THANH DA DUCK PORRIDGE: FAMOUS IN SAIGON, ATTRACTS A LARGE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS EVERYDAY

Duck Porridge is also known as “Cháo Vịt”. A crucial cooking technique for delectable duck meals is porridge. Porridge is prepared in a thin layer. Delicious and simple to prepare, it’s also packed with nutrients and good for all diets. In addition, porridge is a special meal for the ill, physically weak, pregnant, and kids. In addition, porridge with duck is one of my favorite foods.

Duck Porridge

This dish’s unique, delectable flavor makes it a favorite. When duck porridge is prepared in this manner, the result is spicy and aromatic with the added spices. Together with the inherent richness of duck soup, fried onions, and a subtle scent of wonderful rice. served with tender, flavourful duck flesh coated in a creamy ginger fish sauce.

To be honest, when I heard the term “duck congee porridge,” all I could picture was a plain bowl of soupy rice with some chunks of duck mixed in. In Saigon, I have tried duck porridge with my friend at Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa, an eatery in Binh Thanh District. A shared bowl of congee filled with sliced cooked duck, a tray of duck innards, and a delectable Vietnamese sour and sweet herb and vegetable salad completed the family-sized feast.

Particularly in this establishment, the Vietnamese chao vit was much more than simply a regular bowl of congee—it was amazing!

Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa (Gốc Nhà Lá)

Quán Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa, the restaurant is conveniently situated near the base of the bridge, making it easy to remember and locate. Despite the large number of patrons, the restaurant is extremely comfortable because of its air conditioning, spaciousness, and brightness.

Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa in Binh Thanh District

The restaurant has been owned by Thu Nga and operating for almost 30 years. The restaurant official stated that since there is only one restaurant and no other locations, the word “Original” was added to prevent confusion with other eateries bearing the same name. As a result, customers also refer to it as Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa (Gốc Nhà Lá).

Airy and spacious space at Thanh Da duck porridge restaurant

What then makes Thanh Da duck porridge so well-known? “I think it’s because people eat delicious food, so they recommend it to their friends, and there are also many quality duck porridge restaurants here associated with the Thanh Da place name, so people call it that,” said Ms. Ngan.

Ms. Ngan simply smiled and replied that many other people had asked her the same question when they were asked what the secret was to preparing wonderful ducks. She clarified, saying that the ingredients are what determine the dish’s excellence rather than any particular technique to boiling duck. Instead than importing ducks from duck farms, my family purchases ducks directly from farmers in Tay Ninh. After another month of feeding them rice, we bring them back and process them. In this manner, our ducks smell nice and aren’t oily.

The processing and serving counter is positioned directly in front of the door, well organised, and protected by a glass frame from the exterior. With their gleaming skins, half of the boiled ducks are hung, and the other half are displayed in a glass cabinet. As soon as the ducks run out, the staff quickly replenishes them, making it very eye-catching.

When I arrived here, I was attracted by the quick hands of the staff standing at the counter quickly cutting the duck, the head, neck, and wings were separated, the body was split in half along the spine, then half of the duck was turned and chopped into small, bite-sized pieces, evenly and decisively.

At my table, I found a full-blown duck brunch feast, rather than a bowl of plain rice congee with some seasonings on the side. They snatched a duck from the cabinet, expertly sliced it, and set it on a dish the second we placed our order.

We got a large bowl of congee rice porridge to go with our duck order. You can barely make out the congee in this shot since I was too busy photographing the duck and colorful salad, but it’s up there at the top.

In addition, the congee was delicious. A handful of green onions and black pepper added a fantastic touch, and it had a wonderful meaty undertone with a soupier consistency.

Crispy fried shallots were a novel addition to the Vietnamese duck that I hadn’t seen in other Asian dishes, and I thought they were a delicious complement. In a braising sauce that appeared to blend soy sauce with delicately sweet star anise and maybe cinnamon, the duck itself was slow-cooked.

My favorite way to enjoy duck is with crispy skin, so I made sure to remove most of the skin so I could enjoy the juicy, soft meat underneath. Without the skin, the duck meat was incredibly lean and flavourful, and it stayed juicy and tasty instead of being dry.

However, the mixed salad that accompanied our Vietnamese duck congee at Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa (Gốc Nhà Lá) was a highlight for me.

The cháo vịt is a traditional Vietnamese noodle meal that comes with a side of vegetables. In this case, the veggies were thinly sliced banana blossom, Vietnamese coriander, carrots, daikon, red onions, and crushed peanuts.

A delicate dressing—slightly sweet and sour—coated the saad. As a true Vietnamese authentic touch, I loved topping my congee with a little of the salad that came with the dish.

The eatery serves familiar soft drinks, the most special of which is sweet coconut, priced at 15.000 VND (0.6 USD), drink on the spot.

Thanh Da Duck Porridge Restaurant attracts a large number of customers every evening.

Address: No. 120, Binh Quoi Street, Binh Thanh District.

Opening Hours: 8:00 AM to 10:30 PM daily

Prices: 50.000 to 200.000 VND (2 to 8 USD)

If you have the opportunity to visit Ho Chi Minh, try Cháo Vịt Thanh Đa restaurant right away, because this is delicious dish you should try.