{"id":3757,"date":"2026-07-13T00:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T15:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/news\/phuyen-tuna-eye\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T08:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T23:13:13","slug":"phuyen-tuna-eye","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/phuyen-tuna-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"Going to Eat Phu Yen's Braised Tuna Eyeball, the Delicacy That Went Viral 1.4 Million Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u30d9\u30c8\u30ca\u30e0\u4e2d\u90e8\u30d5\u30fc\u30a4\u30a8\u30f3\u7701\uff08Ph\u00fa Y\u00ean\u30012025\u5e747\u6708\u306e\u7701\u518d\u7de8\u3067\u73fe\u30c0\u30af\u30e9\u30af\u7701\u306e\u4e00\u90e8\uff09\u306e\u540d\u7269\u300c\u30de\u30b0\u30ed\u306e\u76ee\u7389\u716e\uff08m\u1eaft c\u00e1 ng\u1eeb \u0111\u1ea1i d\u01b0\u01a1ng\uff09\u300d\u3092\u5916\u56fd\u4ebaTikToker\u304c\u5b9f\u98df\u3057\u305f\u52d5\u753b\u304c\u3001140\u4e07\u56de\u4ee5\u4e0a\u518d\u751f\u3055\u308c\u305f\u3002\u6295\u7a3f\u3057\u305f\u306e\u306f\u8d8a\u5728\u4f4f\u306eTikToker\u300cJoe\u300d\uff08Vietjoe TV\uff0f\u30d5\u30a9\u30ed\u30ef\u30fc\u7d0412.9\u4e07\u4eba\uff09\u3002\u4e3c\u307b\u3069\u3082\u3042\u308b\u76ee\u7389\u304c\u76bf\u306b\u3069\u3093\u3068\u8f09\u308b\u898b\u305f\u76ee\u306e\u30a4\u30f3\u30d1\u30af\u30c8\u3068\u3001\u53e3\u306e\u4e2d\u3067\u3068\u308d\u3051\u308b\u610f\u5916\u306a\u65e8\u3055\u306e\u30ae\u30e3\u30c3\u30d7\u304c\u53d7\u3051\u305f\u5f62\u3060\u3002\u65c5\u884c\u8005\u306b\u3068\u3063\u3066\u3053\u308c\u306f\u5358\u306a\u308b\u30b2\u30c6\u30e2\u30ce\u52d5\u753b\u3067\u306f\u306a\u3044\u3002\u30c0\u30ca\u30f3\u3084\u30cb\u30e3\u30c1\u30e3\u30f3\u307b\u3069\u77e5\u3089\u308c\u306a\u3044\u30d5\u30fc\u30a4\u30a8\u30f3\u3092\u8a2a\u306d\u308b\u52d5\u6a5f\u306b\u306a\u308a\u3001\u3057\u304b\u3082\u4e00\u76bf200\u301c300\u5186\u3067\u8a66\u305b\u308b\u3002\u3069\u306e\u5e97\u304c\u5f53\u305f\u308a\u304b\u3092\u898b\u629c\u304f\u30b3\u30c4\u306f\u3001<a href=\"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/vietnam-locals-rule\/\">Vietnam\u2019s golden rule for spotting the shops where locals gather<\/a>applies as is.<\/p>\n<h2>What got 1.4 million views<\/h2>\n<p>In the video, Joe took on three dishes. Alongside the star braised tuna eyeball, he ate a free-range chicken and herb hotpot, \"l\u1ea9u g\u00e0 l\u00e1 \u00e9,\" and a jellyfish salad, \"n\u1ed9m s\u1ee9a,\" one after another. The braised eyeball in particular has strong visual impact the moment it's set on the plate. The sight of a perfectly round eyeball steaming makes first-time foreigners catch their breath.<\/p>\n<p>But one bite flips the verdict. Joe described the fatty, gelatinous texture as \"soft, almost melting in your mouth,\" and said the aroma of ginger and Chinese herbs erases any off-smell. This \"brace at the sight, betrayed by the taste\" arc drew empathy in the comments. That it was posted by an account with over 2.5 million cumulative TikTok likes helped push the spread too.<\/p>\n<h2>How the eyeball called \u201cthe sea\u2019s headlight\u201d became a specialty<\/h2>\n<p>Phu Yen is one of Vietnam's leading tuna-landing areas, known locally as the \u201ctuna capital.\u201d It lands several thousand tons a year; the flesh goes to sashimi and export, but the large eyeballs left in the head were long an ingredient in local home cooking. A single eyeball weighs 100 to 300 grams\u2014the big ones the size of a rice bowl\u2014and locals call them \u201c\u0111\u00e8n pha\u201d (sea headlights) for their look.<\/p>\n<p>What elevated this into a tourist specialty is the refinement of how it's cooked. The raw eye is parboiled to remove any off-smell, then simmered in a clay pot for 20 to 30 minutes with medicinal ingredients like jujube, goji berries, and ginger. It's finished with a scatter of pepper and chopped shallot and served piping hot in the clay pot itself. In 2014 the Vietnam Records Association named it one of the country's ten representative delicacies. If you want to eat your way through central Vietnam,<a href=\"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/hue-food-tour\/\">A Hue Food Crawl of Noodles and Rice-Flour Sweets You Can Do for 1,200 Yen a Day<\/a>combine it with these and the range of central-Vietnam flavors expands all at once.<\/p>\n<h2>Braised tuna eye by the numbers<\/h2>\n<p>Let's pin down the outline of this delicacy with figures we could confirm. The exchange rate is converted at 10,000 dong \u2248 60 yen.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Item<\/th>\n<th>Details<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Dish<\/td>\n<td>Simmered tuna eye (m\u1eaft c\u00e1 ng\u1eeb \u0111\u1ea1i d\u01b0\u01a1ng), nicknamed \u0111\u00e8n pha<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Weight of one eyeball<\/td>\n<td>About 100\u2013300 grams (rice-bowl size)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Preparation<\/td>\n<td>Parboil in salted water, then simmer in a clay pot with jujube, goji, and ginger for 20\u201330 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Going rate per plate<\/td>\n<td>About 40,000\u201350,000 dong (roughly 240\u2013300 yen)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Awards<\/td>\n<td>Vietnam Records Association, Top 10 Domestic Delicacies (2014)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Video views<\/td>\n<td>Over 1.4 million views (TikToker \"Joe's\" tasting video)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>How locals received it<\/h2>\n<p>Locals and travelers take this dish differently.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At local eateries, the stewed eyeball is treated as a nourishing food \u201cgood for people who use their heads,\u201d routinely ordered as a closer or a drinking snack.<\/li>\n<li>Many foreign tourists trying it for the first time flinch at the sight of a bowl-sized eyeball, then change their minds once they take a bite. The comments on Joe's video filled up with exactly this reaction.<\/li>\n<li>There are several shops in Tuy Hoa that feature braised eyeball as their signature, where local customers and tourists sit at the same tables. That specialization has advanced at all is itself evidence of demand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>In an era where delicacies decide the destination, a lens travelers can use<\/h2>\n<p>This small buzz holds three practical meanings for travelers.<\/p>\n<p>First,<strong>A delicacy becomes the reason to choose the destination itself<\/strong>. Phu Yen is known at home as the setting of the film 'Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass,' but it has been a hard place to fit into a Japanese itinerary. When there's 'a dish you can only eat here,' a province you'd merely pass through becomes a place to stay. The simmered eye is a dish that embodies that pull.<\/p>\n<p>Second,<strong>Consider the Social-Media Visual Impact and the Actual Taste Separately<\/strong>the lesson that you should. The tuna-eye stew is the top pick for video appeal, but the scary part is only the first instant; in reality it's just a rich delicacy simmered with Chinese herbs. The same structure applies to rice paper and fermented street-stall dishes. Shy away on the strength of looks alone and you narrow the pleasures of travel food yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Third,<strong>The low price hurdle of 200\u2013300 yen a dish<\/strong>. Even if you fail, your wallet barely feels it. If you know the going rate, you can quickly see through prices marked up for tourists. A specialty with such a low cost of trying is easy to fold into a travel plan.<\/p>\n<h2>The basics for actually going to eat it<\/h2>\n<p>The famous braised-eyeball shops are concentrated in Tuy Hoa. Here's a list of addresses and going prices.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Item<\/th>\n<th>Details<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Service area<\/td>\n<td>\u30d5\u30fc\u30a4\u30a8\u30f3\u7701\u30c8\u30a5\u30a4\u30db\u30a2\u5e02\uff08Tuy H\u00f2a\u3001\u73fe\u30c0\u30af\u30e9\u30af\u7701\uff09\u4e2d\u5fc3\u90e8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Representative shops<\/td>\n<td>Qu\u00e1n B\u00e0 T\u00e1m (Le Duan Street 289\u2013293C, 8:00\u201320:00) \/ Nh\u00e0 h\u00e0ng \u0110\u1ea1i D\u01b0\u01a1ng (Hung Vuong Boulevard, L\u00f4 A12) \/ Qu\u00e1n h\u1ea3i s\u1ea3n Ch\u00fac X\u00edu (Doc Lap Street 05)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Budget guide<\/td>\n<td>Simmered eye, about 40,000\u201350,000 dong (about 240\u2013300 yen)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Gateway<\/td>\n<td>Tuy Hoa Airport (TBB). About 10 km to the city center, taxi 120,000 to 170,000 dong (about 720 to 1,020 yen), about 20 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Direct flight<\/td>\n<td>Domestic flights from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), Hanoi (HAN), and Da Nang (VietJet \/ Vietnam Airlines \/ Bamboo, etc.). No international service<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Phu Yen works on its own, but linking it with Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa Province) to the south thickens a coastal itinerary. How to enjoy the bay is<a href=\"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/khanhhoa-seaplane-bays\/\">An article reading the seaplane concept for Khanh Hoa's three bays<\/a>is a helpful reference.<\/p>\n<h2>Summary: Three Things to Do Next<\/h2>\n<p>A dish with a rice-bowl-sized eye on the plate earned 1.4 million views on visual impact, but for travelers the value lies on the taste-and-affordability side. If you're putting Phu Yen on your itinerary, here's the order to move in. First, secure a domestic flight to Tuy Hoa; a connection from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi is the basic route. Second, pick one tuna-eye-stew shop in the city and order with the going rate of 40,000\u201350,000 dong in mind. Third, order the surrounding specialties that appeared in Joe's video too \u2014 free-range chicken herb hot pot, jellyfish salad \u2014 and savor Phu Yen's seaside table in one sitting. The scary part is only the first instant, as you'll realize the moment you eat.<\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/kenh14.vn\/anh-tay-khien-14-trieu-nguoi-xem-nuot-nuoc-bot-khi-an-mon-dac-san-viet-co-nguoi-nhin-e-de-ai-thu-roi-lai-me-215260710213926924.chn\">A foreign TikToker\u2019s eating video hits 1.4 million views (Kenh14)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/vietnamnet.vn\/en\/phu-yen-s-exotic-tuna-eye-dish-a-culinary-adventure-for-the-brave-2322375.html\">Phu Yen&#8217;s exotic tuna eye dish\uff08VietnamNet\uff09<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/vinwonders.com\/vi\/wonderpedia\/news\/mat-ca-ngu-phu-yen\/\">The going rate, shops, and how to eat stewed tuna eyeball (VinWonders)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/vietnamlocals.com\/tuy-hoa-airport-phu-yen-guide\/\">Tuy Hoa airport guide (Vietnam Locals)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u30d9\u30c8\u30ca\u30e0\u4e2d\u90e8\u30d5\u30fc\u30a4\u30a8\u30f3\u7701\uff08Ph\u00fa Y\u00ean\u30012025\u5e747\u6708\u306e\u7701\u518d\u7de8\u3067\u73fe\u30c0\u30af\u30e9\u30af\u7701\u306e\u4e00\u90e8\uff09\u306e\u540d\u7269\u300c\u30de\u30b0\u30ed\u306e\u76ee\u7389\u716e\uff08 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"swell_btn_cv_data":"","ssp_meta_description":"\u5916\u56fd\u4ebaTikToker\u306e\u5b9f\u98df\u52d5\u753b\u304c140\u4e07\u56de\u518d\u751f\u3002\u30de\u30b0\u30ed\u306e\u76ee\u7389\u3092\u6f22\u65b9\u3067\u716e\u8fbc\u3080\u30d5\u30fc\u30a4\u30a8\u30f3\u540d\u7269\u306e\u5473\u3068\u3001\u30c8\u30a5\u30a4\u30db\u30a2\u3067\u98df\u3079\u3089\u308c\u308b\u5e97\u30fb\u4fa1\u683c\u30fb\u884c\u304d\u65b9\u3092\u65c5\u884c\u8005\u76ee\u7dda\u3067\u307e\u3068\u3081\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002","ssp_meta_keyword":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[426,19],"tags":[],"purpose":[],"keyword":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-3757","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","category-gourmet","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4415,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3757\/revisions\/4415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"purpose","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purpose?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=3757"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=3757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}