served with lots of raw vegetables and sweet and sour fish sauce.
Kubanoff commented that the crust was thick and filling. In particular, the restaurant uses large shrimp, pre-shelled shrimp, and a lot of pork.
However, the cake does not have a very special flavor. For first-time tourists coming to Vietnam, they may be confused with such expensive street food.
After enjoying the 46A banh xeo, the American chef moved to District 5 to try Ngoc Son banh xeo.
He commented that the cake crust is thin and crispy, filling including shrimp, bean sprouts, green beans and eggs, less than at Banh xeo 46A. A special banh xeo costs 90,000 VND.
Chad Kubanoff's son gave the 10/10 banh xeo. The boy thought that both banh xeo dishes were delicious, the only difference was the thick or thin crust. He also expressed his desire for his father to take him back here many times to enjoy this dish.
Kubanoff affirmed that Ngoc Son Banh xeo is a place that tourists should try. With a much "softer" price than 46A banh xeo, the banh xeo here has a slightly different flavor.
Kubanoff is a famous American chef. He has lived in Vietnam for many years and has a special passion for the cuisine here.
In addition to regularly posting videos of street food experiences on their personal YouTube channel, he and his wife also opened a restaurant specializing in selling Vietnamese food in Pennsylvania, USA.
