Traditional sweet flavor from North! (Bánh gai)

This is a traditional cake from North Vietnam. I've seen it many many times, whenever I travel to Hà nội, and when I go to a famous shop for bánh cốm (green rice cake), I saw this cake there but by some how I never bought it, or may be I did! Last week I saw it again, many stalls on the streets in Biên Hoà city!
I wonder why? Huge community of Northern people in Đồng Nai ?
This cake always catchs my attention and I don't know why! The way they put 5 cakes in one pack and  the red label on the top? The strange dried light brown banana leaves wrap? Or my curiosity to learn what's exactly inside that wrap?

            Light brown banana leaves wrap looks mysterious!  

              Bánh gai is always in a pack with 5 pieces and eye-catching red label on one side!  

Bánh gai or cake "gai", the name comes from the special powder made from the leaves called" gai" (green ramie). The flavor and the color come from that powder! I did check the picture of green ramie and some information about this plant. To my surprise, gai has been used for fabric production over 6,000 years! Wow!

Noodles with goat stew! Hủ tiếu dê kho!

It's funny when I heard from my friend "hủ tiếu dê bò kho"! Literally means noodles with goat beef stew! Goat or beef?
Ok, let's me explain! We have very popular noodles with  beef stew (hủ tiếu bò kho), and beef stew can be served also with bread! One of my favorite dishes!
So these two words "beef stew" seems never separated to express this kind of dish and the cooking!
What my friend means is goat stew in the same way exactly as beef stew! Because if he says noodles with goat stew, especially in Vietnamese (dê kho!) many of us may not catch what kind of dish is it!

Anyway this's a new dish to me! Noodles and Goat! So I tried it this morning for breakfast!

I like it as the goat meat is so tender, tasty, esp. its thick chewy skin!
Interesting that they serve noodles separately, it means I have two little bowls : one for noodles and another one for goat stew!

Vietnamese udon and fish cake

You still remember what I mean udon in my previous post?
It's just my simple association between Japanese udon and our big noodles! Bánh canh!
Vietnamese udon with fish cake or bánh canh chả cá is not really popular in Sài gòn compared to other dishes as bánh canh cua (Vietnamese udon with crab) or bánh canh giò heo (big noodles with pork knuckle)!

         Steamed & deep fried fish cake

              Steamed fish cake coated with duck egg york! 

Tamarind - sour, sweet, spicy snack!

In Vietnamese we have an expression about "the teenage age", we say "age of ô mai" (ô mai means salted pickled plum!), why we say that? Ô mai is one of the most favorite snacks for teenage girls!
Tuổi ô mai (age of ô mai) sounds nice in Vietnamese! But to me, we still jokingly call this age stage - the age of sour tamarind (tuổi me chua)! At this age, everything seems simply perfect for teen, but it's not true! Feelings of love, hate, anger, disappointment, first sexual encounter... start from this age!
So "me chua" or sour taste could make sense! Same as ô mai (umeboshi or pickled plum), tamarind is another favorite snack by teenage girls, and not only girls!

                     Ô mai made of tamarind, favorite sweet snack ...but in the old days.

Last week I went to bún mộc Thanh Mai and my friend told me "You should buy this one!"
What he meant is the popular tamarind stirred in sugar, liquorice, a bit of chili and sugar coated snack! We simply call "me ngào đường" (literally tamarind stirred in sugar)!

                 Tamarind stirred in sugar and liquorice, chili, sugar coated!  

To be honest, I didn't touch this sweet, sour, spicy and flavorful snack for very very long time, since I graduated high school! But today after the first bite, I instinctively keep eating! And not only me, I did offer to some other friends, they do exactly the same thing! Even asked me where to buy!

      

          A simple stall in front of popular bún mọc Thanh Mai at 14 Trương Định, right in the corner! 

Next one - also made from tamarind! I really can't remember when I tried it for the first time!  

From my primary school's canteen or a snack stall in my neighborhood? 

Anyway it was one of my favorite snacks that my little pocket money was never enough for it! 

Local specialities from Trị An!

I used to go to Singapore every month. And one day I decided to buy a good digital camera.
Learning the shopping experience in this country, esp. for the electronics, I was very clear which model I need, but by somehow a Singaporean-Chinese sale guy was able to convince me to buy another one, more expensive ...just by saying few words "we have only one life, it's short so don't regret the money!" I laughed and accepted his suggestion!
That's true! We have only one life to live! So what we want to do, just do! I did! But ironically I paid a high price for that! Believe in destiny or not but it seems everything happen in our life as it has been planned in advance!
Yesterday I went to Trị An with a friend whose the destiny was no lack of "sudden incidents"!
After many turbulent years in his life, he may prefer a quiet place, where he & his family can do what they really want despite any severe laws of life or destiny!

I heard about Trị An long ago because this's the first hydroelectric dam located only 65km away from Saigon, its huge water reservoir and the hunting activities for wild animals around this area!

After a quick swim in the huge water reservoir which looks like an ocean, we went to a huge simple stall but totally empty, right on the shore. Here they serve only those things they catch from the water reservoir and the forest nearby! We call "local specialities"(đặc sản địa phương)!  

        

     The 1st local speciality - tiny shrimps (tép) stirred in green onion, black pepper ...

    and wrapped in rice paper with rice noodles, veggies, dip in sweet fish sauce! Something new to me!

      The 2nd speciality - grilled deer meat!  

Noodles with braised duck!

Noodles with braised duck or mỳ vịt tiềm! One of my favorite noodles in Sài gòn!
It's not a noodles that we can eat every day as beef noodles (phở) for breakfast!

It's expensive and I never see any stall selling it in the morning for breakfast!
Not only because of the price (75,000 VND! - about 4 USD!) but because of the taste!
The taste is specially good, but by somehow, to me, it's not a dish with a right flavor, a right color to start a new day! Black! Especially when we look at the big duck leg, is it too much for the beginning of the day?

Noodles with braised duck is specially famous in Chinatown, as it's a part of Chinese cuisine, cooking, where the preparation requires a long time and different secret ingredients! 

I don't know exactly which ingredients are required to marinate the duck, to prepare the soup! 

What I know is that the duck should be marinated a night before in special dark soy sauce, anise, licorice root, tangerine peel...and then deep fried and braised in the soup.
The dark color of the soup probably comes from the duck marinated sauce! 

Anyway the soup is in dark color like an oriental liquid medicine, rich and tasty but it could be strong for someone who doesn't like the flavor of the medicinal herbs!  

Fish salad & dried-for-one-sunny-day squid in Mui Ne!

I've been to Mui Ne many times, tried different delicacies in that amazing seaside.
There are two dishes I always keep eating every time I go back there!
Raw fish salad with dip sauce made from roasted peanut and grilled squid! 


Raw fish salad (or gỏi cá suốt)
I remember when I tried it for the first time at Dũng Sử, probably back in late 1990s!
Talking about Dũng Sử (the name of the owner & restaurant!) I could be a "historic witness".
I met the owner, when his place was very small, opposite the beach. He said that he was forced to move around, finally he had to set down his quite poor-looking eatery in the foothills.
We loved so much his raw fish salad, we even ordered to take it back to Sài gòn. Later Dũng Sử  probably got the permission from the local authorities to open a bigger restaurant right on the beach.
I loved that place, esp. when I've been there 6,7 years ago. We were sitting like right on the sea, a fantastic view to the blue ocean shining in the sun!

His restaurant was expanded, very crowded, I met him again, a satisfied, happy man! The restaurant next to Dũng Sử - Cây Bàng was not able to compete in any aspect!
Until one day, the local authorities decided to widen the road, to clean up the beach...Dũng Sử has gone! Cây Bàng still there as the only monopoly in that area! But unfortunately Cây Bàng is one of the worst restaurants in Mũi Né. My friends and myself have very bad experience with this place: from the poor service to the very bad foods that they serve.

Anyway back to the raw fish salad, in Vietnamese I heard different versions: gỏi cá suốt, or gỏi cá mai or cá đục! I have no idea what kind of fish here, but it's raw!
It's spicy because it's topped with chili and roasted peanut. I love the sauce. The dip sauce made from ground roasted peanut mixed with something else,very tasty! I even drink it!

The sunrise at Mui Ne & my breakfast on the sidewalk!

Good morning!
A very good morning in Mui Ne!
One of the best seasides in Vietnam! The destination for many holiday makers from all over the world!
I've been to Mui Ne many times but for the first time I stayed at Sea Links - a huge resort complex on the hill, facing the ocean!
A peaceful place, the fresh air with morning breeze from the ocean, I seemed to revive!
I could smell fish and salt flavor in the air! I was blown away by the green trees, the blue sky and the shinning ocean in the sun!
We arrived Friday afternoon, after a long trip due to a heavy traffic on the highway and I also need to stop by my father's grave as I haven't been there since last September! We booked a villa at Sea Links! Three bedrooms for 6 of us, huge dining room & kitchen, with the view to the ocean!  170 USD per night (including ++)! Good deal!

            

              Early morning at Sea links, very quiet, only bird's songs, fresh and lovely surroundings! 

           

              Following the road to the ocean... 

           

               we were hurrying to catch the sunrise on the beach!   

After an hour walk, taking photos on the beach, we also checked the long stone jetty which is still under construction, then we decided to go for breakfast in Phan Thiet!

Without any idea what to have for breakfast, but something with hot soup would be the best for everyone! We were heading to Phan Thiết but in the middle of the way, we noticed a very simple stall on the sidewalk, they sell Vietnamese udon with fish cake (bánh canh chả cá), popular water fern cake (bánh bèo) and bread with pork meatball (bánh mỳ xíu mại). We ordered all three!

Bánh canh chả cá (big noodles with fish cake) is a speciality from Phan Thiết. Fried fish cake, steamed fish cake and a tiny cooked quail egg! Simple taste but very good!

It's very strange that they always sell big noodles with fish cakes and bread with pork meatball together! Maybe we can dip bread to the soup? 

It reminds me how much Filipinos love to dip a bread with ham to the beef noodles soup (!) It's new to me, but that combination should taste good! 

The pork meatball (xíu mại) looks different from what we have in South. Smaller in size and probably without tomato sauce! It's just ok for my taste!   

Water fern cake is a popular street food, everywhere! In South, Central and here a coastal town! The water fern cake is very tiny here, but thick, topped with dried shrimp floss and green mung bean, served with sweet fish sauce! I like the shape of the cake here! It's cute!  

Last dinner at "Grandma" - Quán Bà Ngoại!

The family business is everywhere in Vietnam! Easy to see many houses, either on a big street or in a small alley, turning to business premises! It could be either a tiny coffee house or simply breakfast stall, but it's a huge benefit when the owners never worry about the rent!

"Grandma" is the same! It's the name of a simple family restaurant in a big house, located in one of the most prestigious areas in Saigon, district 3! Many rumors about that house, about the people living there. It's probably true because of its very good location, unbelievable huge area (nearly 2000 m2, right in the center of district 3!) and the stories about the ups and downs of that family are always a hot topic among us - curious customers!

Despite the efforts to keep the house, the"Grandma" finally gave up, the family business is closing down, all will be moving out in the next few weeks, as the house was already sold for millions US dollars!  

We were there last week, it could be our last dinner at "Grandma" or "Quán Bà Ngoại" (literally means an eatery of Grandma on Mother side!") so we decided to order only the signature dishes. The best from their menu probably is the grilled pork ribs! Tender, very well marinated, juicy, very tasty! Strange that they serve grilled ribs not with rice but sticky rice!

          Sườn nướng or roasted pork ribs - signature dish from Bà Ngoại!

           Deep fried young tofu topped with pork floss! Crispy on the outside, soft and rich on the inside! 

Childhood memories - deep fried bread with prawn!

My mom was very sportive, she used to play ping-pong, to swim... So luckily she is still heathy now in her 80s! When I was kid, she always took me and my older brother to the swimming pool.
I can't remember which pool was our first swimming class: either a pool called Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm near to the Zoo or the club Phú Lâm which is located by coincidence near to my first house!

Ah, I remember!
That would be my very first pool! A pool called Catina on Đồng Khởi street (Catina was also the former name of this street in the early years of 20th century!) It seems the pool is no longer there, when these days every centimeter on this street costs a fortune!

Ok! Which pool is not important!
But I'm sure only at Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm place, what I always got from my mom after swimming hours was a deep fried slice of bread with a big prawn. A little bit of chili sauce and dark soy sauce on it!  

Imagine after an hour or more, my brother and I, we played, we swam, we shouted and ran all over around the pool, I and my brother were exhausted and very hungry. These slices of bread with prawn was like a big award for us for being gentle, not disturbing my mom! This was the best snack that I had ever tried!

                 My childhood's street snack! 

Sài gòn after midnight

Sài gòn after midnight is another world!
Different. No traffic. No horn. No rush people. No daytime summer heat!
Sài gòn midnight is quiet, cooler and full of unexpected surprises.
Some touching stories. Some sinful way of life!
But never without the street food. The sidewalk suddenly becomes a huge eatery in the open air!

Joining a group of friends for a night out, I discover Sài gòn on the other side!
From a dinner at the family restaurant named "Grandma" that will be closed in 2 week time, to a super popular foot massage right in the heart of Sài gòn, then a late dessert at the ice-cream place next to the Temple Club where the two most powerful Hollywood stars used to dine and finally an after-midnight meal on the sidewalk!

           A midnight eatery on the sidewalk on Nguyễn Tri Phương street 

At the last stop of our night out on the sidewalk, I didn't check the menu, as it has been arranged in advance to welcome an old friend, a nightcrawler from Melbourne!
But it seems that they have a full menu! From the starter or as we say in Vietnamese "ăn chơi" (literally eat as play!) to the big main course with seafood!
Ok, our starter is the exotic unborn quail!

The quail egg is getting more and more popular, esp. the embryo quail egg. I don't know the popular word "balut" includes the quail egg or not? Anyway, the taste is similar to embryo duck egg (or balut) but it's so small, so it would be a good start for those who is scared of balut, in order to overcome the phobia about eating an embryo!  

           A tiny embryo quail egg! 

Signature dish from Mekong Delta!

I'm not a fan of bizarre food! But I'm always curious to see how people eat it!
As a habit, I always stop for at least few minutes next to any street vendor of all kinds of edible insects in Bangkok! Just to look!
It happened that we even made a bet with friends, who can eat scorpion, grasshopper, cockroach...will get some prizes! I did try a deep fried scorpion.

The feeling of a tasteless, disgusting thing in mouth, and especially, when the scorpion's legs stuck between the teeth and I could feel it with my tongue! I never forget!

Last week on the way back from Sóc Trăng, we decided to stop by in Cần Thơ for a quick dinner.
But it was not quick at all when we ordered a roasted vole (chuột đồng)!
Exactly, a vole roasted in clay container (chuột đồng quay lu) and it took almost one hour to roast it!

I've heard about this speciality long ago. It's a traditional and signature dish from Mekong Delta, but not many people have a chance to taste it in Sài gòn! I hope "vole" is a right word to describe the creature that we are going to have for dinner! Otherwise "mouse" or "rat" can spoil any great appetite!

Hope you will join us, like it or not.

Beef noodles in Huế style (bún bò Huế)

This is not a widely famous beef noodles - Phở bò!
This is a beef noodles from Huế - our former imperial capital! Totally different from Phở.
It's not only bún bò Huế, it's a symbolic living style from that feudal central land!

Many stories about this dish in Huế.

About how to combine the two most important meats: beef and pork, symbolizing the unique harmony as expressed in "bò nấu thì teo, heo nấu thì nở"(literally means cooked beef is shrinking, cooked pork is stretching!) or about the legendary Bà Bún (Mme Bún) who was the founder of the village named Vân Cù, near to Hương river, where the best rice noodles has been produced!
That was a part of the past!
 

           Beef noodles in Huế style 

If we compare bún bò Huế to many other dishes originated either from North or Central, bún bò Huế could be one of the first dishes appeared in Sài gòn since long! I don't know when, but should be long long ago, along with the migration waves from Central to South in early 50s of the last century!

Again just my guess!

              Beef based soup but always served with pork knuckle or slices of beef shank (bò bắp)  

Difficult to make a judgment where in Sài gòn serve the best bún bò Huế!
Depends on many things! Beef & pork quality. Soup quality. Noodles quality. Even chili saté quality!
And million people, million taste! Some people may prefer this or that, or it's still a habit. Used to go there! Used to eat here!

Rice noodles in fermented fish soup (bún mắm)

Rice noodles (or rice vermicelli) in fermented fish soup. Bún mắm.
Speciality from Mekong Delta. Originally from Cambodia!

Preparing soup for rice noodles, we traditionally need either chicken or pork, sometime crabs or  prawn...but for bún mắm we need fermented fish (mắm cá)! And not only one! At least two kind of fermented fish!
To be honest I'm not a big fan of mắm! But I have to say it's very tasty! Irresistible!

             Bowl of rice noodles with fermented fish soup (bún mắm)

Tasty thanks to fermented fish! Deep sweet, rich, spicy, strong flavor!

Fermented fish is an unique thing in our food culture!
In my previous post about a day trip to Can Tho, I did mention about this delicacy!
National taste, national pride!

According to my father's old friend - a widely famous professor and musical researcher, in Asia only Vietnam can create a such variety of mắm, esp. in South. Every province in Mekong Delta has their own recipe, their signature mắm, Châu Đốc seems the most famous!

              Fermented fish (mắm cá linh) 

The preserved process takes at least four months, through different steps and requires major ingredients as salt crystals, palm sugar, powder of stirred rice (thính) and a good terra-cotta container!  

As said, to have a good soup for bún mắm, we need three kinds of fermented fish: fermented snakehead fish (mắm cá lóc), mắm cá linh and mắm cá sặc!
The combination of these three mắm gives soup a deep rich taste, an attractive brown color and an unforgettable flavor!

              Fermented snakehead fish (mắm cá lóc)