Noodles with pig's tail (hủ tiếu đuôi heo)

I have a gym mate. He's a big eater.
After morning exercise from time to time we go out together.
He skip breakfast so prefer having an early lunch!
He know many places. Good ones.
One day.
Follow his advise I go to one noodles stall not far from our gym on Vo Van Tan street.
The stall is quiet. Only one or two tables occupied.
I order dried noodle with pig's tail!  

Actually it's a mixture between yellow and white noodle.
I confused a bit in the beginning. I thought it's a ox's tail, because I know Korean love ox's tail very much. But in fact it's a pig's tail! It's served in the soup. Dipping sauce is a lightly sweet fish sauce.

Vietnamese udon with flower crab (bánh canh ghẹ)

Udon?
I call jokingly our "bánh canh" udon, because it's thick, it's fat compared to the other our very thin noodles!

Last month on the way to the restaurant where we tried specialities from Phan Thiet, I saw a small
stall, at the corner, next to bridge "Bông" (Cầu Bông - Đinh Tiên Hoàng street), on the right hand side when we just across the bridge.

Open only from 4:00 PM.
Even some customers come early and wait...to be the first ones!
I'm one of them!

We usually love udon with crab (bánh canh cua). It's very popular, but we don't have much udon with flower crab.
Flower crab is thiner than usual crab and its smell, to me, lighter!
Some people prefer flower crab than crab, they say"sweeter taste"!
But to me, flower crab's shell is easier to break or bite while eating! That's better!

Fruity Saigon - Part Two

Sunday morning.
Beautiful morning, with sunshine, but not very hot.
Traffic is not that heavy!
I decided to do a ride on my bicycle around the city.

Following my old itinerary when I still rode my super light racing bike Giant, I start
my journey from Nguyễn Văn Cừ street, then across the bridge to district 7.

But before the bridge, in front of me a row of fruit street hawkers!


Japanese pear (Lê Nhật) 100% from China, for sure!.
These days people seems to dislike more and more products, especially foods, from our big neighbor! "Chinese pear" on board could be difficult for sale?


Thai mandarin (Quýt Thái) mixed probably with Thai species?


Mango "Keo" (Xoài Keo) originated from Cambodia, mostly cultivated in province of Ta Keo, that's why "keo") When ripe, different from our yellow skin mango, "keo" mango's  skin in dark green, mild sweet taste, bright yellow flesh, crisp, good for making salad.

Pear melon (dưa lê - variety of muskmelon!)
I don't know why in our language when we say to someone "buôn dưa lê" (literally means trade in pear melon), it doesn't mean any business here, it means "talkative","chit-chatted"!
Better don't trade in this fruit!
The taste is good if sweet, but if not, I feel like eating cucumber!  

The unborn - the bizarre food!

I keep in my mind to write about this delicacy few months ago, but only now I feel "Right time!"

I wonder why?
Whenever talking about this "unborn", embryo duck egg or balut, most people outside of Vietnam associated it with Philippines!
Probably it's super popular traditional street food in our neighboring country!

But in Vietnam, especially in Sài gòn, it's not a street food. More than that!
It's a food of pavements. It's a food of love & passion and... too much ?
Ok, stop!  

Another bike ride to discover

It's not easy to ride the bike during the hot season in Sài gòn!
And it's more difficult to ride it in the rain!
This year, too hot! Last week, already twice, the storm clouds gathered and the rain poured down to the city! Early!  The raining season usually starts in Jun or July!

Now only mid of March!

As always I depart from my place in Nguyễn Trải street. Turn right. Right again.
I follow Lê Hồng Phong street to district 10!

Remember? I want to catch grilled sweet potato vendors!
Yes, this time I got them in Sư Vạn Hạnh street. Few of them.

I remember when I was kid, with my brother , curiously, we love to grill small potatoes by putting them
in the charcoal oven! I never knew at that time. My childhood game could become a popular street food. Today!

Grill potato right on the street! Not only potatoes but also corn!
Famous grilled corn with greased green onion!

A day trip to "Western Capital" - Tây Đô

I love market! Traditional market! Or we say "Chợ" in Vietnamese.
Wherever I go, I always try to visit the market. Either in Bali, Phuket or Melbourne.

I feel that's the best place to learn people's living style, eating habit!
In the market I love to check what they sell, how they display the merchandise, how people bargain, shout, communicate with each others. Very joyful picture!

Last week I really want to go back to Cần Thơ, to visit the market there.
Not floating market.
Just ordinary market in town. And to get what I saw last year here but failed to try it.
Bánh tét from Cần Thơ!

One of the most traditional glutinous rice cakes for our Lunar New Year celebration!

Different from other areas, bánh tét in Cần Thơ is unique with their color combination! 

The two best things: color and taste! 
Rice in magenta plant leaf color. Yellow green mung bean. 
Orange from salted duck egg and light pink from pork meat!  

But today not about this cake! Not about what's in the market!
It will be another interesting post!
Today I just want to share what we tried in our journey to Western capital - Tây Đô.
Another name of Cần Thơ!

Chinese sweet dessert soup in China town

In Saigon, Chinatown is quite big (that's why we call Chợ Lớn, i.e Big market), its image has been faded away after 1975 due to certain political reasons, but these years, it seems to come back!
I live in Nguyen Trai street, district 5, where considered as the gate to Chợ Lớn or Chinatown!
I have a Singaporean friend, he used to live here before 1975. One day he took me to a small shop right in the center of Chợ Lớn for Chinese sweet dessert soup (chè Tàu).

He said "I used to come to this place long before 1975, when the parents of the current young owner still alive", so I understand I'm now in the shop with more than half century history!

Very simple, typical Chinese style shop in the old times, no decoration, but the sweet here is nice, fine taste with very affordable price!

Stew papaya with rock sugar (đu đủ tiềm), nice taste, not too sweet! 

Chinese sweet soup is very different from ours, you never smell even a drop of our popular coconut sauce. Here in this shop the menu offers quite wide choice, many of them are my favorite!

Stew papaya (đu đủ tiềm) served cold! The taste is simple, light, not very sweet, papaya flavor is not too strong! I like it since I tried it for first time! It's good dessert in the summer heat!

Green mung bean with crystal tapioca pearls, seaweed (đậu xanh bột báng, khổ tai)

Green mung bean with small "crystal tapioca pearls" (đậu xanh bột báng) served hot, I add "crystal" to make it more "luxury"!. It's similar to Vietnamese one but without coconut milk. Purely green mung bean taste and well mixed with seaweed flavor.