Saigon Part 1 - Food glorious good!

One of the highlights of travelling for me is the food. No travel is complete without checking out good food, local style. This means sniffing out a nice place which serves good food that only locals know about and where we're just about the only foreigners there.

In doing so, the discovery process becomes part of the travel experience.

It's extremely challenging to order food when we don't speak their language. You rely on gesticulations, big smiles and lots of patience. When the food arrives, it's always a pleasant surprise.

I love taking photos of the food I eat too. Long after they've been digested, I can still look at the photos and relish the memories of the gastronomic adventure. *geek*

I do get weird looks at restaurants whenever I whip out the camera and start shooting away. Haha but I guess that's part of the fun.

One of the food I was going to try was Hot Vit Lon - Vietnamese delicacy of a duck egg with a half-formed duckling inside. Found a street cart selling it, but sigh... i just couldn't muster enough courage to take a bite.

hmmm... maybe next time.

These are some of my personal favourites.

1) Bun Thit Nuong (BTN)


aka Vermicilli and Grilled Pork served with vegetables and herbs. Another variation is BTN with Cha Gio which is spring rolls. Yum yum!

Tra Sen Da - Iced Lotus Tea is what the locals drink most of the time. It's akin to the Chinese Tea that's served in most restaurant. Like jasmin tea, it also has a sweet lotus scent to it. Nice to drink on a warm day. It's extremely warm in Saigon with the sun beating down our backs as we roam the streets. Nothing is more gratifying than sipping Tra Sen Da at a roadside stall under a tree.

2) Pho Bo - Vietnamese Beef Noodle



They serve the beef in a couple of ways - Tai or Chi.
Tai are those raw slivers that they scald with the hot broth before serving, so the slices are still soft and moist. Chi is pre-cooked beef slab that the cook will slice when the customer places an order. My favourite is Tai version, with lots of basil, mint leaves, and several squishes of fresh lime... Tucked in a little nondescript corner, the auntie running this stall is extremely friendly. She's a Vietamese Chinese so she was very happy to converse with us in Mandarin (she rarely gets to practise that, as most Chinese in Vietnam speaks Cantonese)

3) Deep fried chicken @ Nam Son

This is another addiction. It's a western restaurant Vietnames style, just along the alley beside our hotel. Lots of locals hang out here on a Saturday night and the place is completely swamped. You see young couples on a date, families with young children and groups of giggling schoolgirls here. The alley leading up to this restaurant doubles up as parking lots for the motorbikes and it's completely choked full.


I think they use lots of garlic in the batter so it's really tasty. The downside is that you're stuck with garlicky breath for the rest of the day. I usually have this for dinner :)

4) Something familiar- Jap food



Near where I'm staying there's a shopping place called Zen Plaza. On the top most level, they serve the best Japanese food. Even better than some of the restuarants in SG. It's a JV between Vietnames & Japanese organisations.

The sake shashimi is fresh, moist, thick and absolutely succulent.
The other cooked stuff are fresh and satisfying. We brought Tram here for lunch one day. She hasn't had Japanese food before so we thought this would be a nice change for her.

On the last day, I bought some ingredients for making Gio Cuon. Will try my hand on preparing some when inspiration strikes. Looking forward to returning the next time to more Pho Bo and Bun Thit Tnuong.

Flabbergasted but hopeful!

I'm glad that the NKF saga has come to a close. Was completely oblivious, having no access to SG news here in Saigon.

From the bits and peices that friends sent me, (Thank you guys!)
I can imagine the furore it's created. I mean, how could this be happening?

I am totally flabbergasted. This horrendous breach of public trust is scandalous. The last I heard, both CEO and NKF board has stepped down and the organisation will have to suspend all active fund-raising activities.

Let's hope the new board would do a better job of running NKF and not let the public down again. While I've almost made up my mind to terminate my monthly contribution once I reach home, now that the culprits have stepped down, perhaps I'll wait some more before taking any drastic steps.

Afterall, the charity is for a worthy cause. What will happen to those patients if everyone withdraw their donations? Maybe I'm naive in thinking this, but since the evil-doers are not around any more, let's continue to support the cause.

word-tagged!

I was supposed to complete this little challenge Aparna gave me before I left for Saigon. Now, taking shelter from the storm in an Internet Cafe in Saigon, I've finally had time to finish it up :)

I'm not really a word person, so this is really quite a challenge. Some words listed here I like because they amuse me. Others inspire me with the concept they represent.

hermaphrodude
This word just brings a smile to my face. Came across this in an article in Todayonline. According to the article, hermaphrodudes (aka mirls) are a new breed of well-dressed fashion-savvy, sensitive and "ultra-feminine" men. They're a slightly different from the metrosexuals whom we're so familiar with. her-ma-phro-dude! hahaha

transient
adj: enduring a very short time
n: one who stays for only a short time
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

I like the suggestion of non-permanence in this word. Nothing stays the same. Seize the moment!

moss
n: Any of various green, usually small, nonvascular plants of the class Musci of the division Bryophyta.
I like moss. And how the word sounds. Simple, short. Moss.
Moss-covered cobbled walkways come to mind whenever I think of them. I like how they make the rocks feel all velvety (not to be confused by algae which are almost always slimy, moss is soft, furry and velvety).
My fascination with their resilience despite being so tiny probably explains why I like this word. They represent life and you can find them in the tiniest of cracks, their bright green coat seemingly glowing with life.

This is an interesting exercise. Thanks Aparna!
Realised in the process that I never thought much about words. Maybe I should be paying more attention to them.
The rain has lightened to a drizzle now, will make a move and explore the city some more!
cheers!

You know just where I dream to go

My sis and I have never been really close. Altho astrology books claim that saggitarians and aquarians make good matches, we never quite click and made it to the next level. If we weren't sisters, we probably wouldn't be friends I guess. In her words, I'm too flighty and in my own world. (read: not a good elder sister who's mature and can guide, mentor and nuture) haha... (she's like the elder sis most of the time)

But thankfully, we're sisters :)
I must have done something right in my past life to have a sister like her. Seriously.

She's received an overseas posting and will be away for 3 years. It's a long time and I will definitely miss her. For someone so young, she's fairly accomplished. I'm proud of her and happy that she's got this opportunity to see the world.

Sure, I will be worried for her safety. She'd be all alone, how will she cope?
Will the distance make us strangers?

A friend once asked me an interesting question, 'Why do you blog?'
I guessed I blog to capture a moment in time. Today, I blog to let my sis know that I love and will miss her. I look back at our growing years with fondness. How could those years have passed so quickly?!?

As we count down to the days before her departure, I'm suddenly seized by a wild panic that there's just not enough time!

To my dearest sis,
"You know just where I dream to go, And remember where I've been... And every time I'm with you it's like coming home again"

Painted faces

Was taking a leisurely walk around my place when I spotted a wayang being staged near the MRT station. Strange I never noticed the erected makeshift stage there earlier.

It's been such a long time since I saw one! These days, even during the Hungry Ghost Festival, we hardly see one as they've been replaced by the more popular getais.


The guy on the left is a protagonist and the lady on the right, his bride.

Although I could hardly understand what they were singing (it's performed in one of the dialects) I enjoyed the experience tremendously. The actors' expressive facial expressions and body language speak of sorrow, regrets and joy.


An enraptured audience

I'm surprised I've never taken notice of wayangs growing up. I always think of them as noisy, meaningless and way too garish for my liking. Maybe it was this chance spotting, or perhaps it was the setup and atmosphere. Nostalgia hits me as I'm reminded of the good ole 80-90s where wayang shows were more accessible.

Just as serendipitously as I came across the wayang, the next night when I went back to the same spot, all traces of the previous night's performance was gone. I'm glad to have caught it when I did.