Chả cá lã vọng — turmeric-marinated fish pan-fried with dill and spring onion — is a Hanoi specialty that's difficult to find in Philadelphia. Most Vietnamese restaurants here focus on southern cuisine. But the city's more ambitious Vietnamese kitchens sometimes offer it, and the results can be spectacular.
Gabriella's Vietnam top-pick
Gabriella's Vietnam is the most likely spot for fish cakes in Philadelphia. Their menu features Vietnamese specialties like central-style crepes and shaken beef, and the kitchen has the skill and ambition to execute fish cake properly. Reservations are required at this BYOB hotspot. Call ahead to confirm availability.
Saigon Quy Bau best-value
Saigon Quy Bau's menu includes Viet beef carpaccio and other northern Vietnamese specialties that suggest the kitchen knows its way around Hanoi-style dishes. Their fish dishes, when available, show the kind of turmeric-dill technique that fish cake requires. The South Street location makes it accessible.
Vietnam Restaurant hidden-gem
Vietnam Restaurant's 40-year-old menu is Philadelphia's most extensive, and it occasionally features fish cakes among its rotating specials. The kitchen's track record with clay pot fish proves they can handle Vietnamese fish cookery. Check for specials or ask your server.nnCha ca is a rare find in Philadelphia's southern-Vietnamese-dominated dining scene, but these three kitchens have the northern Vietnamese chops to deliver it when it appears.