No shop, no sign, just selling on the sidewalk in the family's alley, but the small snail restaurant located next to the commercial center at 139 Cau Giay Street (Cau Giay District, Hanoi) is crowded from the time it opens until it runs out of stock.
It is called a snail restaurant but in reality it is just like a sidewalk stall. Customers gather to eat on plastic chairs and tables made of plastic chairs with small trays of food on top.
Here they only sell big and small boiled snails, nem chua ran (Vietnamese Fried Fermented Pork), french fries, ear spring rolls, steamed clams. The menu is not very diverse, the seating is cramped but the restaurant is always crowded.
What makes the restaurant “brand” is the rustic boiled snails. The boiled snails, big and small, here are fatty, rich, and still retain their crunchiness when boiled. What is especially memorable is the dipping sauce. The spices used to make the dipping sauce are finely ground, blending the sour, spicy, and sweet flavors in a harmonious way. A little bit of the spiciness of ginger, lemongrass, and chili makes diners exclaim.
Boiled snails are always served with pickled figs, sweet and sour cucumbers and sour star fruit to relieve the feeling of fullness. Boiled snails are dipped in spicy ginger fish sauce, stimulating the taste buds.
The restaurant also has nem tai (Vietnamese Pork Ear Salad). The nem tai has a lot of crispy cartilage, mixed with fragrant roasted rice powder, very suitable.
It is normal for customers to have to wait. The restaurant only opens in the evening, from around 6pm until it is sold out. If you arrive at around 7pm, you will definitely have to wait for a seat or wait for someone else to stand up and sit down. By around 8pm, the small snails are almost sold out. No matter what dish you eat, customers here must enjoy at least one bowl of boiled snails.
The sidewalk snail shop has existed for decades. Many of the regular customers who ate snacks here as children are now university students and working people.
The prices of the restaurant are also quite affordable, true to the quality of the restaurant. Prices range from 25,000-40,000 VND per dish.
