BINH DINH – RESTAURANTS along 1D Highway in the Ghenh Rang area are famous for nearly two decades for allowing customers to choose chicken.

About 2 km along 1D National Highway connecting Binh Dinh and Phu Yen is located near 20 special eateries that attract diners with signs saying “chicken only”. This road section is often called Quy Nhon – Song Cau new road in Ghenh Rang Ward, Quy Nhon city.

Mr. Nguyen Phi Hong, 43 years old, owner of Huu Lai chicken shop, said that nearly 20 years ago his father, Mr. Huu Lai, opened a restaurant. Mr. Lai let the chickens out in the garden, the guests who came, drove the chickens into the barn so that they could point to which one they would catch. This way of choosing chicken makes diners near and far enjoy, calling it “chicken only”. Later, Huu Lai only chicken was known to many people, the surrounding eateries sprung up and traded under a similar model. From Phu Yen to Quy Nhon, Huu Lai shop is the first and also the oldest open in this area.

However, this specialty is not born in Quy Nhon but has been popular in Song Cau town (Phu Yen) before. Vietnamese chickens in Song Cau are famous for their chewy, fragrant meat, not as good as industrial chickens. They are free to farm, eat grain, bran, vegetables and natural insects. Chicken shops in Quy Nhon only buy chicken from Song Cau.

“Originally a free-range chicken, if kept for a long time, the chickens would get sick, the meat would not be delicious. Therefore, during the weekends and high tourist season, I just caught more chickens from Phu Yen, but not much at home. place “, Mr. Phi Hong explained to the curious guests when he saw a few chickens in the chicken coop.

Currently, the form of pointing and selecting chicken is rarely done, because it takes time for both the owner and the customer if the restaurant is crowded. Processing time from raw chicken to dish on the table is at least 30-45 minutes. Regular customers often call first, asking the owner to choose the chicken and prepare it, so that they just arrive at the restaurant, the chicken is on a hot plate.

If the customer does not request to choose the chicken themselves, the waitress will come to the table to suggest. Boiled, steamed, and grilled chicken are popular dishes, besides squeezing salad, fish sauce, fried fish sauce, stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, bamboo shoots, porridge … Comes with a set of seasoning for diners to choose to combine. . Salt with lemon pepper, green chili seed salt, red chili salt, sweet salty sauce is brought to the table before the main dish is served, both eye-catching and arousing the taste buds.

The 1.6kg chicken is processed into 3 steamed, grilled and fried sticky rice dishes, just for 2-3 people to eat. Photo: Spirit

Ms. Hai Ly, a tourist from Hanoi, commented that the chicken is only strange by the way it is processed and the seasoning. A chicken can be processed into a few dishes to make the meal delicious, not boring.

And Mr. Huy Hoang, a tour guide from Ho Chi Minh City, always suggests chicken specialty only for visitors to Quy Nhon in a self-sufficient manner, traveling by motorbike or small car, because most of the eateries are on the street. This is not suitable for parking large groups of passenger cars.

The chicken shops are just located in the middle of the garden space, allowing guests to sit on the bamboo or concrete huts higher than the ground, or sit on tables and chairs under the corrugated iron roof, creating a sense of rustic. This service way is partly due to the terrain on the back of the pass where there are many tall trees radiating shade, not suitable for constructing spacious works.

Most chicken shops only open from 7am to about 9pm, serving locals, tourists and some garage stops to pick up chicken delivery to other places. Chicken only costs about 330,000 VND / kg, each weighing about 1.4-1.8 kg.

“The only path” is located in the Ghenh Rang – Tien Sa area, where the beautiful beaches are located near the center of Quy Nhon, near the first scientific avenue in Vietnam and Quy Hoa wind village. Therefore visitors can combine sightseeing during the day. Follow vnexpress