Le Cordon Bleu - a special school in Paris!

I'm very sorry I didn't have any update over the past few months. I was away from home as you may guess. To be honest I was struggling with my blog title "Viet Street Food" because already for quite some time I decided not to write much about it...only when I have a chance. So my blog could be no longer a best place for someone to look for the street food in Saigon! I was thinking to create another blog where I can write "whatever", but then I realise I better keep this one and write "whatever" as I already mentioned in my profile.

               We are not allowed to take photo or video during the demo, only at the end...with the cakes! 

Little green bean cakes and my memory of "chị Ký"

These little green bean cakes in shape of colourful fruits would recall many people among us about a sweet childhood. We used to love these cakes, we could look at them, admire them long before eating, we could check one by one, we could jump and scream with joy "it's a mango, it's plum, it's a mandarin..." All these cakes made of green bean, sometime people could mix the green bean paste with coconut milk, to make it tastier...but I personally prefer the pure, fragrant green bean flavour.

         The green bean cakes in shape of colourful fruits - a sweet memory of my childhood.

The heat of April and a day with Mút - a hot boy!

It was very hot in Saigon in April, the temp. up to 36-38oC, unbearably hot that I didn't want to do anything, to go anywhere....Yeah, it probably explained why no post on this blog since my last one in early April! But in this April's heat, if going out, it could be better than just sitting like a dead man in the room, even with the air-con. Anyway, I got a call from my friend, he suggested to spend the holiday at his "dacha" (a holiday house in the country), by the lake. I was happy to say "Yes, i'm on my way!".

                 Our little hero of today story - Mút, 5 year old, welcomed me, in front of his chicken kingdom. 

Eating in Hà Nội (Part 2)

My eating experience in Hà Nội continued...

1. Bún chả Hàng Mành
One of the most popular Hà Nội specialities is definitely "bún chả, nem cua", it's so famous that everyone want to try at least once while visiting there. The foreigners might have a difficulty to find the best place in Hà Nội, but to Vietnamese - should be no problem! But by somehow ridiculously an original Hà Nội-born gentleman in his early 40s took us to a place for bún chả, where after the first bite, I realised something wrong with the crab roll. It was bad, quite bad, strangely covered with bread crumb that I've never seen before.

                          Looks good? But honestly tastes not good, after the first bite....I gave up! 

Eating in Hà Nội (Part 1)

Eating in Hà Nội is always a pleasure for me. I quite like Hanoi taste. I know many people from South could hardly survive in the North as they found Hanoi food a bit bland, no flavours, and especially too much MSG. To me, I found it different - quite authentic, probably sophisticated and specially not too sweet or too fatty as our Southern taste.
Anyway everywhere could be the same - something tasty, something not! This time I spent almost two weeks in the North, so I got a chance to visit Yên Tử, Hạ Long Bay, Sapa, Tràng An...I even went to Hội Lim for the first time, and came back to Bát Tràng, where I visited almost 15 years ago.
During these two weeks I experienced a lot of good foods but at the same time - some far from good!
Let's start with our glorious beef noodles - Phở!

1. Beef noodles at Bát Đàn 

                          One the most recommended beef noodles in Hà Nội - Phở Bát Đàn.

Ha Long Bay - one of the new 7 wonders!

My first time in Ha Long Bay was sometime between 1993-1994 and it was not a sightseeing trip. It was a one-night stay for business. I had to accompany an Australian agency during the shooting of TV commercials around Vietnam for my company. Ha Long was the second selected spot after Hanoi.The film director, by his words, used to be a friend of Nicole Kidman and some other celebs, wanted to capture the sunrise at the Bay, so his request to everyone - to be ready by 4:00 am, but the next scene was more memorable - it was shot in the fish market, next to the fishing village, with a very nice view to the Bay.
It was wet, windy, fishy smell, muddy, dirty, big noisy crowd...and the talent, a Beauty Queen of Vietnam was asked to dress always in pure white áo dài that her mom had to wash, dry everyday after the shooting. That TVC was recognised one of the most beautiful TVCs at that time on air, as within 45 seconds we could see most beautiful places in Vietnam, from North down to Mekong Delta.

                      Hòn Trống Mái or Hòn gà chọi - one of the symbols of Ha Long Bay 

Tràng An - the UNESCO World's Heritage Site in Ninh Bình

Before Tết, I got a suggestion to accompany some friends to travel along Vietnam by car, during Tết, starting from Sài Gòn up to Quảng Ninh (North Vietnam). I was very excited, surely, a big "Yes" from me! My friend's purpose was to climb up the Yên Tử mountain, but to me - just to see Vietnam along its beautiful coasts.
When the departure date approached, most of them quietly disappeared. The only one guy left and I called him "the leader" because he was a key person behind the trip, even if no one goes, he had to go anyway, due to his inner religious commitment - to climb up to some famous "Chùa Đồng" (Copper Pagoda) on the top of the Yên Tử mountain. And he kept doing this for almost 10 years.

                        Tràng An - one of my destinations in the North during this Tết.

My first trip to Sapa (2nd part)

I was born in Sài Gòn, so I simply thought Sapa could be, by some how, similar to Đà Lạt - a famous highland town in South of Vietnam. Đà Lạt renowned for its flowers, water falls, hills with pine trees, foggy lakes. It was a favourite romantic honeymoon place for many people in South for many years but not now. Anyway, I was totally wrong! Sapa was much more impressive. Sapa probably didn't have those "romantic factors" like Đà Lạt but, instead, I found Sapa majestic, haughty Kingdom in cloud.

                     Sapa in my eyes was much more majestic, haughty...Kingdom 

My first trip to Sapa (1st part)

Sapa - to me the name itself more than enough to attract the attention from the travellers. The only place in Vietnam where we could experience the snow, the real snow! I first heard of this town when Victoria Hotel launched their luxury Oriental Express connecting Hanoi with Sapa. At that time I'd love to try but due to different reasons, my plan to escape to this mountain-town in cloud, like in fairytale always failed...until few days ago. After visiting Halong Bay (I will review later!) we went back to Hà Nội and I made a quick decision this time with a friend, we both booked a 2-night tour to Sapa - one night in train, one night at the Sapa Summit Hotel and back to Hanoi by bus-bed, saving another night in train.

                     Sapa in March always in a thick fog from morning till late afternoon...

Rice noodles with snails in Hà Nội (Bún ốc cô Thêm)

It's surely one of the most famous places for this popular traditional rice noodles with snails in Hà Nội, it's simply called "Bún ốc cô Thêm" in Hàng Chai, located in small, short alley between hàng Rưoi and Hàng Cót. Living in Sài Gòn, I'm quite familiar with this kind of dish, but I would love to taste it in Hà Nội where the cuisine is way famous for their delicate authenticity.

            "Bún ốc Cô Thêm" - Thêm is a name of this lady-owner, inherited this business from her mother.

All roads lead to Rome - my last destination

Finally I arrived to Rome! My last destination after almost a month travel around France by train and visiting some places in Italy, before heading to the Roman Empire! All roads lead to Rome!
While still in Verona I got a problem with my flight back home with Air France. Pilot strike. I can't wait or extend my stay in Rome so I decided to get a new ticket from Rome back to Saigon via Bangkok with Thai Airways.
Later I got 300 USD as compensation from Vietnam Airlines (as I bought the ticket from this site) while I paid 500 USD for a new ticket. I also contact AIA for the insurance (if any!) but upset with their so unprofessional service. Anyway I got to stay in Rome for one more day. No problem at all and much better than if I fly back to Paris (because of my original connecting flight Paris - Saigon) and I have no idea how long I had to wait.

                           A painting on a wall along Tiber river, near to Castle Sant's Angelo 

The first day of the Year of the Goat and its stories...

The first three days of the Lunar New Year are the most important in mind of many Vietnamese. There was even a guide what Don'ts or Dos during these days - not only to avoid a bad luck but also to bring a good luck back home in the future. Some rules sound reasonable like not to argue, not to break something...but some - funny, like not to sweep the floor (as it means to brush a good luck or money away from home).

Anyway to me the moment between the old year and the new year is the most sacred. When we prepare the offerings to see the old year off and to welcome the new year in, we call this moment "Giao Thừa". Its a beginning of the first day of the New Year.

                       The traditional ritual for offerings to the New Year Eve. 

The Flower Festival in Tao Đàn Park in 2015

Another Lunar New Year is coming, Year of Goat. This year there was a real big mess in Sài Gòn due to the mega construction site right in the heart of the city, so the usual annual Flower Street moved to another place. To be honest I didn't find it, the Flower Street, interesting, as every year they repeat almost the same concept, the same display ideas...Anyway let's wait until next year, when we have our very first New Square, the new pedestrian quarter, right in the centre of Saigon.

                      This little cute girl was confusing - to look at his daddy's camera or at mine...

Hồ Thị Kỷ - the flower market in the midnight, before Tết

This flower market not far from my place, 5-10' walk, probably, but I only heard about it 15 years ago. I've been to this market few times but only to a shop, right at the entrance, I never went further  inside...Tonight when I decided to go there almost before midnight, as I know this market could be very busy at this time, right before Tết...I was right and so surprised of the market size. It's bigger, much bigger then I thought. Wherever I turn, left or right, I always see an alley leading to another shops...I felt as I got lost in this labyrinth.

                    Bunch of 10 sunflowers - 100,000 VND 

The Duomo in Florence - the wonder of the Renaissance

After spending almost a whole morning at Mercato Centrale, the rest of my day was wandering around another "wonder" in Florence: The Cathedral of St Mary of the Flower (or The Duomo, or Santa Maria del Fiore) Florence is so popular among the tourists, so without map or tour guide, I can easily found what people love to see here - what I need to do was just follow the stream of visitors. The crowd took me to the Piazza del Duomo, where I witnessed the incredible beauty of three Renaissance architectures: The Duomo, the Florence Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. 

                         The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (The Duomo) in the evening

...Hum - vegetarian lounge in Saigon

What does it mean "Hum"? I was explained - "Hum" should be pronounced as "Um" and it's one of  a famous six-syllabled Sanskrit mantra "Om mani padme hum", which means "a jewel in sacred lotus", but "Hum" still means "wisdom". And according to one of my "wise" nieces, we can say this phrase or mantra when we are seeing "ghost"! So remember it at heart!

Anyway "Hum" is a quite popular upscale vegetarian lounge-restaurant in Saigon. I said "upscale", probably because of their good location, tasteful decorations, and especially their charming service and the food quality, and, of course, the bill at the end! 

                          A jewel in sacred lotus - Lotus rice, one of Hum's signature dishes.   

The Goddess, the Fermented Fish & my journey to Sam Mountain in Châu Đốc

The Goddess (the Goddess of the Prosperity, or The Lady of The Realm and in Vietnamese as we call "Bà Chúa Xứ" and the famous fermented fish - these two special things from Châu Đốc - a province in South of Vietnam, near to Cambodia. No any relationship between these two. The Lady of The Realm - she absolutely was not the creator of the fermented fish - the popular traditional dish especially in South.

              Fermented fish - a speciality from Châu Đốc, a province near to the bother with Cambodia.

Mercato Centrale - Central market in Florence (Italy)

I left Verona early in the morning and arrived to Florence long before noon - the check-in time. The hotel I booked on booking.com was very near to the railway station, but following my google map, I made almost a whole round in the old quarter before reaching the hotel. Later standing at the hotel entrance - I realised what I need to do was just to cross the street from the rail station to reach the hotel! Genius Google map!?

The lady at the reception was so nice, even though my room was not ready yet, while waiting she kindly offered a breakfast, even a shower if I want to refresh. I did have a good breakfast in Verona, so I took only a cup of hot tea with a cake. Left my luggages with the reception, I decided to go out.  

                  All specialities of Tuscany cuisine can be found in Central Market in Florence. 

Venice - an exhausted afternoon (part 2)

Venice is famous to the whole world, super easy to find million and million photos, videos about this glorious city on the net, and I was happy to capture Venice - not its splendid side but the routine, the peaceful moment, when there was no one around. But if the morning was so free from any disturbance, the afternoon was the contrast, the different picture - around noon Venice was quickly occupied, or better say, invaded by thousand and thousand of visitors. It was in mid September - not the high season but the crowd - unbelievable everywhere!

                The famous scenery - Grand Canal with Rialto bridge and traditional gondole...

Noodles with cuttlefish (Hủ tiếu mực)

One of my friends asked me to try this noodles for several times, but by some how I didn't decide when as it's quite far from my place - in Phú Nhuận district and they do serve this cuttlefish noodles only in the morning for breakfast! Do I need to go that far only for the noodles?
But actually one of the reasons I didn't go yet because I thought it would be the way they prepare the soup noodles with the dried cuttlefish, as many places do, to get a natural sweet taste! But not, I was wrong!

                     Noodles with fresh cuttlefish, shrimp, meat ball...taste amazing! 

Panzerotti - bánh quai vạc in Italian style

When I stayed for a few days in Verona (Italy), one morning when I passed by some bread shop, saw a cake which remind me our popular deep-fried cake in half-moon shape - bánh quai vạc (or bánh xếp, bánh gối). I was really curious and loved to taste it. It's called "panzerotti" - a traditional deep-fried cake from Bari. Very similar to our bánh quai vạc but much bigger, almost double, triple in size and the filling was purely Italian : mozzarella, sausage, tomato sauce...

                      Panzerotti in the middle - on left and right of the shelf display in Verona (Italy)