Gỏi Cuốn in Adelaide Chinatown — Fresh Prawn & Pork Rice Paper Rolls

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

Cool rice paper, poached prawn, sliced pork and herbs from our Sunday farm runs — gỏi cuốn is the quiet counterpoint to a steaming bowl, and a staple of fresh rice paper rolls in Adelaide. Rolled to order at Bà Năm in Adelaide Chinatown, they sit happily beside crisp chả giò or on their own with peanut-style dipping sauce.

What is Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt?

Gỏi cuốn — sometimes called cold rolls, fresh rolls or summer rolls — are soft rice paper wrapped around poached prawn, sliced pork, vermicelli noodles, lettuce and fresh herbs. Nothing is fried. The rice paper is dipped in water until pliable, then rolled tight enough that you can see the pink prawn halves sitting just under the surface.

At Bà Năm, Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt comes as three cuốn for $14. They're a starter, a light lunch, or the fresh counterweight to a big bowl of noodle soup — however you want to use them.

If you're comparing the whole rice paper family — fresh and fried — our combined rice paper rolls guide covers the lot. This page is a deep dive on the fresh ones only.

What's Inside the Roll

Each roll follows the classic Southern Vietnamese build: prawn on the outside face (so it shows through the rice paper), then pork, then a core of vermicelli, lettuce and herbs. The herbs do the heavy lifting — that clean, cooling flavour is the whole point of a cold roll.

Founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo opened Bà Năm in Adelaide in 2023, cooking from Bà Năm Lời's 1970s home-kitchen recipes from Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh — right down to the herbs collected on Sunday farm runs that go into every gỏi cuốn. Not a luxury venue, just very genuine — and gỏi cuốn might be the dish where that shows most clearly, because there's nowhere for shortcuts to hide.

The Dipping Sauce

Fresh gỏi cuốn at Bà Năm are typically served with a peanut-style dipping sauce — rich, slightly sweet, topped with crushed peanuts, shredded carrot and a little chilli. It's the traditional partner for cold rolls in the South, where the mellow sauce balances the fresh herbs.

Dipping sauces around the menu do vary. The fried rolls — Chả Giò Thịt — usually arrive with nước chấm, the sharp, tangy fish-sauce dip, because crunchy fried food wants acid where soft fresh rolls want richness. If you have a preference, just ask.

Gỏi Cuốn vs Chả Giò: Fresh vs Fried

Easy way to remember it: gỏi cuốn are soft, cool and translucent; chả giò are golden, hot and crunchy. Both use rice paper, but they sit at opposite ends of the texture spectrum.

Plenty of tables order both — three fresh Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt ($14) alongside four fried Chả Giò Thịt ($14) covers the full spread. Plant-based tables can do the same with Gỏi Cuốn Chay and Chả Giò Chay (also $14 each). If the crunchy side of the menu is calling, there's also Hoành Thánh Chiên (six fried wontons, $14) and Bánh Mì Tôm Chiên (prawn toast, three pieces, $14). And if you want fried rolls over noodles rather than as a starter, that's Bún Chả Giò ($20); extra chả giò are two for $6.50.

The Vegetarian Version

Gỏi Cuốn Chay swaps the prawn and pork for golden pan-seared tofu — same three cuốn, same $14, same fresh herbs and vermicelli. It's one of several meat-free options on the menu; the full rundown is in our vegetarian Vietnamese guide.

How Cold Rolls Fit a Bà Năm Meal

The classic order at Bà Năm goes: gỏi cuốn to start, phở to follow. The fresh rolls take the edge off your hunger while the kitchen ladles out the 18-hour broth — real bones, long-cooked, and the reason the Phở Tái "red coin" works, with its paper-thin round of rare beef cooked right in the bowl by the boiling broth. That beef is locally sourced, picked up on Huynh's Sunday farm runs.

Small phở is $20, large is $22, and the stone bowl versions — Phở Thố Đá and Bún Bò Huế Thố Đá — are $25 each. Hungry tables can look at the Stone Bowl Set at $39. Cold rolls first, hot bowl second: it's a rhythm that works.

Where to find gỏi cuốn in Adelaide Chinatown and the CBD

You'll find us at 65 Grote Street, in the heart of Adelaide Chinatown and an easy walk from most of the CBD. Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt is three cuốn for $14, with a vegetarian gỏi cuốn at the same price, and they pair naturally with our 18-hour broth phở or a lighter round of rice paper rolls on a warm afternoon.

We're open 11:00am–9:00pm daily including public holidays, and until 9:30pm from October to March. At peak times there's an honest 15–30 minute wait — we're not a luxury venue, just very genuine. Book via OpenTable, order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au, or just walk in; groups of 8+ please call ahead on (08) 8151 0106.

Frequently asked questions

How much are gỏi cuốn at Bà Năm and how many do you get?

Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt is $14 for three cuốn (rolls), each filled with prawn, pork, vermicelli, lettuce and fresh herbs. The vegetarian Gỏi Cuốn Chay is also three for $14.

Are rice paper rolls gluten free?

The rice paper itself is rice-based, but Bà Năm is not a certified gluten-free kitchen and dishes are prepared in a shared space. If you have coeliac disease or a serious allergy, please call ahead on (08) 8151 0106 so the team can advise honestly.

What sauce comes with gỏi cuốn?

Fresh gỏi cuốn are typically served with a peanut-style dipping sauce topped with crushed peanuts, carrot and chilli. Sauces vary across the menu — the fried Chả Giò usually come with tangy nước chấm instead.

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

Gỏi cuốn are fresh, cold and soft — the rice paper is never fried. Chả giò are the golden, crunchy fried spring rolls. Bà Năm serves both at $14 a plate (three fresh rolls or four fried).

Do I need to book to try them?

Walk-ins are welcome seven days from 11am, and you can book via OpenTable. Groups of 8+ should phone ahead on (08) 8151 0106. At busy times expect an honest 15–30 minute wait — the food's made properly, not quickly.

Where can I get gỏi cuốn (fresh rice paper rolls) in Adelaide CBD or Chinatown?

Bà Năm serves gỏi cuốn at 65 Grote Street in Adelaide Chinatown, a short walk from the CBD. Gỏi Cuốn Tôm Thịt (prawn and pork) is three cuốn for $14, and Gỏi Cuốn Chay (vegetarian) is also $14 for three. We're open 11:00am–9:00pm daily including public holidays, extending to 9:30pm October–March. Book on OpenTable, order via order.phobanam.com.au, or walk in — groups of 8+ should call (08) 8151 0106 ahead of time.