The Stone Bowl Set: Bà Năm's Table Ritual on Grote Street
★ As featured in Glam Adelaide — 2025 SA Restaurant & Catering Awards finalist
There's a sound the Stone Bowl Set makes before you taste anything — a low, rolling bubble as the granite bowl lands on its wooden trivet, broth still at a full boil from the kitchen. At Bà Năm on Grote Street, in the middle of Adelaide's Chinatown, that sound is the whole point. The set wraps the restaurant's signature stone-bowl noodle soups together with two small starters and a Vietnamese drink, so a first visit (or a Sunday habit) covers the full spread in one order.
What's in the Stone Bowl Set
The Stone Bowl Set is $39 and it's built simply. You choose one stone bowl — phở or bún bò Huế — and it comes with two chả giò (crispy pork spring rolls), three pieces of hoành thánh chiên (fried wontons), and your pick of cà phê đá or nước dừa (fresh young coconut). Ordered separately, a stone bowl alone is $25, the full plate of chả giò thịt (four rolls) is $14, the hoành thánh chiên (six pieces) is $14, and either drink is $8 — so the set is a sensible way to try a bit of everything without over-ordering for one person.
Phở Thố Đá or Bún Bò Huế: choosing your bowl
The phở stone bowl is the clear, quiet one — Adelaide phở in its most theatrical form, with rice noodles, spring onion and the star of the show served raw on the side (more on that below). The bún bò Huế stone bowl runs in the opposite direction: lemongrass-tinged, amber-hued, with chả lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage), peppercorns and thicker slices of rare beef on the side plate. If you like your soup fragrant and gentle, go phở. If you want warmth and depth with a bit of Huế attitude, go bún bò. There's no wrong answer, and the set price is the same either way.
The red coin and the 18-hour broth
Order the phở version and the rare beef arrives raw: paper-thin rounds the kitchen calls the "red coin". You slide them into the bowl yourself, and the boiling 18-hour bone broth cooks them in front of you — pink to done in seconds, silky rather than chewy because the slices are so thin. That broth is the reason the stone bowl works at all. It simmers overnight on beef bones, long enough to carry the meat's flavour without needing shortcuts, and it's still hot enough at the table to keep cooking. If you've never eaten phở this way, the first-timer's guide walks through the herbs, the sauces and the order of operations.
The starters and drink in the set
The two starters do different jobs. Chả giò are Bà Năm's crispy pork spring rolls — the set gives you two, wrapped and fried the way they'd be at a family table, best dunked in nước chấm between mouthfuls of soup. The hoành thánh chiên are fried wontons, three golden pieces that crunch where the soup soothes. (If fresh rather than fried is more your thing, the rice paper rolls live elsewhere on the menu.) Then the drink: cà phê đá, strong Vietnamese iced coffee that stands up to a rich meal, or nước dừa, young coconut, if you'd rather cool everything down.
Want something extra for the broth?
The set already covers starters and a drink. If you still want a dunking stick for the last of the soup, add a $4 giò quẩy — the golden fried dough Southern diners tear into hot phở or bún bò Huế.
Why the set exists
The honest answer is that people kept ordering these things together anyway. A stone bowl on its own is a full meal, but the ritual — waiting for the boil to settle, cooking the beef, tearing herbs — is better with something crunchy to pick at and a proper drink alongside. The set just makes that easy and a little kinder on the wallet. One more small thing: every stone-bowl tái dish comes with a ticket into the TÁI Club, a monthly lucky draw held at noon on the last Sunday of each month. No fuss, just a nice bit of neighbourhood ceremony.
From Trảng Bàng to Grote Street
The recipes behind the set aren't new. They come from Bà Năm Lời's home kitchen in Trảng Bàng, Tây Ninh, where she'd been cooking them since the 1970s. Her grandson Huynh Nguyen brought them to Adelaide, opening the Grote Street restaurant with owner Thi Gai Vo in 2023. The beef is locally sourced — Huynh still does Sunday farm runs — and the place carries itself the way the family describes it: not a luxury venue, just very genuine. In 2025, Bà Năm was named a finalist in the Vietnamese category at the Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards, and the restaurant has been featured in Glam Adelaide — recognition the kitchen wears lightly, since the broth was going to simmer 18 hours either way.
Visiting Bà Năm
Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000, in the middle of Chinatown, open seven days from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM (extended to 9:30 PM over summer, October to March), public holidays included. Fair warning: at peak times there's an honest 15–30 minute wait, because stone bowls and 18-hour broth don't hurry. Bookings run through OpenTable and walk-ins are always welcome; groups of eight or more should call ahead on (08) 8151 0106. You can also order via the app at order.phobanam.com.au. If you're still deciding between bowls, there's plenty more reading in the articles section.
Bà Năm was named a finalist in the Vietnamese Restaurant category at the 2025 Hostplus SA Restaurant & Catering Awards for Excellence, and has been featured by Glam Adelaide — a nod to a Grote Street kitchen that keeps the stone bowls honest, from the 18-hour broth to the red-coin beef. You can also find us in the Glam Adelaide directory and under the Bà Năm Restaurant tag.
Want the full deep-dive on the fried rolls themselves — how they differ from gỏi cuốn, how to wrap them in lettuce, and where they sit in the Stone Bowl Set? See our dedicated Chả Giò Thịt guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Stone Bowl Set at Bà Năm?
The Stone Bowl Set is $39.00. It includes your choice of stone bowl (phở or bún bò Huế), two chả giò spring rolls, three fried wontons, and either cà phê đá (Vietnamese iced coffee) or nước dừa (young coconut).
Is the Stone Bowl Set cheaper than ordering separately?
Yes, it works out well for one person. A stone bowl alone is $25.00, the full four-roll chả giò plate is $14.00, six fried wontons are $14.00, and each drink is $8.00, so the set bundles smaller portions of everything for $39.00.
What is the "red coin" beef in the phở stone bowl?
It's paper-thin rounds of rare beef served raw on a side plate. You add them to the bowl yourself and the boiling 18-hour bone broth cooks them at the table in seconds.
Where is Bà Năm and what are the opening hours?
Bà Năm is at 65 Grote Street, Adelaide SA 5000, in Adelaide's Chinatown. It's open seven days from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM (until 9:30 PM in summer, October to March), including public holidays. Phone (08) 8151 0106.
Do I need to book to try the Stone Bowl Set?
Walk-ins are welcome and bookings are available through OpenTable. Groups of eight or more should call ahead on (08) 8151 0106. At peak times expect an honest 15 to 30 minute wait.