Miến Cua 94 Chả Giò Cua Biển — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

Long but hopefully interesting post… a story of 2 similarly named yummilicious restaurants in Sai Gon.

Had my favourite “stir fried crab meat glass noodles” (Miến Xào Cua) a couple of afternoons back in Saigon, but with a twist.

There are 2 famous crab specialty restaurants on Đinh Tiên Hoàng street in Sai Gon. Both were similarly named in the past, now the names are slightly different. When I first came here more than a decade back, both were called Quán Thúy 94. One was at No. 94, the other at 84 on Đinh Tiên Hoàng.

The story I first heard was that the shop at No. 84, was the original and they were actually originally located at No. 94. The owner of the shop took back the unit at some point in time and the restaurant had to move to No. 84. Just a short time later, a new business having a similar menu and keeping the original business’ name opened up at No. 94!!! Yes, that does happen in Vietnam. These days, the restaurant at No.94 has dropped the word Thúy from their signboard.

Note: Quán means restaurant and Thúy is a persons name in Vietnamese.

Recently, the idiots at Michelin guide decided to give some vague award to the shop at No. 84 and their clientele has become, largely, hoards of tourists. So I have stopped patronising No. 84 and switched my patronage to the business at No.94.

My surprise in the recent visit was the fact that I went with a local and have been told that many locals believe No.94 is the original business and that is the one they patronise. The customers seen there would back this up, mainly Vietnamese along with a few Japanese/Koreans who live in Sai Gon (yes, I can tell if they live in Sai Gon or are tourists 😝🤣).

Taste wise, both are similar enough (to me). Minor differences but the base recipe is obviously the same.

I love their crab meat glass noodles but not so much their crab fried rice. The rice in Vietnam is normally too dry & hard for my liking. The crab spring rolls are also delicious. Their fried soft shell crab is just “so so”.

The few other dishes on their small menu are mostly OK but not super tasty either. Do note that prices here are expensive by Sai Gon standards but reasonable, to me, given the good amount of crab meat given.

The crab stir fried glass noodles cost VND240K (USD9.50/S$12/RM40/THB300/PHP520)

The 2 shops are:

Quán Thúy 94 - Miến Cua (Yellow Signboard) 84 Đinh Tiên Hoàng

Quán 94 - (White Signboard) 94 Đinh Tiên Hoàng

In my humble opinion… go with the restaurant at No. 94! 😝

To my Vietnamese friends, anyone know definitely the story behind the 2...

This restaurant has held a special place in my heart for over 20 years, making it one of my all-time favorites.

Every time I walk through the doors, I'm greeted with a sense of familiarity as they effortlessly prepare my dish exactly to my liking. It's truly heartwarming to experience such attentive care from the staff.

Their crab with tamarind sauce remains unmatched, and I always find myself returning to my usual favorite, the fried crab glass noodles.

While it may not boast the lavish decor or formal service of fine dining establishments, this local gem shines in its commitment to serving quality food. I find immense satisfaction in indulging my appetite here, knowing I'll always leave fully content.

As a testament to its excellence, I once attempted a similar restaurant when this one was closed, only to find it couldn't compare to the flavors I've grown...

Was recommended to visit this crab restaurant by a friend, and it definitely lived up to our expectations! The crabs were very fresh and juicy. We ordered the crab fried rice which had a generous serving of crab meat and a fragrant wokhey taste! Also enjoyed the fried soft shell crab which even had roes in them. If you hate plucking crabs, you can choose the roasted crab claw which comes nicely cracked open. So good I can still taste them as I type this review.

The only downside is that the shop looks rather rundown and a tad unhygienic with many house flies and other insects buzzing around? But nothing happened to us after the meal, so don’t let the environment put you off. It’s worth it even if your tummy is going...