Chả Giò Thịt — Fried Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Done the Southern Way

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

There's a sound a proper chả giò makes when you bite it — a short, sharp crack before the steam and the pork hit. At Bà Năm on Grote Street, that sound arrives four rolls at a time on a white oval plate, with a nest of lettuce, pickled carrot and daikon, and a small red ramekin of nước chấm that does most of the talking. It's the same fried spring roll Bà Năm Lời has been rolling in her home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh since the 1970s, and it's one of the first things regulars order while the 18-hour broth does its work in the kitchen behind them.

What Is Chả Giò? (And Why It's Not an Egg Roll)

Chả giò is the Southern Vietnamese fried spring roll — a tight cylinder of seasoned filling wrapped and fried until the skin blisters into a golden, glassy shatter. In the north of Vietnam the same dish goes by nem rán, and while the family resemblance is strong, the southern version Bà Năm grew up making in Tây Ninh tends to run a little sweeter in its dipping sauce and a little more generous with the fresh herbs and lettuce served alongside. Same idea, different accent.

It's also a very different animal to the Chinese-style egg roll you might know from a food court. Egg rolls use a thicker wheat wrapper that fries up bubbly and chewy; chả giò uses a thinner skin that fries hard and crisp, so the crunch is sharper and the roll lighter. The filling here is pork and chicken — savoury, tender, a little sweet — rather than the cabbage-heavy mix of the takeaway classic.

The other cousin worth knowing is gỏi cuốn, the fresh cold roll. Gỏi cuốn is soft rice paper, cool prawn and pork, herbs, no fryer in sight. Chả giò is its louder sibling — hot, crackling, and unapologetically fried. Plenty of tables at Bà Năm order both and settle the argument themselves.

How Bà Năm Serves Chả Giò Thịt

The plate is simple and it's meant to be: four fried spring rolls (4 cuốn) for $14, filled with pork and chicken, fried to order so they arrive too hot to pick up straight away — which is exactly when you should pick one up anyway. Alongside sits crisp lettuce, shredded carrot and white pickled daikon, and a ramekin of nước chấm — the fish-sauce-based dip with chilli that cuts straight through the richness of the fried skin.

Nothing on the plate is decoration. The lettuce is for wrapping, the pickles are for balance, and the sauce is for dunking with intent. Bà Năm isn't a luxury venue, just very genuine — and this dish is probably the clearest expression of that. Four rolls, one sauce, no fuss.

Meat, Vegetarian, Extras — and the Bún Chả Giò Path

If you're eating plant-based, Chả Giò Chay gives you four vegetarian fried rolls for the same $14 — same crackle, same lettuce-and-pickle setup. It sits comfortably within Bà Năm's wider vegetarian Vietnamese lineup, so mixed tables don't have to compromise.

Four rolls between two people has started more polite standoffs than we can count, so extras exist: an extra two chả giò thịt is $6.50, or two extra chả giò chay for $5.50. Cheap insurance against the last-roll silence.

And if you'd rather make chả giò the whole meal instead of the opening act, that's what Bún Chả Giò is for — the fried rolls sliced over a cool bowl of vermicelli noodles, herbs and nước chấm, $20. There's a vegetarian bún chả giò chay at $20 as well. Same rolls, bigger canvas.

Two Chả Giò Come Standard in the Stone Bowl Set

If you want the full Bà Năm spread in one order, the Stone Bowl Set ($39) builds chả giò right in: a stone bowl phở or bún bò Huế — served rolling hot in the heavy thố đá — plus two chả giò, three hoành thánh chiên, and your choice of cà phê đá or nước dừa. It's the set most first-timers end up wishing they'd ordered, because the two spring rolls arrive while the stone bowl is still audibly bubbling.

Stone bowl regulars should also know about the TÁI Club — Bà Năm's monthly lucky draw built around the stone-bowl tái dishes. Ask when you order, or read up on the phở tái and its famous red coin of rare beef first.

How to Eat Chả Giò the Vietnamese Way

You can absolutely just dunk and bite — nobody at Bà Năm is policing technique. But the traditional Southern method is worth learning: take a leaf of lettuce, lay a roll (or half a roll) inside, add a pinch of the pickled carrot and daikon, wrap it into a loose parcel, and dip the whole thing in the nước chấm.

The reason it works is temperature and texture. Cold, crisp lettuce against a hot, crackling roll; sweet-sharp pickles against rich pork and chicken; and the sauce tying everything together. One bite delivers about five sensations at once. Once you've eaten chả giò this way, the plain dunk feels like listening to half the song.

What to Order Alongside

Chả giò plays well with the rest of the fried entrée bench. Hoành thánh chiên — six fried wontons for $14 — brings a different kind of crunch, and bánh mì tôm chiên (three prawn toasts, $14) rounds out a serious starter spread. If you're chasing sticky-savoury rather than crisp, the cánh gà chiên nước mắm — five fish-sauce-glazed wings for $16 — is the move.

For contrast, order the fresh rolls too: gỏi cuốn tôm thịt (three cold prawn-and-pork rolls, $14) or the vegetarian gỏi cuốn chay ($14). See also the combined fresh vs fried rolls guide. Hot-and-crisp next to cool-and-soft is the classic Vietnamese starter pairing for a reason.

Then let the rolls do what they've always done at Bà Năm's table — open for the main event. A small phở bò or bún bò Huế is $20, large $22, or go for the stone bowl versions at $25, all built on the same 18-hour bone broth made with locally sourced beef from Huynh's Sunday farm runs. Finish with a cà phê đen đá or nâu đá ($8) and you've eaten the full arc. There's a reason this place turns up in conversations about the best phở in Adelaide.

From a Home Kitchen in Trảng Bàng to Grote Street

The chả giò recipe, like everything at Bà Năm, traces back to Bà Năm Lời's home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, where she's been cooking since the 1970s. In 2023, her grandson Huynh Nguyen and owner Thi Gai Vo brought that cooking to Adelaide, opening at 65 Grote Street in the heart of Adelaide Chinatown, a short walk from the Central Market.

It's a fitting address. Grote Street is where Adelaide goes when it wants food with a family name attached — and Bà Năm's name is literally on the door. If you're mapping out a broader crawl of Vietnamese food in the Adelaide CBD, a plate of chả giò here makes a very strong first stop.

Visiting Bà Năm for Chả Giò

Bà Năm is open seven days, 11am–9pm (until 9:30pm over summer, October to March), public holidays included. Walk-ins are always welcome — though honesty being house policy: at peak times expect a 15–30 minute wait. The chả giò, fried to order, is worth standing on Grote Street for.

If you'd rather not chance it, book through OpenTable, and for groups of eight or more give the team a call on (08) 8151 0106. You'll find the restaurant at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide Chinatown, near the Central Market — follow the smell of the fryer and the 18-hour broth.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between chả giò and gỏi cuốn?

Chả giò are fried spring rolls — hot, golden and crisp, filled with pork and chicken at Bà Năm. Gỏi cuốn are fresh cold rolls in soft rice paper, no frying involved. Both come with dipping sauce, and both are $14 for a serve (four chả giò, three gỏi cuốn). Many tables order one of each.

Is there a vegetarian version of chả giò at Bà Năm?

Yes — Chả Giò Chay is four vegetarian fried spring rolls for $14, served the same way with lettuce, pickles and dipping sauce. You can also add an extra two vegetarian rolls for $5.50, or make it a meal with Bún Chả Giò Chay ($20).

How many spring rolls come in a serve and how much is it?

Chả Giò Thịt comes as four fried rolls (4 cuốn) for $14, filled with pork and chicken. If four isn't enough, an extra two rolls is $6.50. The Stone Bowl Set ($39) also includes two chả giò alongside a stone bowl phở or bún bò Huế, three fried wontons and a drink.

How do you eat chả giò the traditional way?

Wrap a roll in a lettuce leaf with a pinch of the pickled carrot and daikon, then dip the parcel in the nước chấm. The cold lettuce and sharp pickles against the hot, crisp roll is the whole point — though a straightforward dunk-and-bite is perfectly acceptable too.

Do I need to book to eat at Bà Năm?

Walk-ins are welcome seven days a week, 11am–9pm (9:30pm in summer, October–March), public holidays included. At peak times there's an honest 15–30 minute wait, so booking via OpenTable is a good idea. Groups of eight or more should call (08) 8151 0106.