Fancy a snakehead fish, head and all?

Diners in HCM City should check out Bun Ca Loc Phan Le, a new restaurant that will surely please lovers of all things fishy. My  Duyen reports.

Do you sometimes long for your Mekong Delta home and hunger for bun ca loc Chau Doc style (snakehead fish soup with rice vermicelli)  when the flood season comes, the time when the fish is especially tasty?

Look no further: you can now find the traditional delicacy at a new restaurant in HCM City.

Located on Cao Thang Street in District 3, Bun Ca Loc Phan Le is renowned for its snakehead fish soup cooked Chau Doc style and other snakehead fish specialties: fish head, filet and maw.

With a good street view and eye-catching decor, the restaurant is often full of guests sampling its nutritious, affordable dishes.

My recent lunch visit gave me a chance to sample their signature soup and learn more about Mekong Delta cuisine, particularly Chau Doc-style fish soup with rice vermicelli.

Most delicacies of the Delta, world-renowned for its wealth of freshwater fish, are associated with river fish, particularly snakehead fish.

Preparation of the soup, however, varies from place to place. Can Tho City, considered the “capital” of the Mekong Delta, is proud of its own style, while Soc Trang Province, Kien Giang Province and Chau Doc Township in An Giang Province have their particular versions as well.

The kitchen of  Bun Ca Loc Phan Le in HCM City has creatively reinterpreted the soup to match the taste and demand of city diners.

As soon as I stepped into the entrance, I could smell the unique aroma of the fish soup from the restaurant’s open kitchen.

The soups range from bun ca loc (standard snakehead fish soup with filet) to bun bao tu ca (soup with fish filet and maw), and bun dau ca loc (soup with fish head).

However, diners can order a mix of these, along with side dishes, including vegetables.

A standard soup bowl with seasonal vegetables (VND35,000), the most frequently ordered dish, was a great start to my meal, and a colleague of mine tried a vermicelli soup with fish maw and filet (VND45,000).

Despite the different preparations from person to person in Chau Doc, turmeric is one of the most important spices, and without it, the soup cannot be called Chau Doc-style fish soup.

Other important elements are dried finely chopped garlic, which eliminates the fishy smell, and fresh chillis, which imparts some heat.

The slow-simmered fish broth, limpid and clear, had a savory umami and pleasing sweetness, and was even more delicious when I added lime juice and fresh chilli.