September 2, 2007
Cuisine: Seafood, Vietnamese

Bai Tam My Khe
Da Nang, Vietnam

Phone: 0511940989
Website: none

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Grilled Clams with Scallions, Tomatoes, Onions (35,000 VND)

Lemongrass Snails (40,000 VND)

Thin Egg Noodles with Squid, Tomatoes, and Spinach (40,000 VND)

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Before flying back to Saigon, The Astronomer and I had a dinner date with Cathy. She took us to her favorite seafood eatery located yards away from Da Nang’s China Beach. The view and food at Dai Duong were both stellar. It doesn’t get any fresher than eating seafood by the sea.

Cathy recommended that we order the grilled clams. She had them once prior and found them delightful. The clams were smothered with sautéed onions, scallions and tomatoes, which brought about subtle flavors that didn’t drown out the clams’ natural goodness—another excellent call by Cathy.

I initially ordered an eel dish, but the restaurant was fresh out. I opted instead for snails. The snails were de-shelled, humongous, and seasoned with deliciously long strands of lemongrass. While some may find the texture of snails overly chewy, I really dig it. The snails were The Astronomer’s and my favorite dish of the evening.

For the carbohydrate portion of our meal, we had steamed white rice and a plate of stir fried noodles. The noodles were a bit on the mushy side, but the tomatoes and squid delivered a double punch that saved the dish.