Cơm Tấm Adelaide — Saigon Broken Rice Plates in Chinatown on Grote Street

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

If you're searching for com tam Adelaide, this is the plate we mean: Saigon-style broken rice — fractured jasmine grains, fluffier than whole rice, built to soak up smoky pork juices and nước chấm. At Bà Năm on Grote Street in Adelaide Chinatown, every cơm tấm plate is from $20 — from the classic cơm sườn with charcoal-grilled pork chop to the full house cơm sườn bì chả with shredded pork, pork skin and steamed egg meatloaf, finished with pickles, cucumber and tomato, plus an optional fried egg. It's the same kitchen behind our Phở Tái "red coin" and its 18-hour bone broth — we're not a luxury venue, just very genuine.

What is cơm tấm, and why “broken rice”?

Cơm tấm literally means “broken rice,” and the name is the whole story. When jasmine rice is milled, the fractured, smaller grains are sifted out and set aside — once the leftover no-one wanted, now the foundation of southern Vietnam’s most beloved street lunch. Those broken grains cook up fluffier and more open than whole rice, and that’s the magic: they soak up meat juices, marinade and nước chấm instead of sitting politely on the plate. In the markets of Saigon, cơm tấm stalls fire up charcoal grills before sunrise, and the smell of grilling pork rides the heat all the way to dinner. It’s casual, generous, unpretentious food — exactly the spirit we bring to 65 Grote St in Adelaide.

The toppings: sườn nướng, bì, chả and nước chấm

A proper cơm tấm is really about what sits on top of the rice. Sườn nướng is charcoal-grilled pork — typically a thin-cut pork chop or rib, marinated in lemongrass, garlic, shallot, sugar and fish sauce, then grilled hard and fast so the edges char while the centre stays juicy. Bì is shredded pork mixed with pork skin cut into fine threads, tossed with roasted rice powder for a toasty crunch. Chả is egg meatloaf — a steamed omelette of pork, glass noodles and wood-ear mushroom, sliced into golden slabs. Crown it all with a fried egg, a shower of pickled carrot and daikon, sliced cucumber and tomato, and a small bowl of nước chấm: sweet-savoury fish sauce diluted with lime, sugar, garlic and chilli. You pour it on, mix it through, and the broken rice drinks it all in.

Eat it like a Saigon local — come ready to be fuelled up

In Saigon, cơm tấm is the working lunch. Office workers, students, market traders — everyone grabs a plate, pulls up a tiny plastic stool and tucks in. It’s not a luxury venue, just very genuine, the way Bà Năm Lời served phở from her own home kitchen back in the 1970s in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, Vietnam. We carry that same spirit here in Adelaide. Come ready to be fuelled up for a big, enthusiastic day — whether that’s a shift, a long walk through the city, or a solid afternoon of doing nothing in particular. Our bowls are generous, the portions honest, the flavours loud. You won’t leave hungry, and honestly, you won’t leave in a hurry either — this is comfort food that asks you to slow down a beat.

The Bà Năm broken-rice lineup

Our menu runs the Saigon classics. Cơm sườn is the gateway — grilled pork chop over broken rice with bì, chả and nước chấm. Plain cơm sườn keeps the focus on the char-grilled chop; cơm sườn bì chả is the full house: grilled pork, shredded pork and egg meatloaf together, the trio that defines cơm tấm — see the dedicated deep-dive. Cơm gà da giòn swaps the pork for crispy-skinned chicken, and cơm gà nướng brings grilled chicken instead. We also turn out sticky fish-sauce wings (Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm) — glazed, glossy and a little bit dangerous, $16 to share or $20 as a broken-rice plate. Prices start from $20. Prefer noodles to rice? Same grilled-pork energy lives in our bún thịt nướng vermicelli bowl. See the full menu for the exact lineup and today's specials.

The Bà Năm thread — 1970s Tây Ninh recipes, no shortcuts

Our cooking traces back to Bà Năm Lời’s home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh in the 1970s — recipes built on patience, charcoal and proper nước chấm long before they reached Australia. Founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo opened Bà Năm in Adelaide in 2023 to keep that food honest: local beef for the phở, and Huynh’s Sunday farm runs for the vegetables that end up as your pickles and fresh garnish. We’re not a luxury venue, just very genuine.

What makes Bà Năm famous isn’t polish; it’s authenticity. No shortcuts, no factory marinades, no pre-made sauces. The lemongrass is pounded, the broth is simmered for 18 hours, the pork is grilled to order. Soul over polish, every time.

Pair it with Phở Tái on your next visit

If cơm tấm is your fuel-up lunch, Phở Tái is our signature — the dish Bà Năm is famous for. The “red coin” is that paper-thin, round, red slice of rare beef laid over the noodles raw, then cooked in the bowl by boiling 18-hour bone broth poured tableside. It arrives pink and tender, the way it’s been done in our family for fifty years. Plenty of regulars order both across two visits, or split a bowl of phở and a plate of cơm tấm between a couple. Browse our other articles — including our guide to the best Vietnamese food in the Adelaide CBD and the spicy, lemongrass-heavy Bun Bò Huế — to plan a return trip.

One honest note: at peak hours you’ll wait 15–30 minutes, because everything is cooked to order over charcoal and broth — nothing sits in a warmer. We think it’s worth it, and so do the regulars who keep coming back. If you’re short on time, order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au and we’ll have it ready. We’re open 7 days, 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM (9:30 PM October–March), including public holidays, at 65 Grote St, Adelaide SA 5000 — phone (08) 8151 0106.

Prefer noodles to broken rice? The same grill energy shows up in our Bún Gà Nướng — grilled chicken over cool vermicelli with herbs, peanuts and nước chấm ($20).

Sticky wings on the rice menu

Beyond classic grilled pork, Bà Năm also serves Cơm Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm — fish-sauce glazed wings over rice with pickles and green-onion soup ($20).

One block south of Grote on the quiet Wright Street strip? See our Vietnamese near Wright Street guide (honest 2–8 minute walk for most of the street).

Where to Eat Cơm Tấm in Adelaide Chinatown & CBD

We’re at 65 Grote Street, right in Adelaide Chinatown — an easy walk from Central Market and most of the CBD. Every cơm tấm plate is from $20, whether you go charcoal-grilled gà nướng, crackly-skinned gà da giòn, fish-sauce-glazed cánh gà chiên nước mắm, or the grilled-pork route via bún thịt nướng if you’re in a noodle mood.

We’re open 7 days, 11:00 AM–9:00 PM (9:30 PM October–March), public holidays included. Honest heads-up: at peak lunch and dinner there can be a 15–30 minute wait — the charcoal grill doesn’t rush. You can order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au, or pair your visit with the dish that started it all: our stone bowl phở.

Frequently asked questions

What is cơm tấm?

Cơm tấm is Vietnamese “broken rice” — fractured grains of jasmine rice served with grilled meats, shredded pork (bì), egg meatloaf (chả) and a sweet-savoury nước chấm. A Saigon street-food classic. Pair it with our signature Phở Tái — the famous “red coin,” a paper-thin round red slice of rare beef laid over the noodles raw and cooked in the bowl by boiling 18-hour bone broth — on your next visit.

Why is it called “broken rice”?

The grains are the fractured pieces left over from milling. They cook up fluffier and soak up the meat juices and sauce better — which is why broken rice became a street-food favourite in southern Vietnam.

What cơm tấm dishes does Bà Năm serve?

Cơm sườn (grilled pork), cơm gà da giòn (crispy chicken), cơm gà nướng (grilled chicken), sticky fish-sauce wings (Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm), plain cơm sườn (grilled pork chop), and cơm sườn bì chả (grilled pork, shredded pork & egg meatloaf) — all from $20.

Is cơm tấm gluten-free?

The rice and grilled meats are, but the soy-based marinades and nước chấm often contain wheat. Tell our team about any allergy and we’ll guide you to safe options.

How long is the wait?

15–30 minutes at peak hours — everything is cooked to order. Order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au to skip the queue.

Where can I get cơm tấm (broken rice) in Adelaide CBD or Chinatown?

Bà Năm serves Saigon-style cơm tấm at 65 Grote Street in Adelaide Chinatown, a short walk from Central Market and the CBD. All broken rice plates are from $20, and we’re open 7 days, 11:00 AM–9:00 PM (9:30 PM October–March), including public holidays. At peak times expect an honest 15–30 minute wait — the charcoal grill works to order. To skip the queue, order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au or call (08) 8151 0106.