Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên: Sesame Prawn Toast on Grote Street
★ As featured in Glam Adelaide — 2025 SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist
Some starters announce themselves before they reach the table. Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên is one of them — three golden triangles of Vietnamese prawn toast, crusted edge-to-edge in sesame seeds, still crackling from the fryer. At Bà Năm on Grote Street, it lands with a ramekin of red chilli dipping sauce and crisp lettuce, and it rarely survives long enough for a second photo.
What Is Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên?
Translate it literally and you get “fried prawn bread” — which undersells it considerably. Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên is Vietnamese prawn toast: a savoury paste of minced prawn spread generously onto bread, then fried until the prawn layer sets sweet and springy and the bread beneath turns deep gold and shatteringly crisp. It’s a dish built on contrast — soft and crunchy, rich and fresh, all in one two-bite triangle.
You’ll find versions of prawn toast across Vietnamese and broader Asian kitchens, but the good ones share the same tells: real prawn flavour that tastes of the sea rather than the fryer, bread that stays crisp instead of greasy, and a dipping sauce with enough heat to keep you reaching back for more.
The Sesame Crust Is Doing the Heavy Lifting
Look closely at Bà Năm’s plate and you’ll see the surface of each triangle is packed with sesame seeds. That crust isn’t decoration. As the toast fries, the seeds toast too, adding a nutty, roasted note that lifts the sweetness of the prawn and gives every bite an extra layer of crunch beyond the bread itself.
It’s the same philosophy that runs through the rest of the kitchen here — no shortcuts on texture. The same care that keeps the 18-hour broth simmering behind the phở goes into making sure a $14 starter arrives crisp, golden and worth ordering again.
How Bà Năm Serves It
Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên comes as three pieces for $14, cut into triangles and plated on a white oval dish with a built-in ramekin of red chilli dipping sauce flecked with chilli flakes, plus fresh green lettuce on the side. The lettuce isn’t garnish — wrap a hot triangle in a cool leaf, dip, and you’ve got the classic Vietnamese balance of fried and fresh in a single mouthful.
Three pieces is a tidy portion — enough for one hungry person to keep as a personal starter, or for a table of three to share one each while the mains are on their way. We’re not a luxury venue, just very genuine, and this plate reflects that: fried to order in a busy kitchen, with the honest note that peak times can mean a 15–30 minute wait for the full table.
The Starters Lineup at Bà Năm
Prawn toast sits in good company on the entrées page. If your table is in a fried mood, the Hoành Thánh Chiên fried wontons (6 pieces, $14) and Chả Giò Thịt pork spring rolls (4 for $14) are the natural companions. For something cool and fresh, the Gỏi Cuốn rice paper rolls — prawn & pork or vegetarian, $14 — are the counterpoint.
Going bigger? The Bánh Xèo sizzling pancake ($22) is a shareable centrepiece, while the Gỏi Bò Tái Chanh lime-cured beef salad ($25) and Gỏi Ngó Sen lotus stem salad ($25) bring bright, herb-heavy freshness to the table. Vegetarian spring rolls (Chả Giò Chay, $14) and cold rolls (Gỏi Cuốn Chay, $14) round out the list, with extra chả giò available at 2 for $6.
A little recognition: Bà Năm was a finalist in the Vietnamese Restaurant category at the 2025 Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards, and Glam Adelaide featured the story behind grandma’s recipes — later covering us in their 2025 Adelaide restaurants roundup as a finalist, not a winner, and we’re happy to say it straight. We’re not a luxury venue, just very genuine — but it’s nice when people notice.
How to Eat It
There’s no wrong way, but there is a best way. Take a triangle while it’s hot — the crunch is at its peak in the first few minutes. Dip the prawn side into the chilli sauce so the heat meets the sweetness head-on. If you want the full experience, tuck the toast into a lettuce leaf first; the cool crunch against the hot sesame crust is the whole point.
And don’t leave the last piece out of politeness. Someone has to take it. Let it be you.
What to Order Alongside
Prawn toast is a warm-up act, and the headliner here is the phở. The Phở Tái arrives with paper-thin rounds of rare beef — the “red coin” — that cook in the bowl as the boiling 18-hour bone broth is poured over. Classic bowls start at $20 small / $22 large, with stone bowl versions at $25. If you’re weighing up options, our guide to the best phở in Adelaide walks through the lot, and the Bún Thịt Nướng is the go-to for anyone in a noodle-salad mood.
One thing worth knowing: the Stone Bowl Set ($39) bundles a stone bowl phở or bún bò Huế with two chả giò, three fried wontons and a cà phê đá or coconut water — but the prawn toast is not part of the set. It’s the wontons in there. If you want the Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên, order it on its own. Worth it.
65 Grote Street: Where the Recipe Comes From
Bà Năm’s kitchen traces back to Bà Năm Lời, who’s been cooking at home since the 1970s in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh. Her grandson Huynh Nguyen brought those recipes to Adelaide, opening on Grote Street in Chinatown in 2023 with owner Thi Gai Vo. The beef is locally sourced — Huynh still does the Sunday farm runs himself — and the whole place runs on the same idea it started with: honest food, cooked the way it’s always been cooked.
The prawn toast fits that story neatly. It’s not a showpiece dish; it’s the kind of thing a Vietnamese family kitchen turns out because it’s delicious, and delicious is enough. For the wider picture of what we cook, start with Vietnamese food in Adelaide CBD.
Visiting Bà Năm
Find us at 65 Grote Street, in the heart of Adelaide Chinatown — a short walk from the Central Market. We’re open seven days, 11am–9pm (until 9:30pm October–March), public holidays included. Walk-ins are welcome and we take bookings via OpenTable; groups of eight or more should call (08) 8151 0106. Fair warning: at peak times there’s an honest 15–30 minute wait. The prawn toast, when it arrives, makes a strong case that it was worth it.
Prefer to order ahead? The app at order.phobanam.com.au has the full starters lineup ready to go. If you go for a stone bowl tái, ask about the TÁI Club — there’s a monthly lucky draw for regulars.
Want the full deep-dive on the fried rolls themselves — how they differ from gỏi cuốn, how to wrap them in lettuce, and where they sit in the Stone Bowl Set? See our dedicated Chả Giò Thịt guide.
Prawn toast loves company from the fresh side of the menu — Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt brings cool herbs and peanut dipping sauce alongside the hot crunch.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên?
Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên is Vietnamese prawn toast — minced prawn spread onto bread, crusted with sesame seeds and fried until golden and crisp. At Bà Năm it's served as three triangular pieces with chilli dipping sauce and fresh lettuce.
How much is the prawn toast at Bà Năm and how many pieces do you get?
Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên is $14 for 3 pieces. It comes with a red chilli dipping sauce and fresh green lettuce on the side.
Is the prawn toast included in the Stone Bowl Set?
No. The $39 Stone Bowl Set includes a stone bowl phở or bún bò Huế with 2 chả giò, 3 fried wontons and a cà phê đá or coconut water — the fried wontons are in the set, not the prawn toast. Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên is ordered separately for $14.
Do I need a booking to try the prawn toast at Bà Năm?
Walk-ins are welcome and bookings are available via OpenTable. Groups of 8 or more should call (08) 8151 0106. At peak times expect an honest 15–30 minute wait. Bà Năm is open seven days, 11am–9pm (until 9:30pm October–March), public holidays included.
What should I order with Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên?
It's a natural starter before a bowl of Phở Tái, where paper-thin "red coin" rare beef cooks in the bowl under boiling 18-hour bone broth. It also pairs well with fresh Gỏi Cuốn rice paper rolls for a fried-and-fresh combination.