Bò Kho in Adelaide Chinatown: Southern Vietnamese Beef Stew on Grote Street

★ As featured in Glam Adelaide — 2025 SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist

Step off Grote Street near Central Market and the first thing you catch is lemongrass and star anise drifting from the pot — that's the bò kho at Bà Năm, a russet-red Southern Vietnamese beef stew, listed on our menu as Beef Stew with Carrot Soup, made with locally sourced beef and served warmly spiced, never fiery.

If you've only ever ordered phở, consider this your invitation to go one bowl deeper.

What is bò kho?

Bò kho (roughly "baw kaw") is southern Vietnam's answer to a slow-cooked beef stew. It's traditionally built on tender beef and carrots, perfumed with lemongrass and star anise, and warmed through with annatto — the seed that lends the broth its glowing russet-red colour. The result sits somewhere between a soup and a stew: thicker and gutsier than phở, but with the same devotion to a long, low simmer.

In Vietnam, bò kho is as much a morning street-food staple as it is a dinner. Vendors ladle it out over noodles at dawn, or hand it across the counter with a hot bread roll for dipping. On our menu you'll find it as Beef Stew with Carrot Soup — and it's every bit as hearty as that sounds.

Three ways to have your bò kho

Part of the joy of bò kho is choosing how you want to mop up that rich, spiced gravy. At Bà Năm you've got three:

• Bò Kho Bánh Mì — $20. The classic. A crusty bread roll on the side for tearing and dunking — you dip, you dip again, and you don't stop until the bowl's wiped clean.
• Bò Kho Cơm Tấm — $20. Poured over Saigon-style broken rice for something more filling. The gravy soaks into the grains and every forkful carries a little of that beef. More on broken rice in our cơm tấm guide.
• Bò Kho Mì Sợi — $22. Over noodles — your pick of egg noodles, sticky rice noodles or vermicelli — for a slurpable, soupier bowl.

However you take it, it lands with carrot and that deep, fragrant stew.

Why bò kho is Adelaide's underrated winter warmer

Adelaide does phở beautifully, and we're proud of ours. But bò kho is the city's quietly brilliant cold-weather hero — the bowl that deserves more attention on a grey week in the CBD. It's spiced enough to chase off the chill, rich enough to keep you full through an afternoon, and comforting in the way only slow-cooked beef can be.

Prefer curry mood over stew mood? Try the sibling dish, cà ri gà (Vietnamese chicken curry), with the same side choices at the same $20/$20/$22 prices. For pork hock instead of beef, see Gia Cay — Southern galangal-and-turmeric stew, $22 all three ways. If you're building a whole cold-weather itinerary, see our guide to Vietnamese winter warmers in Adelaide.

Make a proper meal of it

Bò kho is generous on its own, but it plays well with company. Order a plate of fresh herbs on the side, add a fried egg or an extra roll, and you've got a table that feels like a Saigon kitchen.

If it's your first time with us, our famous Phở Tái is the dish we're known for — paper-thin rare beef cooked right in the bowl by boiling 18-hour broth. Chasing more heat? Bò kho's spicier cousin, Bún Bò Huế, brings the lemongrass-and-chilli punch of central Vietnam. Round it all off with a Vietnamese iced coffee, slow-dripped over condensed milk, and you've done a Bà Năm dinner properly. It's all on the menu, and you can order ahead for pickup if you'd rather skip the queue.

From Trảng Bàng to Grote Street

The bò kho at Bà Năm follows recipes Bà Năm Lời cooked in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh in the 1970s — tender beef and carrot simmered with lemongrass, star anise and annatto until the broth turns that signature russet red. Founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo brought her recipes to Adelaide when they opened on Grote Street in 2023, keeping the beef locally sourced with Sunday farm runs for produce.

The same patience shapes the stew's sibling tradition: our phở is built on an 18-hour bone broth, with Phở Tái's "red coin" paper-thin rare beef finished in the bowl. That care earnt Bà Năm a finalist spot in the 2025 Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards for Vietnamese Restaurant — not a luxury venue, just very genuine.

Where to find bò kho in Adelaide Chinatown and the CBD

Bà Năm sits at 65 Grote Street in the heart of Adelaide Chinatown, a short walk from Central Market and an easy stop for Vietnamese food in the Adelaide CBD. Our bò kho comes three ways: with a crusty bread roll (Bò Kho Bánh Mì, $20), over broken rice (Bò Kho Cơm Tấm, $20), or with your choice of egg noodles, sticky rice noodles or vermicelli (Bò Kho Mì Sợi, $22). If you're torn, its stewed siblings cà ri gà and Gia Cay pork hock stew sit on the same page of the menu — all three feature in our round-up of Vietnamese winter warmers in Adelaide.

We're open 11am–9pm daily (until 9:30pm October to March), public holidays included, and we're honest about the queue: expect a 15–30 minute wait at peak. You can book through OpenTable, call us on (08) 8151 0106, or order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au — and if it's broth you're after instead, start with our guide to the best phở in Adelaide.

Frequently asked questions

What is bò kho?

Bò kho is southern Vietnam's slow-cooked beef stew, built on tender beef and carrot and perfumed with lemongrass, star anise and annatto, which gives the broth its glowing russet-red colour. It sits somewhere between a soup and a stew — thicker and gutsier than phở, but with the same devotion to a long, low simmer. At Bà Năm it appears on the menu as Beef Stew with Carrot Soup.

How do you eat bò kho?

The classic way is with a crusty bread roll for tearing and dunking (bò kho bánh mì). At Bà Năm you can also have it over Saigon-style broken rice, or over noodles — egg noodles, sticky rice noodles or vermicelli — for a soupier bowl.

Is bò kho spicy?

It's warmly spiced rather than fiery — lemongrass, star anise and a gentle chilli hum carry the flavour, not heat. It's rich, fragrant and comforting, the kind of bowl built for a cold Adelaide day.

How much is bò kho at Bà Năm?

Three options: Bò Kho Bánh Mì with a bread roll ($20), Bò Kho Cơm Tấm with broken rice ($20), or Bò Kho Mì Sợi with egg noodles, sticky rice noodles or vermicelli ($22). Check the current menu at 65 Grote Street or order.phobanam.com.au.

Is there a wait at peak times?

Expect a 15–30 minute wait during peak hours — everything is slow-cooked and served fresh. Order ahead online to skip the queue. We're open 7 days, 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM (9:30 PM Oct–Mar), including public holidays.

Where can I get bò kho (Vietnamese beef stew) in Adelaide CBD or Chinatown?

Bà Năm serves Southern Vietnamese bò kho at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000, in Chinatown near Central Market. It comes three ways: Bò Kho Bánh Mì with a bread roll ($20), Bò Kho Cơm Tấm with broken rice ($20), or Bò Kho Mì Sợi with egg noodles, sticky rice noodles or vermicelli ($22). We're open 11am–9pm daily — until 9:30pm from October to March — including public holidays. Expect an honest 15–30 minute wait at peak times; you can book via OpenTable, call (08) 8151 0106, or order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au.