Finally, I have struck gold with the local food. The setting sun extracts the last rays of light out of the air, but street life illuminates this city in a whole new way. Daytime seems so quiet in Hue, and night is the complete opposite. I wandered around the neighborhood poking my head into whatever […]
Forgive me food gods for I have sinned. I have arrived in one of Vietnam’s most important culinary capitals and my first meal came straight out of a food court on the 4th floor of the Big C supercenter. Picture a Vietnamese version of a vertical WalMart that rises up rather than out. When I asked […]
The flight from Saigon to Hue takes just over an hour, but is just long enough for a cold snack in the business class cabin. The flight attendant spread a gigantic linen pale yellow cloth across my tray table and then moments later breakfast appeared. Thankfully I was not all that hungry. Two small slices of […]
This journey across Vietnam one bite at a time has mostly led me off the normal food trails. While traveling to Hue by air would seem quite mainstream, the location of this breakfast was anything but for me. I am normally the Air Asia or Ryanair crowd when traveling abroad since how I get there […]
Eating a Saigonese rendition of Hanoian bún chả is much like walking into the Carl’s Jr at Vincom Center and expecting a succulent burger hand formed from the finest Wagyu beef that is then grilled to perfection over hot mesquite coals. Or better yet it’s the equivalent of expecting fully authentic Tuscan cuisine at the […]
When I was a kid my dad made some pretty foul sandwiches he expected us to eat. Liverwurst and onion. Anything with sauerkraut. Sardines and mustard. Yes, the good ones like salami were sometimes few and far between. Unfortunately, one sandwich out there trumps them all. I never dreamed asking myself how bad can a bánh mì […]
Just a few days ago we visited Tapiocup in the Parkson’s food court for a passion fruit trà sữa trân châu. Remember that one? This is where the girl kept mentioning “petting tits” rather than passion fruit. In case you missed it, for two years now I’ve been going to this frustrating food stall, and […]
Lunch #189 was a delicious clay pot fish made with my very own two hands at cooking school. Remember that one with the snakehead fish also known as fishzilla? Cá kho tộ braised in these pots has become one of my favorite seafood dishes in Saigon, and what better way to see how the seasoned […]
Ever been in a rush but still need something decent to eat? With my afternoon airport pick up looming in about an hour and nothing even remotely interesting in the refrigerator, I needed something quick and filling. I know you’ve been there, too. Well, maybe minus the airport pick up, but you know what I […]
As you have by now likely surmised by the number of snail meals I consume in Hanoi, our exotic shelled friends are an integral part of the local cuisine. How they even find enough snails each day to keep everyone happy is beyond me. The thought of what actually festers in those rice paddies scares […]
Down The Street and Back Again 