The next country I was fortunate to visit is Vietnam. Another relative, my Tita Lani has been residing here for almost eight years now. With my stay here for over a month, I have been to too many places and ate a lot of food that I never tasted before in my life. I was not actually expecting too much from this trip, but as I wrote down my experiences on my journal, most of it sums up to a lot of food trips and pigging out. This is a late discovery for me. Had I known that it will be important for a blog, I should have taken lots of pictures on my food trips.
Anyway, Vietnam is surrounded with different international cuisines. They have a whole street flocked with Japanese restaurants, they also have street for Koreans. On several places in the city are different Chinese, Italian, French and of course, Vietnamese restaurants. I was lucky enough to try some of these cuisines which I will share in this blog entry.
1. a certain Chinese restaurant
As I’ve said, it wasn’t in my agenda to do a food blog on my trip to Vietnam that’s why I am uncertain on some of the places I’ve been to. We ate here on my first night in Vietnam. The best on the menu? Their mango and scallops salad and their soft-shell crabs. I couldn’t resist the salad. It was supposed to be an appetizer, but I got a huge portion of it. The crabs are so cute! Literally, they are soft shelled and you can really eat the whole thing up.
hihi..just the left overs.
2. Highlands Coffee
Vietnam does not have Starbucks. How are the people living with that? They have Highlands Coffee. This is their answer to that question. Highlands is a home grown company that has the concept of both Seattle’s Best and Starbucks combined. They just don’t serve coffee and pastries, they also serve rice dishes and sandwiches, noodles and a lot more. I love the rice dish Nasi Goreng. It’s a complete and heavy meal that’s best downed with Tropical Passion Tea.
just got this online..it kinda looks like this..
iced coffee and brownie.
3. Alfresco’s
I actually tried Alfresco’s via delivery. First time callers will be given their own card with their number. Upon your next call, all you have to do is say your delivery number and there will be no need to ask for your particulars which will be very difficult if it was me. Using my tita’s delivery card, I ordered Pygmy Ribs and Carbonara. The Pygmy Ribs was a delight! It is served with a side veggie salad and potato wedges. The potato was really yummy. It was an out of this world experience. On another day, I ordered a Creamy Chicken and Corn soup and a Steak and Mushroom pasta. Memories of those dishes make me wanna go back to Vietnam and call them right away.
pygmy ribs and carbonara
4. Pho24
Pho is one of the traditional Vietnamese cuisines that you should try. Chia Gio is their version of our famed lumpiang shanghai. The difference is that the chia gio contains less meat and has rice noodles along with the filling. That makes the little serving a heavy appetizer. As for the Pho, it tastes so good! But beware, there are side veggies and stuff that will also be served. I suggest that you stay away from the green leaves if you’re like me. Someone who doesn’t eat something that doesn’t appeal to my nose. But what got me hooked up with Pho24 is their Café Sau da. This iced coffee is served in a glass full of ice and condensed milk at the bottom of the glass. Perfect. Sinfully perfect.
pho and chia gio
cafe sau da!
5. Au Parc
This is a place that has French and Mediterranean feel in all its corners. One of tita’s friends brought me here. While sitting in their colorful chairs, we ate several toasted breads and bagels, carrot and zucchini sticks along with two different dips that I don’t remember.(tee-hee!) I remember eating a lamb wrap with yogurt and lime sauce. If ever I’m going back in Vietnam, I’ll go back here as well. It’s a nice place to bond with friends.
au parc heaven!
6. Yogen Fruz
I’m not crazy about frozen yogurt. But when Tita Ana and Tita Ralph brought me here, I instantly became a fan!
melon blended yogurt with almond shavings..heaven..
7. Bud’s
I’ve been here because I was looking for my comfort food which is Cream of Mushroom Soup. Tita told me that their Cramy Clam Chowder in a bread might take my blues away, and yes it did! Went back in this place twice and had the same food. It was beyond comfort.
8. Chef Mamma’s
This restaurant fuses the Italian and Vietnamese cuisine as the owners were. What I love about this place is their mango shake. I can probably say that it is so far the best mango shake I’ve ever had. Their food isn’t bad either.
9. Little Manila
Now this has got to be the only Filipino restaurant that I tried in Vietnam. Of course, sinigang na baboy will always be on the list. The cook and the staff are Filipinos that’s why it wasn’t so hard to order the food like we usually do. The sisig was also notable.
10. Hanayuki
I am not a fan of Japanese foods, that’s why I was hesitant to eat here at first. But then, Japanese food isn’t just about the raw and uncooked meals, hence my order, Pork Curry Rice. And yeah, I’m really not a fan of Japanese foods. Haha! J
11. Spice Restaurant
This is a Thai restaurant. And when you speak of Thai, the number one food will always be Tom Yum. This food is really spicy. It’s spicier that Mia’s Korean soup. The button mushrooms and the shrimps are flooded with red-hot soup that really got me heating up to grab my drink. Luckily, I ordered a fresh coconut juice. This cute little thing downs the spice away and leaves a sweet after taste in my mouth. Perfect.
tom yummmmm!
fresh buko juice
Other notables:
- Ban Mhi is the famous Vietnamese breakfast along with Café Sau da. It is basically a sandwich made from a small baguette that has their own ham, liver spread, cheese, pickled veggies and sometimes, chilies. I love this sandwich, which you can buy in almost every corner and every street of Ho chi Minh City. They usually sell it wrapped in a newspaper or any blank paper they’ve got.
it kinda looks like this. got this online.
- O’star Potato Chips, Seaweed flavor. This chips tastes sweet and salty. It’s not your average potato chip that you can buy here in the Philippines. I would definitely ask Mia to buy me some when she gets there.
- Gulaman in a can. Seriously. They have this beverage in the market. Surprisingly, it actually tastes good. Goes well with the potato chips. Haha!
- KFC’s egg tarts are so good I can eat a box in one sitting. The thing is, they’re too greasy and messy to eat. So that leaves me with just two tarts in one sitting.:)
KFC egg tarts
The next time I’ll be in Vietnam again (which may be sooner), I will definitely take an effort to document everything that has to go in my mouth and in my tummy. I miss Vietnam. I will be back, I promise!
xinh chao!
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