“I’ve never been to a place with so many options,” said Nguyen Thanh Trung, 43, from Ho Chi Minh City, describing his surprise at the menu of 03 Tran Phu Restaurant.

Located at 3 Tran Phu Street and is part of the Thang Loi Guesthouse, the eatery has become a go-to spot in Quy Nhon.

Its menu and quality have made the restaurant a sensation often shared on social media. Younger customers come to experience its offerings, while older diners enjoy flavors that remind them of home.

“We want customers to return often without getting bored, so we introduce new dishes every month,” said Nguyen Huu Huy, 40, manager of Thang Loi Guesthouse.

According to Huy, the menu is updated, with about 10 new dishes added each month. This requires the kitchen team to be creative and open-minded. Regular meetings between chefs and management to discuss new ideas have become a practice.

The restaurant serves an average of 2,000 customers daily, with numbers exceeding 3,000 during holidays.

Huy recalled that when he took over the restaurant nine years ago, the menu had 40 items, with many dishes unavailable or sold out frequently. He then revamped the restaurant, from staff to menu offerings.

“We didn’t just want to cook well. We needed to offer a variety of dishes to keep customers coming back,” he said.

Over the years, the menu grew from 40 to 100, then 200, and now over 300 dishes.

According to Huy, sourcing quality ingredients is key to the restaurant’s success.

“You have to cater to customers’ tastes if you want to keep them coming back,” he added.

The restaurant’s kitchen features rare ingredients such as dried fish skin, wasp larvae, and young bananas, used to create countryside-inspired dishes. This selection makes the restaurant more than just a dining spot, it is also a place where many diners relive childhood memories.

Many menu items highlight Binh Dinh Province’s specialties. Dishes include grilled eel with chili salt, made with eels from Chau Truc Lagoon, or cassava root stew, using cassava grown in Phu My District.

One particular dish is nut nth – pan-fried dough, a staple during wartime and hardship years. The flour is cooked and eaten with chili fish sauce or fermented anchovy sauce. Alternatively, it is pan-fried and served with grilled snakehead fish.

“Many customers get emotional when eating this dish, reminiscing about their hometown, their mothers, and a difficult yet cherished childhood,” Huy shared.

Cassava is peeled before being cooked into a stew. Photo by Tran Thi Duyen

Pham Thi Ngoc Linh, 55, a Quy Nhon resident, frequently brings visiting friends to the restaurant.

“The food here is authentic, especially the countryside-style dishes,” she said.

Looking ahead, Huy aims to maintain quality, expand the menu, and enhance customer experiences to solidify the restaurant’s reputation as a must-visit dining spot in Quy Nhon.