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!
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!
We quickly moved to the main course - a savory stir-fried flower crabs with garlic & onion!
Tasty, rich flavor of garlic, a bit salty and the flower crab is excellent!
Full of meat and roe (gạch cua?) we keep confusing what's gạch cua - the crab roe? Eggs? or Brain? It always appears orange and yellow in color, very tasty!
People always say, "never buy crab in the full moon day - no meat no roe! Crabs of no moon day is the best!
The last dish was the grilled prawns. The prawn is well marinated with salt & chili, but it's not really big!
Anyway flavorful and enjoyable!
During our late meal, we have been approached by different people. They tried to sell either fruits, cooked peanut or lottery tickets. We even met some street performers (mostly singers) and according to my nephew - their voice is not bad!
I got two lottery tickets from very old women and a pack of chewing gum from a street singer! Wish them all the best!
But we noticed a street cart with small white boards, selling pirate and poor quality CDs! On two of those boards - we saw a familiar name of our relative - a singer that is still seeking fame in the turbulent showbiz world in Sài gòn!
We finished our supper at nearly 02:00 AM. I wonder we just had an early breakfast or late supper!
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