Bún Chả Giò Chay in Adelaide Chinatown — Vegetarian Spring Roll Vermicelli

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

There's a particular pleasure in bún chả giò chay: hot, crackling vegetarian spring rolls over cool rice vermicelli, fresh herbs and pickles, everything tossed through the dressing at the table. At Bà Năm on Grote Street in Adelaide Chinatown, it's $20 and built the way it's meant to be — crisp against soft, warm against cold. We're not a luxury venue, just very genuine, and this bowl is a good example of why that works.

What Is Bún Chả Giò Chay?

Break the name down and you've got the whole dish: bún is rice vermicelli, chả giò are fried spring rolls, and chay means vegetarian. It's the meat-free take on one of Southern Vietnam's most-loved lunch bowls — a dry noodle salad rather than a soup, built for warm weather and eaten cool-and-hot at the same time.

Bà Năm was opened in Adelaide in 2023 by founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo, cooking recipes from Bà Năm Lời, whose kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh has been running since the 1970s. The house is best known for the 18-hour phở broth and the Phở Tái "red coin" — and to be upfront, that broth is meat-based, so there's no vegetarian phở here. The bún section is where the same care shows up for vegetarians: chả giò chay rolled and fried to order, herbs picked fresh, the dressing balanced rather than blunt.

What's in the Bowl

The bowl arrives looking like the photo above, not a styled version of it. A nest of soft rice vermicelli sits underneath several whole golden spring rolls — you can see the dark vegetable filling at the cut ends — scattered with rings of spring onion. Shredded carrot runs down one side, julienned cucumber down the other, and at the front there's a fresh tangle of lettuce, mint and purple leaf. On the side: a small bowl of sweet-sour vegetarian dipping sauce, nước chấm style, flecked with chilli, garlic and crushed peanut.

The spring rolls are the event. They come out of the fryer shatteringly crisp, the wrapper blistered gold, the vegetable filling inside steaming and savoury. Against the cool, slippery noodles and cold crunchy vegetables, that first hot bite is the whole point of the dish. At Bà Năm, Bún Chả Giò Chay is $20 — the same price as the meat sibling.

How to Eat It

There's no wrong way, but there is a better way. Pour the dipping sauce over the entire bowl — don't ration it — then toss everything together with your chopsticks so the noodles, herbs and vegetables all get coated. Some people snip or break the spring rolls first so the crisp shards distribute through the bowl; others keep them whole on top and alternate bites. Either way, eat it promptly. The magic of Bún Chả Giò Chay is the temperature contrast, and the rolls are at their crackling best in the first ten minutes.

It's a genuinely good hot-day order. Adelaide summers and steaming soup don't always agree, and this bowl is the answer when you want something substantial but fresh — without the steam on your glasses.

Vegetarian vs the Meat Version

Bà Năm runs both bowls side by side at the same price. The classic Bún Chả Giò ($20) uses traditional pork-based spring rolls; the chay version swaps in vegetable-filled rolls and a vegetarian dipping sauce. Same format, same freshness, same $20 — which means a mixed table of vegetarians and meat-eaters can order matching bowls without anyone compromising. If your table leans carnivorous, the char-grilled Bún Thịt Nướng ($20) or the combination Bún Đặc Biệt ($24) sit in the same family.

Note the dish is listed as vegetarian, not vegan — if you have specific dietary requirements, have a chat with the team when you order. We don't invent allergen guarantees on a website; the kitchen is the honest source on the day.

More Vegetarian Options at Bà Năm

This isn't a one-token-dish situation. The vegetarian Vietnamese menu at Bà Năm runs properly deep: Bún Tàu Hủ Chay ($20) with tofu and crispy bean curd, the loaded Bún Chay Đặc Biệt ($24) for when you want the works, Gỏi Cuốn Chay (3 for $14) as a fresh starter, and Chả Giò Chay (4 for $14) if the table wants extra vegetarian spring rolls on the side — a smart move, because they disappear fast.

And to drink? A Vietnamese iced coffee — cà phê đen đá or nâu đá, $8 — is the classic pairing, though on a hot day the Trà Tắc ($10), Trà Đào Cam Sả ($10) or a fresh Nước Dừa coconut ($8) sit beautifully against the fried rolls and herbs. For the soup side of the house — the 18-hour broth and red coin — start with Phở Tái or our guide to the best phở in Adelaide.

Where to find bún chả giò chay in Adelaide Chinatown and the CBD

If you're searching for bún chả giò chay in the Adelaide CBD, Chinatown is the natural place to start. Bà Năm sits at 65 Grote Street, in the middle of Adelaide Chinatown's Vietnamese strip, and it's an easy walk from most of the CBD's Vietnamese food. The bowl is $20, and the vegetarian side of the menu runs deeper than one dish: see our full vegetarian Vietnamese guide for Adelaide.

If you'd rather have the rolls on their own, chả giò chay come as an entrée of four cuốn for $14, and gỏi cuốn chay (fresh rice paper rolls, three for $14) are the cooler, softer counterpart. Meat eaters at the same table can order the meat bún chả giò at the same $20, or a bowl of our 18-hour phở — everything lands together, so nobody's waiting on anyone.

Visiting Bà Năm

You'll find Bà Năm at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide Chinatown, open seven days from 11am to 9pm (stretching to 9:30pm over summer, October to March), public holidays included. Walk-ins are welcome, and you can book via OpenTable — though fair warning, peak times can mean an honest 15–30 minute wait. Groups of 8 or more should call (08) 8151 0106 ahead. Prefer to order ahead? Our app is at order.phobanam.com.au.

Come hungry, order the vegetarian crunchy bowl, and pour that dipping sauce with confidence.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bún Chả Giò Chay?

Bún Chả Giò Chay is a Southern Vietnamese vegetarian noodle salad bowl: cool rice vermicelli topped with hot, crispy vegetable-filled fried spring rolls, fresh lettuce, mint, carrot and cucumber, served with a sweet-sour vegetarian dipping sauce (nước chấm style) that you pour over and toss through. It is a dry bowl rather than a soup — a warm-weather favourite.

How much is Bún Chả Giò Chay at Bà Năm?

Bún Chả Giò Chay is $20 — a full bowl of rice vermicelli, herbs, pickles and vegetarian spring rolls. If you just want the rolls, the Chả Giò Chay entrée is four cuốn for $14 (not three — that's the Gỏi Cuốn Chay, three fresh rolls for $14). Other vegetarian bún bowls: Bún Tàu Hủ Chay $20 and Bún Chay Đặc Biệt $24.

What is the difference between Bún Chả Giò Chay and Bún Chả Giò?

The chay version is vegetarian — vegetable-filled spring rolls and a vegetarian dipping sauce — while classic Bún Chả Giò uses traditional pork-based spring rolls. Both are $20, so mixed tables can order side by side. The dish is listed as vegetarian, not vegan; ask the team if you have specific dietary needs.

How do you eat Bún Chả Giò Chay?

Pour the dipping sauce over the whole bowl, then toss noodles, herbs and salad with your chopsticks. Eat it soon after it arrives — the dish is about hot, crispy spring rolls against cool noodles and vegetables, and the rolls are at their crunchiest in the first few minutes.

Do I need to book at Bà Năm?

Walk-ins are welcome and we take bookings via OpenTable. At peak times expect an honest 15–30 minute wait. Groups of 8+ should call (08) 8151 0106. Open seven days, 11am–9pm (9:30pm in summer, Oct–Mar).

Where can I get bún chả giò chay (vegetarian spring roll vermicelli) in Adelaide CBD or Chinatown?

Bà Năm serves bún chả giò chay for $20 at 65 Grote Street, in Adelaide Chinatown. We're open 11am–9pm every day including public holidays, extending to 9:30pm from October to March. Walk-ins are welcome, you can book on OpenTable, or order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au — for groups of 8 or more, please call (08) 8151 0106 first. Honest notes: the dish is vegetarian but not necessarily vegan, as we run a shared kitchen; our signature phở broth is meat-based, so there's no vegetarian phở — the bún chay dishes are the vegetarian heart of the menu. At peak times expect a genuine 15–30 minute wait.