Crab Soup

Vietnam Restaurant's súp cua is a refined version — silky, not too thick, with visible crab meat strands and a balanced egg-drop texture. The 40-year-old kitchen knows how to make the classic appetizers shine. It's the perfect start to a meal that might include their famous spring rolls and vermicelli bowls.

Nam Phuong's súp cua is exactly what you want from a Little Saigon institution: hot, generously crabbed, and served in portions large enough to share. The soup has the right balance of crab, corn, and mushrooms, with egg ribbons throughout. It's the starter that every table seems to order.

Pho Xe Lua's Vietnamese-Thai menu includes a solid crab soup that leans slightly Thai-influenced — a touch more spice, a hint more citrus. The crab meat is generous and the broth is satisfying. It's a warming starter in this Chinatown staple.nnNearly every Vietnamese restaurant in Philly offers súp cua, but the best versions are at the full-menu institutions where the kitchen keeps it silky rather than gelatinous.