The next destination which we intended to go is Cô Liên Bò Lá Lốt. After that we only realised that the shop is just located opposite across the road from the Bánh Cuốn Hải Nam.
We immediately loved how they had all the Bò Lá Lốt , and other meats neatly displayed in a cabinet facing the street. Most of the things were pre-grilled and kind of ready to eat. We can still able to eat after the Bánh Cuốn Hải Nam.
We can see there were newspapers cuttings on Mark Wein’s blog about the 25 Must Eat Dishes in Saigon, and Cô Liên Bò Lá Lốt is one of the eating places inside!
The menu at Cô Liên Bò Lá Lốt was simple, yet included everything you could want to eat at a Bò Lá Lốt restaurant. Alvin decided to get one order of Bò Lá Lốt and one order of Bò Mỡ Chài.
The Bò Lá Lốt and Bò Mỡ Chài were tossed on the grill, right along the sidewalk at the entrance of the restaurant, and we could immediately smell the herb aroma of roasting leaves and sweet beef.
At the front of the grille are the Bò Lá Lốt , and then at the back of the grille are Bò Mỡ Chài, little Vietnamese sausages without the leaf wrapping.
Besides the Bò Lá Lốt and Bò Mỡ Chài that we ordered, it came along with the generous amounts of side dishes – herbs, pickles, chilies, sauces just like nearly all others Vietnamese dishes.
We got a handful of Vietnamese coriander, sweet basil, lettuce, chives, and I think there may have been a few other leaves on the bottom too. A bowl of Vietnamese pickles that includes daikon, carrot, and slices of green un-ripe banana.
We began with a sheet Vietnamese rice paper, then layered on a few base leafy vegetables like lettuce, then some more herbs, and bun vermicelli rice noodles, then the Bò Lá Lốt , and then the garnishing goodies like chilies and sauce. Everything wrapped up!
Along with the Bò Lá Lốt , we also ordered Bò Mỡ Chài , which was on the menu, and something that’s commonly served and eaten with a meal of Bò Lá Lốt .
I’m not totally sure how the recipe differs, but Bò Mỡ Chài , to me, tastes a lot like Bò Lá Lốt , minus the outer wild betel leaf wrapping. They are also a little meatier.
They were like little sausage shaped Vietnamese hamburgers, and while they were also good, we preferred the Bò Lá Lốt for that extra boost of smoky green herb flavor.
We were so busy wrapping and eating the Bò Lá Lốt and Bò Mỡ Chài until both of us also did not take much photos of the dishes on our plate! We left about 5.00pm. We spent about 1 hour for both restaurants, what a record making!
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