Bo la lot or Grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf is one of the best street foods in Hoi An, Vietnam. Like its name, to make it, local people wrap the beef by betel leaf and then grill. They will eat it alone or with rice noodles (like bun thit nuong) or with banh mi as filling. Now, let’s HoiAn Day Trip Company provide all information about grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf in Hoi An.
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• Content by Tam Le, founder of HOIAN DAY TRIP CO.,LTD
• Designed by Giang Cong Minh, co-founder of LS E&C LTD and his team
• Photo by Dang Cong Loi, Dao Xuan Son, Tam Le & others
Must Knows about Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf (Bo La Lot)
– Other name(s):
– Origin: central Vietnam
– Ingredients: beef, betel leaf (la lot)
– Where to find: night markets, street vendors, beaches
– Pronunciation:
– Served in: late afternoon, evening
– Price: 10,000-15,000 VND/skewer
– Calories:
– Gluten free: yes
– Vegetarian: not available
– Fact:
– Travel blog: https://hoiandaytrip.com/grilled-beef-wrapped-in-betel-leaf-hoi-an
Ingredients & How to Make Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf
In Da Nang and Hoi An, the grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf (bo nuong la lot) is made by beef and betel leaf (la lot).
To make grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf (bo nuong la lot), local people will use hand to wrap beef by betel leaf and to keep the roll, a small toothpick is used to stick them. After that, they put the wrapped beef on the top of a bamboo skewer and then stab through it. A skewer has 5 beef rolls at least. Sure, they grilled the skewer on the barbecue until everything was cooked and had a good smell.
The best beef originates from Go Noi, an island on the Thu Bon River, west of Hoi An and south of Da Nang city. Local residents here also raise cows to serve restaurants where roasting veal (be thui) is sold. This food is also one of the famous local dishes in the area.
The betel leaf can be picked in the garden or bought at local markets. It should not be too young or too old. It’s different from the leaves which old Vietnamese people used to eat with areca palm nuts and lime (a traditional custom).
How to Eat Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf Like a Local
Vietnamese people eat the grilled beef in betel leaf (bo nuong la lot) alone (with or without dipping sauce), or with rice vermicelli and fish sauce (like the way people eat bun thit nuong or grilled pork noodle). In many places, people use it to fill the bread, together with raw vegetables and sauces, to have a beef banh mi.
Where to Eat Grilled Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf in Hoi An?
To eat Bo la lot (Grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf), visitors should go to these places:
– Hoi An Night Market on Nguyen Hoang Street, An Hoi Island
– Tran Quy Cap Night Market near Hoi An Central Market, on Tran Quy Cap Street and the stretch of Bach Dang Street between Hoang Van Thu Street and Tran Quy Cap Street
– Cam Pho Night Market on Nguyen Du Street
– In entrance of An Bang Beach, Hai Ba Trung Street
Better to Know about Eating Local in Hoi An
– Local family-run restaurants always serve better local foods than tourist restaurants. Places inside small alleyways potentially are hidden gems. The price is even more affordable at these lesser known spots.
– Restaurants where you can see a queue or crowds, food or drinks there are absolutely better or safer than others. Vietnamese people also avoid places without people eating, such as roadside eateries.
– Hot foods are often safe to eat for non-Vietnamese people. Refuse cold food (especially ones sold on the street, markets) or things you don’t see people cooking.
– Make sure that you learn some basic Vietnamese words or sentences to order foods, such as xin chao (hello, hi), cho toi mot (something) (I want one…), toi an chay (I am vegetarian), khong cay (no spicy), cam on (thank you), tam biet (goodbye) or numbers (mot/one, hai/two, ba/three, bon/four, nam/five, sau/six, bay/seven, tam/eight, chin/nine, and muoi/ten).
– Ask any local people you know (tour guide, driver, hotel receptionists, bellmen, etc) to receive their recommendation for good places to eat local.
– Raw vegetables are popularly used in local dishes, such as noodles or noodle soup or sandwich. They are often washed by tap water or unwashed. If can not drink tap water, remove or refuse them. Likewise, in most iced drinks (such as coffee or herbal tea), people add ice made by tap water also.
– On the 1st day and 14th-15th days of each lunar month, Hoi An citizens eat vegetarians. Many local restaurants and street businesses will be closed by that.
– If you don’t eat pork or beef, due to diet or religious restrictions, be careful when want to try local food here, if don’t see the ingredient description. Pork and beef are very popular meats, so they will be in numerous dishes. Street vendors may say ‘no pork’ or ‘no beef’ for better business, but please check before buying!
– Consider joining a food tour guided by locals who know much better about dishes in the city, including things never mentioned in guidebooks or on the internet.
– If have an allergy (milk, egg, peanut, wheat,…), ask anybody you know before trying or search for ingredients on the internet. By the way, fish sauce is popularly used to marinate Vietnamese foods, so make sure that you know this information if you’re fish allergic.
– Food portion (or size) here is often not really big (locals prefer eating with their family at home). You may try double or some different dishes for main meals.
– If don’t see the price on the menu, please ask in advance to avoid overcharging, especially when you are not a local. In Vietnamese, how much is bao nhieu.
– Most popular cutleries are chopsticks and spoons. To know how to use it, browse here
