Burrito - Mexican food to go in Saigon

Mexican food ? I'm not sure how many people living in Saigon know about Mexican food, but if you ask them about "Simply Maria", I'm sure many of them still remember the record holding 150 episodes TV series from Mexico, back to early 1990s. That was the first time on Vietnam TV we watched a such long "telenovela"! Everyone seemed happy, impatient to wait for the next episode, to live together with Maria, a main heroine, to cheer her up. And that also marked the beginning of the invasion of the Korean TV melodrama on Vietnam television since '90s.

Ok, we are here not about TV drama, but my first burrito in Saigon. Before heading to this tiny burrito 2 go shop, my friend and I, we were thinking about what to eat in a raining Saturday - Japanese pizza in Lê Thánh Tôn ? or Vietnamese pancake in Đinh Công Tráng ? Suddenly my friend drove me to this El Gato Negro, The Black Cat. 

               My first burrito filled with ground beef, spanish rice, red beans, veggies...

Taipei - February's rain & my street food discovery

Taiwan is one of a few countries in Asia where I've been only once. I wish to come back there but not in February! My first trip to Taiwan was in that month, a few days after Lunar New Year. And it was raining all the times during my stay. From the day I arrived, the rain accompanied me until my very last day.
After the train from the airport to Taipei, how long I had to wait at the entrance of the metro station, without umbrella or raincoat, I was standing there nearly half an hour, tried to figure out what I should do as the rain seemed never stop! Then I had no choice to carry my luggage along the street in the rain to look for my hotel. There was a very kind lady who asked me to join under her umbrella while across a boulevard. I was not lucky with the weather but leave it, the rain aside, my time in Taipei was full of many surprises and very nice discoveries.

                A fruit stall in Ximending - a trendy shopping area in downtown of Taipei, esp. for the youth

Big noodles with crab at Nguyễn Thông

Big noodles or I always call it "Vietnamese udon" with crab or bánh canh cua at Nguyễn Thông (some people say Kỳ Đồng, as the eatery located at the join of these two streets) - very popular. Nowadays as trend, the shop is named after the owner - Bánh canh cua Bà Dạng (Mme Dạng's udon with crab)!

                  Udon with crab or bánh canh cua Bà Dạng at Nguyễn Thông.

The traditional cake for Đoan Ngọ festival

I don't know much about this tradition and the cake that I always see during this period of the year: bánh ú tro. When I was a kid, I did try it, I didn't like it at all due to the specific strong smell, without any filling, no taste, just a piece of sticky cake in pyramid shape, I had to dip into sugar otherwise it was impossible to chew a tasteless, stinky cake.

         Bánh ú tro, a pyramid sticky rice cake filled with green mung bean for the 5th of May festival (by Lunar calendar)

Living in the countryside

Living in the countryside could be a dream for many people who lead a stressful life in a big city. I'm definitely one of them, since my childhood I loved to experience a life in the farm, where they have a huge chicken's cage, so I can just walk in and pick up the eggs in the morning for my sunny side up,  a few dairy cows in a green hill, a valley with a crystal clear stream flowing through it, a beautiful morning with blue sky, fresh air and smell of wet grass with dew...

                A part of the farm still under construction, but the view to the lake is terrific...

Beef noodles in a northern style in Saigon - Phở Phú Gia

When I start this blog year ago, my first review was about our famous beef noodles, I did mention that in Saigon we can taste different "phở flavours": southern, northern, chinatown (!), even some "overseas" (i.e phở prepared by "overseas" Vietnamese chef!). People may prefer this one to another, or some simply can't stand certain flavour, I have friends who really can't eat beef noodles in a northern style. What's is the difference here? - The soup? The noodles? The taste? Hard to say! You should experience yourself! Last week I've been to "Phở Phú Gia" - one of favourite spots for beef noodles in a northern style in Saigon.

               A bowl of beef noodles at Phở Phú Gia, a lot of green onion!