Remembering Ba Bau and Cay Tram noodles

The place name "Cay Tram" is associated with the Tam Anh market area (Tam Anh commune) and "Ba Bau" belongs to the Ba Bau market area (now Tam Xuan commune, Da Nang city). Since ancient times, the dishes "My Cay Tram" and "My Ba Bau" have been famous specialties, attracting many diners from all over.

Ba Bau noodles in Nui Thanh commune today also have a different flavor than before. Photo: VAN PHIN

The Ba Bau and Cay Tram areas are located along the Ba Bau and Truong Giang rivers in brackish water areas, so the seafood resources here are very rich and abundant, especially crabs and shrimps. Taking advantage of that, the restaurant owners have created the unique feature of Ba Bau and Cay Tram noodles, which is the filling with soft-shell crabs, soft-shell crabs and shrimps made from fresh products that fishermen have just caught on the river.

Ms. Pham Thi Hanh (45 years old) - owner of Cay Tram noodle shop (Tam Anh commune) said, to have a source of fresh crabs, soft-shell crabs and shrimps caught from Truong Giang river. Previously, I had to invest capital for some fishermen along the river to buy fishing gear for them to exploit aquatic products. When they caught live crabs, soft-shell crabs and shrimps, they directly brought them to the shop.

Along with processing soft-shell crab, soft-shell crab, shrimp, golden-brown pork and fragrant roasted peanuts, Ms. Hanh also pays close attention to making delicious broth. Along with that are raw vegetables, fish sauce and how to make noodles to ensure quality.

The couple also makes the noodles themselves, then rubs them with peanut oil and cuts them by hand... A bowl of hot "Cay Tram" noodles with broth, soft-shell crab, shrimp and pork, sprinkled with peanuts and a plate of fresh vegetables with all kinds of baby cabbage, lettuce, banana blossoms... makes diners very satisfied.

Similar to the past, in the Ba Bau bridge area (Tam Xuan commune), there were famous noodle shops such as Ba Tho noodles, Mr. Son's "A. Day Roi!" noodles... with many customers. "Ba Bau" noodles (Tam Xuan commune), "Cay Tram" noodles (Tam Anh commune) in Da Nang city a few decades ago were famous throughout the country, because they had the unique characteristics of the river region with specialties such as soft-shell crab, soft-shell crab, natural shrimp... In addition, there was the skillful and talented processing hands of the shop owners in Tam Xuan and Tam Anh.

However, over the years, nowadays Ba Bau noodles and Cay Tram noodles have faded away for many reasons. Many people believe that the source of soft-shell crabs, soft-shell crabs, and natural shrimps is now exhausted, and the quality is no longer the same as before. Therefore, nowadays, when visiting the Ba Bau market area, diners cannot find any noodle shops with the "Ba Bau" style of noodles like in the past.

Ms. Phuong - the daughter of the owner of the famous Ba Bau noodle shop in the past, living in block 2, Nui Thanh commune, remembers the family tradition of opening a noodle shop named "Ba Bau Noodles" at number 39, Nguyen Van Linh street. Although there are quite a lot of customers, her noodles no longer have crab meat or soft-shell crab filling. In Tam Anh commune, some Cay Tram noodle shops still maintain their fillings, but the specialty crab meat, soft-shell crab, and shrimp fillings are no longer as flavorful as before...

Source: https://baodanang.vn/nho-mon-my-ba-bau-cay-tram-3301463.html