Crab cake, no shell
The com tam cha cua shop at 113 Nguyen Phi Khanh, Tan Dinh, District 1 — 20+ years, no signboard, open from 6 AM to about 1 PM, usually sold out by 11. The chả cua is a ball of crab meat mixed with fatty minced pork, rolled and baked golden — never stuffed into a crab shell like elsewhere. Served with soft broken rice, pickles with lotus stems, and thick sweet fish sauce. The basic crab plate is about 36,000₫; add shredded pork or egg for 8–10,000₫ (ghiensaigon.com, 2026).
Open at 6, usually sold out by 11
Open daily 06:00–13:00. Crowds come early and food runs out — come before 10 to be safe.
The plate as diners photograph it
Photos from the shop's gallery: the pink-floral white plate, the golden crab ball, the thick fish-sauce bowl with lotus-stem pickles.
The three things the shop is known for
The crab ball, grilled pork rolls, lotus-stem pickles — per the food guides.
Crab-egg cake ball
Fresh crab meat mixed with fatty minced pork, rolled, seasoned, baked golden — a crisp-charred crust outside, juicy inside with visible crab strands.
Grilled pork rolls
Grilled pork rolls with the broken rice — a distinctive flavor the food guides name alongside the chả cua.
Lotus-stem pickles
Mixed pickles: white radish, carrot, lotus stems, pickled leeks — crunchy, unusual, perfect with the thick fish sauce.
3.6/5 — not a high score, and we're not hiding it. Regulars queue from 6 AM for the crab ball; detractors call it pricey, cramped, and quick to sell out. Both have a point — come early, order the basic plate, and judge for yourself.
113 Nguyen Phi Khanh
District 1 · 06:00–13:00 daily, sold out ~11:00.
ADDRESS
113 Nguyen Phi Khanh St, Tan Dinh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
06:00–13:00 daily · 0906 727 992