If you are not someone who has been to Da Lat many times, it is easy to mistakenly believe that this Ba Toa area has nothing to do with Da Lat Railway Station - one of the most famous architectural and historical landscapes in the city of thousands of flowers. The name Ba Toa evokes the train car, like the food train car in the subsidy period in the pedestrian street of Truc Bach Lake (Hanoi).
But no, Ba Toa here has nothing to do with train cars or train stations at all. It is simply a transliteration of French to Vietnamese, like La Pho slope in Hanoi. Ba Toa is transliterated from the French word "abattoir", which means slaughterhouse.
Ba Toa area is a slaughterhouse area that used to appear in this area. During the French colonial rule, this area used to be a livestock slaughterhouse, so it has that name and then it is associated with this place, becoming a place name used by everyone through historical periods.
About 50 years ago, a few popular beef hotpot restaurants sprang up here, as a way to remember the old profession. Then, these beef hotpot restaurants existed and developed and became a culinary specialty of Da Lat, famous throughout the country thanks to the wave of tourism.
Such causes are quite common in Vietnam. As with the place name La Pho slope mentioned above, the first is the name of the French director of the "Jardin d'essal" botanical laboratory, Laforge. This man lives in a villa built next to the slope, and then, the person's name becomes the slope name.
Or like the livestock slaughterhouse area in Linh Nam, Mai Dong during the French colonial period, now also creates a popular Mai Dong pho line, large cakes, cloudy water, cheap price but lots of meat thanks to the advantage of buffalo and cow slaughterhouses to supply the Hanoi Capital market from ancient times to the present.
Therefore, when coming to Da Lat, people will definitely invite each other to eat Da Chien grilled beef or Ba Toa beef hotpot because these hot, energy-rich dishes are extremely suitable for the cool, fresh air of the mountain town. People take taxis, motorbikes or walks to weave through the concrete roads located on both sides of Cam Ly stream, to find a famous beef hotpot restaurant.
In general, Ba Toa beef hotpot as well as Mai Dong beef pho, are not too unique in processing style but are famous thanks to the meat advantage of slaughterhouses, so the meat is fresher, more abundant and cheaper than other places. As for the broth recipe, the accompanying ingredients are also not different.
However, that is the advantage that creates the reputation of Ba Toa beef hotpot. The broth (hotpot broth) is stewed with beef bones and beef tail bones on a charcoal stove for a long time of several hours, so it has the aroma and characteristic sweetness of beef.
Meanwhile, many places do not use beef bones to simmer broth because it is very labor-intensive. Instead, they use pork bones or beef hotpot balls for quickness and economy. As a result, just smelling the broth of Ba Toa beef hotpot can recognize the difference, feeling the natural sweetness very clearly.
Regarding meat, the slaughterhouse advantage brings a richness to Ba Toa beef hotpot. There is fresh thinly sliced corn, boiled lean meat sliced to taste, beef tails, beef tendons, beef intestines, beef books, beef hooves, beef balls... are the main ingredients of a hotpot, in addition, there are other special meat parts that can be ordered upon request.
The beef here is fragrant, sweet and tender thanks to its freshness that few places can match. However, what makes the value of Ba Toa beef hotpot lies in the accompanying vegetables. Da Lat's climate has turned this place into one of the best vegetable and fruit farms in Vietnam in both quantity and quality.
All accompanying vegetables from taro, green mustard greens, Malabar spinach, pennywort, lettuce, herbs... are extremely fresh, dipped in hot hot pot broth still retains its crispness and green color. People eat Ba Toa beef hot pot mainly as an excuse to eat vegetables. Dipping that vegetable with spicy chili sauce soup is sometimes even more delicious than eating beef.
Sitting in the rusty corrugated iron roof wooden house typical of Da Lat, listening to the murmuring stream water and enjoying the hot Ba Toa beef hotpot in the chilly cold of the mountain city night is an unforgettable culinary experience: delicious - nutritious - cheap.
Ba Toa area is located in Ward 5, Da Lat - Lam Dong, with about 20 beef hotpot restaurants. Just follow Nguyen Van Cu and Nguyen Thi Dinh streets and you will definitely find this beef hotpot area because of the characteristic flavor of beef dishes. Hotpot restaurants start opening from late afternoon to late at night.
Ba Toa beef hotpot has a very soft price, only about 250,000 - 300,000 VND for a pot of hotpot for 4 people, with full of basic beef and many accompanying vegetables. The price advantage has turned Ba Toa beef hotpot into a popular dish, favored by many people.
