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Dive into Ho Chi Minh's bustling local food scene with a visit to Ốc Oanh in District 4! This popular spot serves up incredibly delicious grilled seafood, perfectly seasoned with a sauce you won't forget. Get ready for an authentic culinary adventure!
Following our previous guides to famous Ho Chi Minh restaurants and authentic local banh mi spots, we're diving into a true local gem this time: the seafood street!
While our previous recommendations were well-known tourist favorites, today we're taking you to a place with a distinctly local vibe.
Our spotlight today is on Ốc Oanh, a fantastic grilled seafood restaurant nestled in District 4's famous seafood street.
Honestly, I'm not even a huge seafood enthusiast, but this place blew me away!
The sauce is absolutely incredible!
Especially this sauce...
It's so delicious!
And the best part? Many of the shells are already peeled,
making it super easy to enjoy the perfectly seasoned and grilled seafood!
Oops, I got ahead of myself and showed you the food
before introducing the place!
Here it is!
You'll know it's local the moment you arrive!
When I visited, nearly every table was packed.
The tables spilled out onto the sidewalk, full of diners.
This is where they do all the grilling!
And right in front, you'll see mountains of fresh seafood.
They do bring out some basic dipping sauces,
but honestly, I barely touched them.
The inherent flavor of Ốc Oanh's seasoning is so good,
you won't need anything extra!
There was a salt and spice mix, though, that was fantastic for an extra kick, so I sprinkled that on top!
The shrimp... oh, the shrimp! So incredibly delicious.
That sauce really makes it.
This is definitely a top Ho Chi Minh local spot.
And again, the thoughtful touch of pre-peeled shells!
Here they are, already peeled...
and placed on the grill.
This is before they're seasoned.
It looks like they brush on that incredible sauce
from a large pot as they cook.
Are these scallops...?
Full disclosure, I'm not usually seeking out seafood,
so I just let my friend order whatever looked good.
But honestly, everything we tried was fantastic!
We also tried sea urchin,
and it looked unlike any I'd seen before.
Almost like a chestnut!
We scraped every last bit from the shell.
Oh no, I can't believe it! I didn't get a clear shot of that menu item... ㅠ
Not the shrimp, but the blurry one in the background, out of focus...
It was a stir-fry of morning glory and clams, and the sauce on that was also out of this world!
I tried to carefully photograph every single dish,
so why is that one missing? Ugh.
At least it's there, even if just in the background behind the shrimp! Haha.
Beyond what we ate...
there was also this giant fellow,
though we didn't try him.
The menu is available to browse!
Even the interior tables were completely full.
Both to the left and right, too! Seriously, it was absolutely packed with people.
This entire street feels like a dedicated seafood alley, but Ốc Oanh is definitely the hottest spot with the most customers.
If you don't believe me, check out the video below! (Please note: video content is not included in this text adaptation.)
📍 534 Vĩnh Khánh, Phường 8, Quận 4, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
534 Vĩnh Khánh, Phường 8, Quận 4, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Ốc Oanh
Open: 1:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Location: 534 Vĩnh Khánh, Phường 8, Quận 4, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
Before this, we also visited this other fantastic place.
Next time, I'll be back with another Ho Chi Minh City food adventure!
Ốc Oanh is located at 534 Vĩnh Khánh, Phường 8, Quận 4, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. This street is famous for its seafood, and Ốc Oanh is a particularly popular spot with many customers.
Ốc Oanh operates from 1 PM until 12 AM (midnight) the following day. You can enjoy your meal late into the night.
The shrimp at Ốc Oanh are served grilled with their middle shells removed for easy eating, and they are seasoned. The restaurant's own special sauce is so delicious that there was no need for any additional sauce.
The standard sauce was hardly used, but a sauce mixed with salt and other ingredients was delicious and was sprinkled on additionally. In particular, the seasoning applied directly to the seafood itself was excellent.
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