Gà Da Giòn — Crispy-Skin Chicken in Adelaide Chinatown

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

The crackle of Gà Da Giòn — golden crispy-skin chicken over spring onion rice — is one of the most satisfying sounds on Grote Street. Find it at Bà Năm in the heart of Adelaide Chinatown, served with chilli dip and a small clear soup.

A dish you hear before you taste

Walk into Bà Năm at 65 Grote Street around midday and the room is doing what a Chinatown eatery should — bowls of phở steaming past, the fryer working, families at shared tables. Amid all that, Gà Da Giòn arrives with a kind of visual confidence: slices of chicken with skin the colour of dark honey, shining like it’s been varnished, sitting over crisp green lettuce. The contrast is the whole point. Skin that shatters; meat that stays soft and juicy underneath.

It’s not a dish that needs dressing up, and Bà Năm doesn’t try. This is not a luxury venue, just very genuine — a family kitchen serving the food it knows, the way it’s been made at home for decades.

What is Gà Da Giòn, exactly?

Gà Da Giòn is Vietnamese crispy-skin chicken. The name tells you the priority: da giòn means “crispy skin”, and everything about the preparation serves that goal — skin dried and rendered until it turns glassy and golden, while the meat beneath is protected from drying out. Cut through it and you get that satisfying two-texture bite: crackle first, tenderness second.

It’s worth knowing how it differs from the other chicken dishes on the menu, because they’re genuinely different experiences. Gà Nướng is grilled chicken — smoky, char-kissed, marinade-forward — and it anchors the noodle bowl covered over at bún gà nướng. The wildly popular fish sauce wings, Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm, go the other direction entirely: fried, then tossed in a sticky, savoury-sweet caramelised fish sauce glaze. Gà Da Giòn is the purist’s option. No glaze, no char masking anything. The chicken itself — skin, seasoning, juiciness — has to carry the plate. When it’s done well, it does.

The plate to order: Cơm Gà Da Giòn, $20

On Bà Năm’s menu, the way to eat this chicken is Cơm Gà Da Giòn — the crispy chicken broken rice plate, $20. It follows the classic Vietnamese rice-plate formula that regulars of cơm tấm will recognise: a generous protein, a mound of rice, fresh vegetables, and a sauce that pulls the whole thing together.

Here’s what lands on the table: half a crispy-skin chicken, golden and lacquered, beside white rice topped with sliced spring onion. Around it, the fresh counterpoints — tomato slices, cucumber, shredded carrot. A small ramekin of orange chilli sauce, strands of chilli visible through it, sits ready for dipping. And behind the plate, a small bowl of clear soup with green onion — the traditional companion to a Vietnamese rice plate, there to cleanse and refresh between rich bites.

The rhythm of eating it is half the pleasure. A slice of chicken through the chilli sauce. A forkful of rice. A sip of soup. Cucumber when you need coolness. It’s the same satisfying architecture as the full pork trio plate, Cơm Sườn Bì Chả ($20), plain Cơm Sườn ($20), or the grilled chicken version, Cơm Gà Nướng ($20) — Bà Năm’s rice plates are a reliable family of dishes, and the crispy-skin chicken is arguably the most texturally dramatic of the lot.

From Trảng Bàng to Grote Street

Bà Năm was opened on Grote Street in 2023 by Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo, who named the restaurant for Bà Năm Lời, whose recipes date back to 1970s Trảng Bàng in Tây Ninh province. Those family recipes — carried across decades and continents — remain the backbone of the menu today.

Every pot of broth still starts in the same kitchen, simmered for a full 18 hours before service — and the Phở Tái, with its red coin of rare beef resting on top, remains a sibling tradition carried from the family table to Grote Street. That dedication earned Bà Năm a place as a 2025 Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist in the Vietnamese category — not the winner, and we’re proud of that honest result. This isn’t a luxury venue, and it was never meant to be. It’s just very genuine food, made the way the family has always made it.

What to order alongside

The crispy chicken rice plate is a complete meal, but it plays well with company. If your table is sharing, start with Hoành Thánh Chiên — crispy fried wontons, $14 — or the fresh rice paper rolls (Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt, $14) for something cool against the fried skin. Chả Giò Thịt spring rolls ($14) are another easy call.

If someone at the table wants noodles instead, this is the place to try our phở — the Phở Tái arrives with paper-thin rounds of rare beef that the boiling 18-hour broth cooks right in the bowl (Phở Bò Small $20, Large $22). For heat-seekers there’s Bún Bò Huế (Small $20, Large $22), the spicy central-Vietnamese noodle soup.

And to finish: Vietnamese iced coffee — Cà Phê Nâu Đá, $8 — or a Trà Đào Cam Sả peach, orange and lemongrass tea ($10) if you want something lighter after all that crispy skin.

Where to find Gà Da Giòn in Adelaide Chinatown and the CBD

The crispy-skin chicken half with rice at $20 is all about texture — shatteringly crisp skin over juicy meat, with no glaze and no char, unlike the marinated Cơm Gà Nướng. It sits alongside favourites like cơm tấm, the Cơm Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm rice plate, those sticky fish sauce wings and our phở.

Bà Năm opens 11:00 AM–9:00 PM daily (until 9:30 PM October–March), including public holidays. Peak times can mean an honest 15–30 minute wait, so book via OpenTable, ring (08) 8151 0106, or order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au — handy whether you’re exploring Adelaide Chinatown or grabbing Vietnamese food in the Adelaide CBD.

Sticky glaze vs crispy skin

Cơm Gà Da Giòn is all crackle; Cơm Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm ($20) is the sticky fish-sauce wings rice plate for people who want lacquered fingers.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gà Da Giòn?

Gà Da Giòn is Vietnamese crispy-skin chicken — chicken prepared so the skin turns golden, lacquered and shatteringly crisp while the meat underneath stays tender and juicy. The name literally means “crispy skin chicken”.

How much is the crispy chicken rice plate at Bà Năm?

Cơm Gà Da Giòn, the crispy chicken broken rice plate, is $20 on Bà Năm’s menu. It comes with rice topped with spring onion, fresh vegetables, chilli dipping sauce and a small clear soup.

How is Gà Da Giòn different from the fish sauce wings?

Gà Da Giòn is all about clean, crisp skin and juicy meat with no glaze, while Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm wings are fried then coated in a sticky caramelised fish sauce. Both are on the menu, so you can try each — see also our sticky wings guide.

Where is Bà Năm and when is it open?

Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street in Adelaide Chinatown, open seven days from 11am to 9pm, and until 9:30pm from October to March, including public holidays.

Do I need to book to eat at Bà Năm?

Walk-ins are welcome and bookings are available via OpenTable. Groups of eight or more should call (08) 8151 0106. At peak times expect an honest 15 to 30 minute wait.

Where can I get Gà Da Giòn or Cơm Gà Da Giòn (crispy skin chicken) in Adelaide CBD or Chinatown?

Bà Năm serves Gà Da Giòn at 65 Grote Street in Adelaide Chinatown, a short walk from most of the CBD. The Cơm Gà Da Giòn broken rice plate is $20. Open 11:00 AM–9:00 PM daily (until 9:30 PM October–March), public holidays included. Expect an honest 15–30 minute wait at peak times — walk-ins welcome, book via OpenTable, call (08) 8151 0106 for groups of 8+, or order pickup at order.phobanam.com.au.