Cơm Sườn Bì Chả in Adelaide: The Three-Topping Broken Rice Plate
★ As featured in Glam Adelaide — 2025 SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist
There’s a plate you’ll see on nearly every lunch table in Saigon, and it’s built on rice that most kitchens would once have thrown away. Cơm Sườn Bì Chả — broken rice with grilled pork, shredded pork and egg meatloaf — is the three-topping version of Vietnam’s great everyday lunch, and at Bà Năm on Grote Street it lands on the table smelling of char, fish sauce caramel and steamed rice. This is the plate to order when you can’t decide, because you don’t have to.
What Cơm Sườn Bì Chả actually is
Start with the rice. Cơm tấm — broken rice — is made from grains fractured during milling. The broken pieces cook up slightly softer and stickier than whole jasmine, and they hold onto the nước chấm dressing in a way long-grain rice never quite manages. What began as farmers’ food in the Mekong Delta became one of Saigon’s signature dishes, and the full story is worth a read in our broken rice guide.
The name tells you exactly what’s on the plate: sườn (grilled pork), bì (shredded pork) and chả (egg meatloaf). Around them sit cucumber, tomato and shredded carrot for crunch and freshness, a small bowl of chilli-flecked nước chấm for pouring, and a clear green-onion soup on the side — the traditional palate-cleanser between mouthfuls, not an extra you pay for.
The three toppings, explained
Sườn is the headline act: pork marinated in fish sauce, sugar and aromatics, then grilled until the edges catch and caramelise. It comes off the grill glossy, smoky and scattered with spring onion — the smell that pulls people through the door.
Bì is the quiet achiever. Fine shreds of pork tossed with toasted rice powder (thính), it’s savoury, nutty and slightly chewy — texture more than punch. It’s the topping first-timers are least sure about and regulars would riot without.
Chả is a steamed egg meatloaf — pork mince, egg, wood-ear mushroom and glass noodles set into a soft, savoury slice, its top fried to an orange-gold edge. Cut a piece, drag it through the yolk if you’ve added an egg, and you’ll understand why it earns its spot in the trio.
The $20 plate — and the $3 egg question
Cơm Sườn Bì Chả is $20, and the honest advice from the counter is: add the fried egg for $3. A sunny-side-up egg with a runny yolk is the classic Saigon upgrade — break it over the rice, let it mingle with the nước chấm, and the whole plate turns silky. If you’re a purist about the pork, plain Cơm Sườn is also $20 (see our Cơm Sườn guide), and Sườn Nướng ($16) puts the grilled pork on its own plate as an entrée to share.
Sibling plates on the rice menu
The broken rice section at Bà Năm runs wider than pork. Cơm Gà Da Giòn ($20) is the crispy-skin chicken version — shattering skin over the same soft rice. Cơm Gà Nướng ($20) swaps in grilled chicken, and Cơm Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm ($20) tops the rice with the same fish-sauce fried wings people order as a snack. And if you want grilled pork over vermicelli instead of rice, Bún Thịt Nướng ($20) is the cooler, herbier cousin.
From Trảng Bàng to Grote Street
The name over the door belongs to Bà Năm Lời, who has been cooking from her home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, since the 1970s. Her grandson Huynh Nguyen, together with owner Thi Gai Vo, brought her recipes to Adelaide in 2023 — the same home-kitchen approach, including Huynh’s Sunday runs to source beef locally from farms for the 18-hour bone broth. Glam Adelaide has told the family’s story, and the team’s own description still fits best: “not a luxury venue, just very genuine.”
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.
What to order alongside
A rice plate leaves room for starters. Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt ($14) keeps things fresh, Hoành Thánh Chiên ($14) and Chả Giò Thịt ($14) go the crispy route. To drink, a Cà Phê Nâu Đá ($8) is the classic pairing with grilled pork, and the Trà Đào Cam Sả ($10) — peach, orange and lemongrass over ice — is the summer pick. If someone at the table wants soup instead of rice, the Phở Tái with its paper-thin “red coin” rare beef (Small $20, Large $22) or a bowl of Bún Bò Huế (Small $20, Large $22) covers it — our Adelaide phở guide has the full rundown.
Visiting Bà Năm
You’ll find Bà Năm at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide Chinatown, open seven days from 11am to 9pm (until 9:30pm October to March), public holidays included. Walk-ins are welcome — fair warning that peak times can mean a 15–30 minute wait, and it moves quickly. Bookings run through OpenTable, groups of eight or more should call (08) 8151 0106, and if you’d rather have the plate at home, order via the app at order.phobanam.com.au. Add the egg. You won’t regret it.
Just the Grilled Pork, No Rice
Prefer the char without the full three-topping plate? Sườn Nướng ($16) is the standalone grilled-pork starter on lettuce — ideal for sharing while someone else goes full cơm sườn bì chả.
Another $20 rice plate
If the table wants chicken instead of the pork trio, Cơm Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm puts sticky fish-sauce wings over rice for $20.
Frequently asked questions
What is Cơm Sườn Bì Chả?
It’s a Saigon-style broken rice plate with three toppings: sườn (char-grilled marinated pork), bì (shredded pork tossed with toasted rice powder) and chả (a steamed pork and egg meatloaf with a fried golden top). It comes with cucumber, tomato, shredded carrot, chilli dipping sauce and a small clear green-onion soup on the side.
How much does Cơm Sườn Bì Chả cost at Bà Năm?
The full three-topping plate is $20. You can add a sunny-side-up fried egg for $3, and plain Cơm Sườn (grilled pork broken rice) is also $20.
What is bì, and is it worth trying?
Bì is finely shredded pork mixed with thính, a toasted rice powder that gives it a nutty, savoury flavour and a slightly chewy texture. It’s a traditional part of the trio and adds contrast to the smoky grilled pork and the soft egg meatloaf — most first-timers end up converts.
Where is Bà Năm and do I need to book?
Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street in Adelaide Chinatown, open seven days from 11am to 9pm (until 9:30pm October to March), including public holidays. Walk-ins are welcome, though peak times can mean a 15–30 minute wait. Bookings are via OpenTable, and groups of eight or more should call (08) 8151 0106.
Can I order Cơm Sườn Bì Chả for takeaway or delivery?
Yes. You can order takeaway through our app at order.phobanam.com.au, or get it delivered via Uber Eats or DoorDash. If you’d prefer to dine in, we welcome walk-ins at 65 Grote Street in Adelaide’s Chinatown, or you can book a table through OpenTable. For any questions, give us a call on (08) 8151 0106. Cơm Sườn Bì Chả is $20, and you can add a fried egg for $3.