Bò Kho Cô Mai Since 1984 - Chi nhánh Hồ Tùng Mậu (Đối diện Bitexco) — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

Bò Kho Cô Mai, the legendary establishment “since 1984,” which must mean they’ve had 41 years to perfect the art of… forgetting to wash the herbs. Yuk! Nothing screams “farm-to-table” quite like the crunch of soil between your teeth. Organic, perhaps. Hygienic, debatable. The broth? More “flavoured hot water” than the rich, fragrant stew. To be fair, the beef was tender — soft enough to make you believe someone in the kitchen does care. Unfortunately, the carrots were too raw.

For drinks, I ordered a lime juice without sugar. The staff assured me — hand on heart — that there was no sugar. Naturally, it arrived tasting like someone had emptied a candy jar into it. After pointing this out, they redid it properly. Bravo. Character development achieved. The ice tea, however, never turned up. Perhaps it’s still on its way from 1984. Prices are fair given the central location — you won’t go broke here. But the service? The staff were indifferent. The food has potential, but the staff did not appear to be on the same page, serving burnt bread.

Would I recommend it? If you like your herbs earthy, your broth thin, and your drinks playing hide-and-seek, then yes, this is the culinary adventure for you. Otherwise, three stars, they lost the two stars for missing the order and serving...

My one discovery on a recent trip to Vietnam were the joys of Bo Kho, or beef stew. Admittedly, my knowledge of (and therefore appreciation of) Vietnamese cuisine was limited to the tried and proven array of wonderful noodle varieties they have and a smattering of other street foods.

On first presentation, my first thought was this looks like a watered down version of the Mexican beef stew Caldo de Res which I love. All similarity ends there because there is nothing watered down about this beef stew. In fact, it has that perfectly blended sweet-sour taste that reminds me more of borscht. The beef is slow cooked soft and competes nicely with the slightly clear broth for taste.

You can eat it with noodles (surprise surprise) or with French loaf. My Vietnamese friend said that he preferred it with bread and so do many locals, I can see why. The one thing the Vietnamese learnt well from the French is how to make a good French baguette. Slightly crispy on the outside, soft and moist on the inside with a ever so subtle salty finish to the bread taste. This, as it turns out, is the perfect accompaniment to Bo Kho Co Mai's stew sweet- sour profile. Sweet, sour, salty. Tadah, need...

Located on Hồ Tùng Mậu street, near Bitexco, this spot is quite convenient for office workers to grab a meal.

The menu offers a variety of dishes like beef stew, Hủ Tiếu, beef stew noodles, or beef stew with bread.

Prices range from 50-70k VND per bowl, which is quite reasonable for this area.

Additionally, the staff is quite quick and friendly.

--- However, the place doesn't have AC, only fans, so it gets really, really hot if you're eating at noon. It's best to eat quickly and then head over to a café afterward. Overall, I would give...