Papaken (35 years old, content creator) is Japanese and has lived in Hanoi for more than 2 years.

Kazuki Matsumoto (better known by his nickname Kiki) is a famous Japanese blogger, currently living and working in Ho Chi Minh City.

On their personal YouTube channel with hundreds of thousands of followers, two Japanese visitors regularly share videos about their travel and culinary experiences in some Vietnamese provinces and cities they have had the opportunity to visit.

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Kiki (left) and Papaken (right) enjoy broken rice on the sidewalk in Ho Chi Minh City

Most recently, on the occasion of Papaken's visit to Ho Chi Minh City, Kiki took her fellow countryman to a local restaurant on Co Giang Street (District 1) to enjoy the famous broken rice dish.

Papaken revealed that he had experienced broken rice in Hanoi and this was the first time he had authentic broken rice in Ho Chi Minh City.

Kiki said that although it is not a popular dining spot for tourists , the restaurant attracts a lot of locals and neighboring people to enjoy sidewalk broken rice every day.

Here, 2 guests ordered 2 portions of broken rice with pork ribs and served with bitter melon soup stuffed with meat.

The restaurant serves free soup. If you order bitter melon soup separately, you have to pay an additional 15,000 VND/bowl.

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Kiki ordered a plate of broken rice with pork chop, while Papaken ate broken rice with pork chop and sausage.

One thing that surprised Papaken was that the broken rice dish at the restaurant was only served with a spoon and fork instead of chopsticks like other places.

Kiki explained that this is the typical local way of eating broken rice.

“If you are used to it, it will seem normal because they don’t put chopsticks here. But if you are not used to it, it will be more difficult,” Kiki said.

Before enjoying, Papaken poured sweet and sour fish sauce evenly over the rice dish. Kiki said it could be drizzled or dipped depending on preference.

Tasting the first piece of grilled ribs, Papaken immediately exclaimed “so delicious”. He commented that the ribs had a perfect ratio of lean meat and fat, the grilled meat was tender, fragrant and rich without being too dry.

“The broken rice here is really delicious because it has a smoky smell. As soon as you put it in your mouth, you can feel the extremely fragrant aroma,” he said.

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Japanese guests continuously praised the deliciousness of the original broken rice in Ho Chi Minh City.

Chung commented, Kiki thinks that the ribs here are marinated well, with spices absorbed evenly. When eating, diners feel the smoky smell gradually melting in the mouth.

“This fat is so delicious, it's fat but not greasy at all,” Kiki said.

In Papaken's opinion, not only the grilled ribs but also the broken rice is delicious, the rice grains are soft and hot. Besides, the sweet and sour fish sauce is just right, suitable for the taste, and the sausage is very delicious.

“I ate broken rice in Hanoi and found it delicious, but it is even better here,” commented the Japanese guest.

Kiki revealed that he had tried broken rice at many different restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. However, he was more impressed with the sidewalk broken rice here because of its affordable price and the side dishes such as ribs and fish sauce were seasoned well, not too sweet.

Papaken was also impressed by the delicious and attractive flavor of the stuffed bitter melon soup. He did not taste the bitterness but instead felt the sweet, rich flavor of the broth.

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Kiki commented that the broken rice was "so delicious that I wanted to eat everything around the bones", and Papaken also ate everything on the plate.

Because he loved the sidewalk broken rice dish in Ho Chi Minh City so much, Papaken enjoyed it endlessly. He kept bringing the food to his mouth, nodding and praising how delicious it was.

"The best broken rice dish I've ever had in my life, really," Papaken shared.

Kiki admitted that the broken rice dish was “so delicious that I wanted to eat the whole thing around the bone.”

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The 35-year-old customer praised the sidewalk broken rice dish.

It is known that the broken rice restaurant that the two Japanese guests visited is owned by Ms. Ngoc Thanh (52 years old) and her husband, Mr. Tan Phong (53 years old).

Sharing with VietNamNet reporter, Ms. Thanh said that before that, she and her husband used to sell broken rice on Co Bac street (District 1) for about 10 years and then stopped. After that, they reopened the restaurant on Co Giang street, operating for about 4 years now.

It is called a restaurant but it is actually just a broken rice cart located right at the corner of Co Giang Street with a small kitchen. The cart is filled with neatly arranged dishes.

The shop is open from 5pm to 11pm, busiest in the evening.

Sidewalk broken rice stall of Thanh and Phong couple on Co Giang street

Ms. Thanh said that the broken rice dish is made and processed by the couple themselves. In addition, they hire brothers and relatives to help, creating jobs for them every day.

Every day, the restaurant sells about 30kg of ribs.

In addition to rice with ribs, diners can order rice portions with different side dishes such as braised pork with duck eggs, egg rolls, lemongrass and chili fried chicken, Chinese sausage, grilled meat, meatballs, fried eggs, etc.

Prices range from 35,000 - 50,000 VND/meal, depending on the customer's preferences and food portions.

Photo: Papaken - family Life in Vietnam

Western tourists return to Hanoi for a memorable dish, praised as 'the best they've ever eaten' Returning to Hanoi, two Western tourists visited a sidewalk restaurant they visited 7 years ago and were surprised that their favorite dish still had the same delicious flavor as before.