That is the Phat Map fish noodle shop that is over 80 years old, passed down in a family of a Trieu Chau people (Vangdong, China) who had migrated to Saigon - Jiaping more than 100 years ago. There have been two generations of family noodle shop managers who are always crowded with customers from opening the shop until the pot of broth runs out, and the F2 generation - the owner of Phat Map - is also over 60 years old.
We can imagine how many changes there will be in 80 years. But the flavor of the restaurant's bowl of fish noodles has not Failed, still consistent with the first bowl of noodles that Mr. Ngo - Mr. Phat's father-in-law cooked. Along with that is the space and style of cooking bread, serving and enjoying.
The only thing is, despite its name, Saigon people call it "calmette bridge fish cake". Perhaps, this is the older way of calling it "Phat Map", when the restaurant has no name and is only called by geographical features as Calmette Bridge. That is also an interesting feature of Saigon cuisine of the past and present.
The friend of the country's culinary scene was so delicious that I was surprised by the "one-done, ten-season, ten-season view" here, because this scene was even more intense at the Truong Dinh bread and stew restaurant before. Because this fish noodle shop is very small, like a box of sticky rice with a frontage of only about 1 meter.
In that tiger cage, there was only enough space for 2 people to stand and cook bread, usually Mr. Phat's sisters, who offered the bread and poured the broth with their hands still rolling. The old lady - a middle-aged woman often performs a strange phep trick before adding the bread to the bowl.
Holding the bottle, she raised her hands high and then quickly lowered it down. When the journey ended, her hands threw the bottle away, causing the bottle to turn blindly. At that time, she used her hand to catch the bowl, then stewed the bread and ingredients into the bowl, before passing them to her younger brother to pour the broth. My friend explained, "It's not a coloring problem, throwing a bowl like that will cause the remaining water in the bowl to splash, don't you understand?".
That was it, instead of using a clean towel to clean the bottom of the bowl, here she threw the bowl, borrowing her heart to write all the water. It is truly a great way to make longan, while adding a magical look to the bowl of fish noodles, and also making diners feel more delicious because the bowl is 100% broth.
The cake dining space is a small sidewalk, so it can only serve a maximum of 6 guests sitting in front of the restaurant, the rest is a sidewalk stall of other houses. Therefore, there was a scene where "there is a scene of people eating bread, every time they stand up, we immediately sit down". Here, taking photos of a bowl of "Phai worship" noodles is completely discouraged, because it is time-consuming.
After eating, you have to stand up right away, there is no such thing as soaking in muzzles or watching like in another place. No need for the restaurant owner to mention, just seeing the eyes looking at me eating noodles, we are also understanding enough to adjust our behavior. However, I stood watching people eat bread for 20 minutes, then came to the table to discuss, and then asked for a bowl of bread.
Like the "professional one-dish" restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, this place sells uniquely fish noodle soup, in the form of dry bread or water. The star of this bowl of Trieu Chau fish noodles is the white snakehead fish that look like the skin of a girl from the West. The fish is boiled, peeled and filtered all the bones, without a fishy smell or rich flavor.
In addition, there are 1 - 2 other fillings to create a mix of mixed fruits with minced meat, pork liver, and pork chops. That's all, nothing else. However, the flour ingredients are very interesting. Thieu noodle soup also has several types for customers to choose from such as small noodles, large noodles, and sponge noodles. In addition, there is soft noodles, along with soft, chewy sticky rice cakes because they are made in the traditional way, completely made from rice flour, without coarse flour.
Waiting for a long time, but sitting down to order the dishes, a bowl of hot fish noodles immediately boiled, which showed the pure processing skills of Mr. Phat's women and the skills of the service team. Seeing the bowl of fish noodles, my first impression was the beauty, thanks to the quail fish pieces that are sparkling and inviting.
The bowl of fish noodle soup will include noodles with fresh noodles stewed in hot water that is both soft and chewy, served with crispy and fragrant chives. The snakehead fish is cooked until it is cooked, chewed and chewed to be chewy and immediately fresh. The broth is not as thick as elsewhere but has a sweet taste of the simmered pork bones.
And like Truong Dinh's sticky rice restaurant, the secret to keeping customers at the fish noodle shop lies in the bowl of dipping sauce. Not a mysterious pillowcase but a bowl of dipping sauce with fat, including fish sauce and a few pieces of fried pork fat. Taking the head of the chopsticks dipped in a cup and putting it in your mouth to taste, you will immediately discover that this is what makes the bowl of fish noodles perfect and round.
The cup of dipping sauce has a very light salty taste, slightly sweet, slightly fatty but not fatty. After eating a full spoonful of bread and lightly broth, we remove the fish and dipped it in a fish saucepan and immediately have the rich flavor of the fish to harmonize the previous bread. It is salty enough to clearly feel the freshness of the fish, the chewiness - softness - richness of the bread.
That cup of fish sauce alone is enough to replace the spices often found in noodles - stewed fish such as black soy sauce, red vinegar. That is the secret of the Calmette Longanism restaurant, making the restaurant have loyal customers with 30-40 years of experience eating fish noodles.
They love the harmonious flavor of the fish noodle bowl, so they easily accept the restaurant's signature rules. They are willing to participate in the "waiting, watching others eat" ritual without asking for priority because they are regular customers. Because here, regardless of whether they are relatives, regular visitors or temporary visitors, all are equal.
Therefore, from the time the restaurant burned at 5am until the pot of broth was at its last resort, during those 5 hours, people patiently waited and were filled with joy to immerse themselves in the flavor of the delicious dish that has been in its 80th year.
