There are two dishes I always keep eating every time I go back there!
Raw fish salad with dip sauce made from roasted peanut and grilled squid!
Raw fish salad (or gỏi cá suốt)
I remember when I tried it for the first time at Dũng Sử, probably back in late 1990s!
Talking about Dũng Sử (the name of the owner & restaurant!) I could be a "historic witness".
I met the owner, when his place was very small, opposite the beach. He said that he was forced to move around, finally he had to set down his quite poor-looking eatery in the foothills.
We loved so much his raw fish salad, we even ordered to take it back to Sài gòn. Later Dũng Sử probably got the permission from the local authorities to open a bigger restaurant right on the beach.
I loved that place, esp. when I've been there 6,7 years ago. We were sitting like right on the sea, a fantastic view to the blue ocean shining in the sun!
His restaurant was expanded, very crowded, I met him again, a satisfied, happy man! The restaurant next to Dũng Sử - Cây Bàng was not able to compete in any aspect!
Until one day, the local authorities decided to widen the road, to clean up the beach...Dũng Sử has gone! Cây Bàng still there as the only monopoly in that area! But unfortunately Cây Bàng is one of the worst restaurants in Mũi Né. My friends and myself have very bad experience with this place: from the poor service to the very bad foods that they serve.
Anyway back to the raw fish salad, in Vietnamese I heard different versions: gỏi cá suốt, or gỏi cá mai or cá đục! I have no idea what kind of fish here, but it's raw!
It's spicy because it's topped with chili and roasted peanut. I love the sauce. The dip sauce made from ground roasted peanut mixed with something else,very tasty! I even drink it!
