travel-Central noodle dish in Can Tho

A bowl of mi Quang, a famous central region dish served at Hoang Cung Restaurant in the Mekong Delta’s Can Tho City
A delicious treat not just for kids.

People from the central region visiting the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho might be happy to know they can get some home-style dishes 1,000 km away in the south.

Hoang Cung Restaurant has been serving mi Quang (Quang Nam-style rice noodle) for a few years. To make it authentic, the restaurant buys noodles from the central province through a supplier in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the manager, the restaurant also brings in cu nen (a kind of spice similar to garlic) and chili to maintain the original flavors.

The restaurant manager says mi Quang has all the elements to keep his central Vietnamese customers happy. Good quality rice noodles, peanut oil and cu nen are the three indispensable ingredients. The other ingredients such as pork, shrimps and egg can be changed at diners’ request.

A bowl of mi Quang consists of noodles, shrimps, boiled egg, pork, roasted peanuts, grilled rice paper, green chili and vegetables.

Compared with other kinds of noodle dishes, the traditional mi Quang is simpler. The noodles are big and a bit hard and there is almost no soup.

No-one knows the origin of mi Quang for sure, but some say the dish started out as a treat that mothers would give their children. The central region is quite poor, so instead of buying candy for their kids – moms would make them a special bowl of noodles and put in a bit of everything left over from other meals.

In fact, mi Quang is not just from Quang Nam there are versions in Quang Ngai, Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces as well. It is, however, usually regarded as a dish of Quang Nam.

To enjoy mi Quang in Can Tho, go to Hoang Cung Restaurant at 55 Phan Dinh Phung St., Ninh Kieu District.

Reported by Diem Thu