Long Bien, a district in Hanoi, is home to a unique offal restaurant that has been serving customers for almost 40 years. The restaurant, known as “Ong Son Quan,” or “Mr. Son’s Restaurant,” has gained a reputation for its three signature dishes: steamed liver, offal salad, and offal stir-fried with banana flowers. Join us as we explore this one-of-a-kind eatery and its mouthwatering offerings.
1 Introducing Ong Son Quan, Long Bien, Hanoi
Introducing Ong Son Quan, Long Bien, Hanoi
Restaurant Quality: 4.2/5 (Rated by Google)
Address: 112 Ngo 66, Ngoc Lam Street, Long Bien District, Hanoi
Opening Hours: 6:30 AM – 1:30 PM (Usually busy from 7 AM – 9 AM and 11 AM – 1:30 PM)
Price Range: 30,000 – 350,000 VND
Phone Number: 0362416890 – 0933591551
Facebook: Ong Son Quan
Delivery: No
Menu: Congee with offal, steamed liver, offal hot pot, offal salad, stir-fried offal with banana flowers, fried stuffed intestine, offal hot pot, etc.
Signature Dishes: Steamed liver, offal salad, stir-fried offal with banana flowers
Pros: Long-established restaurant, reasonable prices, diverse menu
Cons: Only open in the morning and at noon; sometimes there’s a wait due to high customer demand
Ong Son Quan is located at 112 Ngo 66, Ngoc Lam Street, Long Bien District, and is also affectionately known as “Chao Long Ba Gung” or “Chao Long Chu Son Bac” by locals, meaning “Mrs. Gung’s Offal Congee” and “Mr. Silver’s Offal Congee,” respectively.
According to Mr. Son, the restaurant’s namesake, “Chao Long Ba Gung” was the original name back in the 1980s when his mother used to sell congee from a street stall at the entrance of the alley. In 1986, they opened a shop at their house. Mr. Son took over the business in 1998, and people started calling it “Chao Long Chu Son Bac.” In 2021, Mr. Son passed the torch to his son, Ha Nguyen Thanh Minh (commonly known as Son), while he focused on the culinary side of the business. It was then that his son renamed the restaurant “Ong Son Quan,” meaning “Mr. Son’s Restaurant.”
Ong Son Quan is a longstanding restaurant with nearly 40 years of history and no signboard. It boasts a spacious dining area that can accommodate around 40 customers at once.
The restaurant captivates diners with its unique dishes, such as steamed liver, offal salad, and stir-fried offal with banana flowers, all priced between 30,000 and 2,000 VND. These signature creations are the brainchild of Mr. Son himself.
Ong Son Quan lures diners with its unique dishes, such as steamed liver, offal salad, and stir-fried offal with banana flowers, priced between 30,000 and 2,000 VND.
2 What Makes Ong Son Quan So Special?
Three Uniquely Delicious Dishes
Initially, the restaurant offered familiar offal dishes such as congee with offal and blanched offal. However, as Mr. Son gained experience, he began to experiment and create three distinctive dishes not found anywhere else: steamed liver, offal salad, and stir-fried offal with banana flowers. The rest of the menu features common dishes made from various offal parts like young offal, liver, stomach, throat, intestine, old offal, and tail tip.
According to Son, the steamed liver is prepared by soaking pig livers in milk to eliminate any unpleasant odors. After rinsing, the livers are marinated in a secret blend of spices and then steamed for 3 to 4 hours. This dish is only available after 8 AM due to its complex preparation.
Steamed Liver
The second unique dish is the offal salad, a delightful mix of cooked offal, basil, bean sprouts, onion, cucumber, tomato, lime, black pepper, vinegar, sugar, and peanuts. The restaurant uses fresh offal, cleaned with salt and sour alum to remove any slime, and then rinses it twice, once with water and once with vinegar, to ensure all unpleasant odors are eliminated. What sets this salad apart is the use of homemade apple cider vinegar, which lends it a sweet and sour taste characteristic of Northern Vietnamese cuisine.
Offal Salad
The third signature dish, stir-fried offal with banana flowers, is a flavorful combination of banana flowers, young offal, meat strips, and raw liver, stir-fried with bean sprouts, banana flowers, and herbs. Just before the dish is fully cooked, a bowl of fresh blood is added, and fried shallots are sprinkled on top.
Stir-fried Offal with Banana Flowers
Diverse Menu and Affordable Prices
Ong Son Quan also attracts customers with its varied menu and reasonable prices. The congee with offal and steamed liver are priced at around 30,000 VND per bowl. The offal salad and blanched offal cost approximately 120,000 – 250,000 VND per plate. Stir-fried offal, offal hot pot, and stir-fried offal with bean sprouts range from 150,000 to 250,000 VND. Fried offal, stuffed intestine, and fried tail tip come in various sizes, from 60,000 to 200,000 VND.
The restaurant goes through 35 – 40 kg of offal daily, and while weekends see a shift in peak hours, customers keep streaming in throughout the day until the food runs out.
Diverse Menu and Affordable Prices
That concludes our overview of Ong Son Quan, Long Bien’s renowned offal restaurant. With its diverse menu, meticulous preparation, and unique, time-tested recipes, it’s no wonder this establishment has thrived for decades. Be sure to pay them a visit and indulge in their delicious offerings!
1. Cha Ruoi – A delicacy made from spiced pond snail meat, often served with rice and herbs.
2. Bun Oc – A flavorful snail noodle soup, a specialty of the Red River Delta region.
3. Com Chay – A unique dish of burnt rice with a crispy texture, often served with snail meat or other dishes.
4. Xoi – Sticky rice with a variety of toppings, a popular choice for breakfast or a quick snack.
5. Banh Troi Tau – A sweet treat made of glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame paste, served in a ginger syrup.
1. ‘Five-taste snails’ – A delightful dish featuring snails cooked in five different flavors: lemon, chili, fish sauce, vinegar, and tamarind.
2. ‘Stir-fried snails with ginger’ – A flavorful dish where snails are stir-fried with young ginger, creating a harmonious blend of tastes.
3. ‘Snail spring rolls’ – A creative twist on the traditional spring roll, featuring a delicious snail meat filling.
4. ‘Deep-fried frog with chili salt’ – A crispy and flavorful frog dish seasoned with chili and salt.
5. ‘Grilled frog with five spices’ – Frog meat marinated in a blend of five spices and grilled to perfection.
