'Thịt luộc mắm nêm' or boiled pork belly, thinly sliced and served with a special fish sauce. VNS Photos Khánh Chi

Nguyễn Khánh Chi

After days indulging in grilled squid and steamed crabs on one of the most beautiful beaches along Việt Nam’s coastal stretch, there was a strong desire for steamed rice among all my family members during our recent holiday in the central region.

That’s when we discovered Cơm Thóc, a cosy spot serving traditional Vietnamese home-style dishes that seem like they have been ladled straight from a family kitchen.

Thanks to its natural, geographical and climate features, Việt Nam is an ideal location for rice cultivation. Beyond economics, rice is significant since it is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine, culture and daily life.

With its wide facade, the restaurant's pale yellow walls are accented by green potted plants.

Located on Trần Cao Vân Street, just five minutes walk from the tranquil and turquoise Quy Nhơn beach in what is now Gia Lai Province, the restaurant serves as a really refreshing culinary shift for my family’s three generations.

With its wide facade, the restaurant's pale yellow walls are accented by green potted plants. A sign, featuring the words 'Cơm Thóc – The Quintessence of Vietnamese Rice' on a grey background, completes the look. This soothing colour palette creates a wonderfully welcoming sense of relief as you arrive from your walk under hot summer sun.

This feeling intensifies the moment you walk through the wooden door.

The owner of Cơm Thóc, Nguyễn Trường Sinh, shared his vision: "We chose pale yellow, a colour that is traditional, the colour of clay, and the colour of hope. It’s meant to create a warm, cosy feeling that brings you back to the sentiments of a bygone era."

Sets of ceramic dishes, even small bowls for dipping sauce, were a wonderful touch.

Beyond the overall ambience of the restaurant, with its dark brown wooden furniture contrasting against yellow walls and accented by paintings, ceramic vases and witty advertising slogans, I was truly struck by the tableware. Sets of ceramic dishes, even small bowls for dipping sauce, were a wonderful touch.

“My choice of tableware is a deliberate one: traditional, handmade ceramics in an earthy yellow. This creates a rustic feel that connects our guests to the past and complements our restaurant's décor,” said Sinh.

“For elderly diners, it feels like home. For young ones, it’s a charming glimpse into history. Ultimately, this familiar atmosphere makes our food taste even more comforting and delicious.”

After we settled in at our table for five, we amused ourselves with the menu, a list of eye-catching, mouth-watering and familiar dishes. With so many attractive choices, we decided that each of us would pick our favourite.

Our eldest son went first, choosing his beloved thịt luộc mắm nêm (boiled pork belly with special anchovy sauce. A tender, tasty slice of pork belly, combined with shredded green mango and fresh basil, dipped in the sauce and eaten with rice – it’s a truly unforgettable feeling.

While our little son picked his all-time favourite thịt kho tộ (caramelised pork belly and quail egg stew), my mother and I chose cá thu chiên mắm xoài (fried mackerel with mango fish sauce) and cá lóc kho tộ (braised snakehead fish in pot).

'Thịt heo xào măng' (Pork stir-fried with bamboo shoots) is an ideal choice to enjoy with rice.

If you are a bamboo shoot lover like my husband, thịt heo xào măng (stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots) is an ideal choice to enjoy with rice.

In Vietnamese cuisine, a meal isn't complete without vegetables. We picked rau rừng xào tỏi (wild vegetables stir-fried with garlic) and canh cua tập tàng (crab soup with assorted vegetables) to complete our meal perfectly.

The highly-recommended dishes by the chef also include peperomia pellucida and beef salad, fried egg with oyster, fried fish with mango fish sauce, snakehead fish sour soup, and boiled vegetable dipped in various types of fish sauce of the Central region style.

Cơm Thóc serves traditional Vietnamese home-style dishes that feel ladled straight from a family kitchen.

It’s noted that the bilingual menu at Cơm Thóc makes it easy for international visitors to enjoy traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

“Our restaurant is dedicated to a single concept: serving a wide array of authentic Vietnamese home-cooked dishes. Our mission is to offer both tourists and locals a meal that tastes just like home, whether they are hundreds of kilometres away or simply too busy with work to cook for themselves,” said Sinh.

Cơm Thóc is a start-up founded by Sinh and his wife, with a clear plan to develop it into a restaurant chain within three years. The business concept was born from a key market opportunity: rapidly growing tourism industry in the locality.

The name of the restaurant, a combination of steamed rice and unhusked rice, is a core part of their strategy. As Sinh said, it is meant to tap into the cherished memory of the Vietnamese family meal. For those who lived through the difficult subsidy period pre-1980s, the word "thóc" or paddy rice is powerfully nostalgic. The name aims to pique the interest of diners while reconnecting them with a meaningful piece of Vietnamese history.

Cơm Thóc has its own slogans found on the wall. Photo courtesy of Cơm Thóc

When asked why he chose to open a rice-focused restaurant instead of a seafood place in this beautiful coastal area, Sinh’s answer was deeply rooted in culture and strategy.

"I chose Vietnamese cơm because cooked rice is the soul of Vietnamese identity – from the raw grain to the cooked meal," he explained. "Any Vietnamese person can go many days without seafood or chicken, but it's nearly impossible to go two days without rice."

My family really enjoyed the fresh prawns, squid, oysters, fish, crabs and other seafood during the first two days of our summer holiday at Quy Nhơn beach. But by the third day, we were all really craving a proper rice meal.

True to the advertising slogans in Vietnamese that caught my eye the very moment I walked in, such as 'Relish every moment, Savour every flavour' and 'We don't just serve meals, we evoke memories', my family had a wonderfully delicious and joyful lunch for around VNĐ650,000 (US$25). VNS

Cơm Thóc

03 Trần Cao Vân, Quy Nhơn Ward, Gia Lai Province

Tel: 0796 597 789

Open: Monday-Sunday: 10am-2pm; 5pm-9pm

Price: Dishes to enjoy with rice ranging from VND65,000-155,000 ($2.50-5.90)