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.
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.
posted by turquoisebleu | 1:32 pm
