The sign on Phố 21 Tháng 8 reads "Ninh Thuận mutton," and the lamb chops that come to the table smell wonderful — but flip open the geographical indication certificate issued by Vietnam's National Office of Intellectual Property in 2017, and the protected zone printed in black and white doesn't contain the words "Phan Rang City" anywhere.
Officially issued geographical indication registration certificate No. 00059, explicitly naming communes across five districts
Vietnam's National Office of Intellectual Property (Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ), on its official site ipvietnam.gov.vn, published "Bảo hộ Chỉ dẫn địa lý 'Ninh Thuận' cho sản phẩm thịt cừu": on October 24, 2017, it issued geographical indication registration certificate No. 00059, explicitly naming the protected geographic zone as Xã Phước Trung in Huyện Bác Ái; Xã Phước Nam, Phước Dinh, and Phước Minh in Huyện Thuận Nam; Xã Phước Thuận, Phước Hữu, Phước Dân, and Phước Vinh in Huyện Ninh Phước; Xã Mỹ Sơn and Nhơn Sơn in Huyện Ninh Sơn; and Xã Xuân Hải and Nhơn Hải in Huyện Ninh Hải. Mainstream outlet Thanh Niên's "Thịt cừu Ninh Thuận được bảo hộ chỉ dẫn địa lý" and a feature from Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade's official media cross-confirm this. After the 2025 province merger, Pháp Luật TP.HCM (republished via tuoitre.vn) confirmed that Khánh Hòa (the new merged province) continues to uphold this geographical indication protection.
Honest clarification: the protected zone doesn't include Phan Rang City's territory — Phan Rang is a trading hub, not the officially certified place of production
It has to be said honestly that this is the only item among the 14 candidates in this guide with official geographical indication certification (certificate No. 00059, issued 2017 by Vietnam's National Office of Intellectual Property), and the certificate explicitly names a protected zone across specific communes in Huyện Bác Ái, Thuận Nam, Ninh Phước, Ninh Sơn, and Ninh Hải districts — not including Phan Rang City (old 12 wards and 1 commune) territory. This entry discloses that plainly: downtown Phan Rang is a commercial hub for selling and retailing mutton (the Phố 21 Tháng 8 cluster), but strictly speaking, the officially certified geographical indication zone doesn't cover Phan Rang City itself. Several outlets record that sheep were introduced from India roughly a century ago and localized after adapting to Ninh Thuận's dry grassland climate; Vietnam currently has scaled sheep farming only in a small number of areas near Ninh Thuận, making it a rare type of livestock nationwide. After Ninh Thuận province merged into Khánh Hòa in 2025, this geographical indication protection status was officially confirmed to carry over.
How to Eat It Like a Local
- Dê Núi Hương Sơn / Dê Đồng Cừu on Phố 21 Tháng 8, Phường Phước Mỹ, serves both goat and sheep dishes, good for comparing the two meats in one visit.
- To get closer to the officially certified place of production, look toward local farming households in the specific communes of Bác Ái, Thuận Nam, Ninh Phước, Ninh Sơn, and Ninh Hải districts.
- Sheep meat is commonly grilled or served in hotpot — ask the shop to recommend the freshest cut of the day.
An Honest Look at This Plate's Story
- The official geographical indication protected zone explicitly names communes across five districts; the certificate doesn't contain the words "Phan Rang City" — this entry honestly discloses that gap.
- Phan Rang City's Phố 21 Tháng 8 is a trading and dining cluster, not the officially certified geographical indication production zone itself.
- After the 2025 province merger, this geographical indication protection status was officially confirmed to carry over into the newly formed Khánh Hòa province.
The lamb chops arrive with fat sizzling and browned — this is the only dish among the 14 candidates in this guide that can produce an official certificate, yet the place of production printed on that certificate isn't Phan Rang City. What Phan Rang sells is the pride raised in a few neighboring districts.