Mì Quảng in Adelaide Chinatown — Quang-Style Turmeric Noodles

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

Mì quảng comes from Quảng Nam province in central Vietnam, the stretch of coast around Đà Nẵng and Hội An — wide flat rice noodles tinted gold with turmeric, dressed in a small amount of concentrated broth rather than drowned in soup. At Bà Năm on Grote Street, it arrives with prawns, pork pieces, fish cake, spring onion, fried shallots and crushed peanuts, with rice crackers, lettuce and citrus on the side. The idea is simple: squeeze, scatter, toss it all together, and eat.

What is mì quảng?

Mì quảng comes from Quảng Nam province in central Vietnam, the region around Đà Nẵng and Hội An. Its calling card is the noodle itself — wide, flat rice noodles tinted a warm gold with turmeric. The second thing you notice is what's not in the bowl: a full ladle of broth. Mì quảng is served with just a small amount of concentrated, intensely flavoured broth pooled at the bottom. You toss everything together and the noodles carry the flavour, rather than swimming in it.

Then comes the texture. Crushed peanuts, fried shallots, crisp rice crackers you snap over the top — mì quảng is a dish you hear as much as taste. It's rustic, generous food, the kind cooked for family gatherings and market lunches across central Vietnam for generations.

How it differs from phở, bún bò Huế and hủ tiếu

If you know your way around our menu, here's where mì quảng sits. Phở is the northern classic: flat rice noodles in a clear, deep beef broth — ours simmered for 18 hours, the recipe Bà Năm Lời cooked in her Trảng Bàng home kitchen back in the 1970s. Bún bò Huế is central Vietnam's other great export: round noodles, a spicy lemongrass broth, plenty of heat. Hủ tiếu Nam Vang is the southern-style bowl with Phnom Penh roots, lighter and sweeter, loaded with pork and prawn.

Mì quảng breaks the pattern on all three. Where those dishes are broth-forward, mì quảng is noodle-forward — the small amount of sauce-like broth is a seasoning, not a swim. Where phở is about clarity and restraint, mì quảng is about crunch, colour and contrast. It's arguably the least soup-like "noodle soup" in Vietnam, and that's exactly why people fall for it. For the wider map, see our guide to Vietnamese noodle soups in Adelaide.

What's in the bowl at Bà Năm

The menu says "Quang-style turmeric noodles" and leaves it there, so here's the fuller picture. Ours is topped with prawns, tender pieces of pork and slices of fish cake over those turmeric-gold noodles, finished with spring onion, fried shallots and a good scatter of crushed peanuts. On the side you'll usually find rice crackers for snapping over the top, fresh lettuce, a wedge of lemon or lime and extra peanuts, with chilli sauce alongside so you set your own heat. It's $22, and it eats bigger than it looks.

The method is the fun part: squeeze the citrus, crumble in the crackers, add herbs and lettuce to taste, then toss the lot through that concentrated broth at the bottom. Every mouthful lands a bit different — that's the point.

From Trảng Bàng to Grote Street

Bà Năm's story starts with Bà Năm Lời, who cooked in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh in the 1970s. Founders Huynh Nguyen and Thi Gai Vo brought that lineage to Adelaide in 2023, opening on Grote Street in Chinatown.

The kitchen's best-known tradition — the 18-hour bone broth and "red coin" rare beef — belongs to the phở side of the menu, not the mì quảng pot. The mì quảng follows its own Quảng Nam logic: less broth, more intensity, everything tossed together in the bowl. We're not a luxury venue — just very genuine.

Where to find mì quảng in Adelaide Chinatown and the CBD

Bà Năm serves mì quảng ($22) at 65 Grote Street, right in the heart of Adelaide Chinatown — an easy walk from most of the Vietnamese food in the Adelaide CBD. Because it's more sauce than soup, it eats differently from the rest of the Vietnamese noodle soup line-up: the turmeric noodles carry the flavour, the concentrated broth binds it, and the crushed peanuts and rice crackers add the crunch. If you're torn, hủ tiếu Nam Vang ($22) and bún riêu ($22) sit at a similar price, while bún mắm ($25), bún bò Huế ($20/$22, or $25 in the stone bowl) and phở ($20/$22) cover the full-soup end of the menu.

Doors are open 11am–9pm daily, stretching to 9:30pm from October to March, including public holidays. It's a busy room — expect an honest 15–30 minute wait at peak — so groups of 8 or more are best off calling (08) 8151 0106 ahead, and anyone can book via OpenTable or order through order.phobanam.com.au. A bowl with a Vietnamese iced coffee on a warm Adelaide day is hard to beat; when the weather turns, our winter warmers have you covered too.

Worth stepping off the phở path

We'll always be a phở house at heart — but mì quảng is the dish we quietly hope more Adelaide diners discover. It's different, it's textural, and it tells a story from a part of Vietnam that doesn't always get the spotlight. Next time you're exploring Vietnamese food on Grote Street, look past the top of the menu. The gold noodles are waiting.

Frequently asked questions

What is mì quảng?

Mì quảng is a noodle dish from Quảng Nam province in central Vietnam, made with wide turmeric-tinted rice noodles and a small amount of concentrated broth — more sauce than soup — topped with proteins, herbs, peanuts and crispy rice crackers.

How much is mì quảng at Bà Năm?

Mì quảng is $22 at Bà Năm. Ours is topped with prawns, pork pieces, fish cake, spring onion, fried shallots and crushed peanuts, with rice crackers, lettuce, citrus and chilli sauce on the side.

How is mì quảng different from phở?

Phở is a clear, broth-forward soup, while mì quảng uses only a small pool of concentrated broth at the bottom of the bowl. Mì quảng also uses turmeric-gold noodles and leans heavily on crunchy textures like peanuts and rice crackers.

Do I need to book to try mì quảng at Bà Năm?

Walk-ins are welcome, though the wait can be 15 to 30 minutes at peak times. You can book through OpenTable, and groups of eight or more should call ahead on (08) 8151 0106. Prefer takeaway? Order ahead at order.phobanam.com.au.

Where is Bà Năm and when is it open?

Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street in Adelaide's Chinatown, open seven days from 11am to 9pm (9:30pm during summer, October to March), including public holidays. Phone (08) 8151 0106.

Where can I get mì quảng (turmeric noodles) in Adelaide CBD or Chinatown?

Bà Năm serves mì quảng — Quang-style turmeric noodles — for $22 at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide Chinatown SA 5000. The bowl comes with prawns, pork pieces, fish cake, spring onion, fried shallots and crushed peanuts, plus rice crackers, lettuce, citrus and chilli sauce on the side. The restaurant is open 11am–9pm daily (until 9:30pm October to March, over summer), including public holidays. At peak times expect an honest 15–30 minute wait; groups of 8 or more should call ahead on (08) 8151 0106, or you can book through OpenTable or order online at order.phobanam.com.au.