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. In celebration of food and dining experiences . |
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Exploring and discovering new restaurants Dining and chilling out with my loved ones Baking and cooking over the weekends Sharing my love for food with others
Vanilla bean pods (one can never have enough) Valrhona Cocoa powder Valrhona chocolate Macarons from Laduree and Pierre Herme Madelines mold Pretty cake stands (I only have one and only one) YUZU from Japan! (They taste great in almost anything) A food tour to Italy and France Opportunity to study at Le Cordon Bleu |
Friday, May 16, 2008 To Ho Chi Minh and Back  The four days I had in Ho Chi Minh was simply amazing. The bustling traffic and its seamless honking characterized this city. The almost-Cantonese songlike chatter was seemingly familiar yet foreign to us both. On our trip, we were heartened to meet with Vietnamese who helped us understand their city better. The food in Vietnam indicative of its mesh-mash influence from other cultures- from the French colonials and to the Chinese influence dated centuries back. For one, I observed that the Vietnamese love their sauces which is usually a blend of sour and spice. They also love their vegetables which comes as a part of their dish. Most amazingly, they are a coffee nation, just like Vienna in the West. Our first meal was breakfast at Café L’Opera (Centro) just opposite the Municipal Theatre in the City Center. We both ordered a coffee frappicino which was perfect in the sweltering heat. That was our first-taste of coffee in Vietnam. Though the coffee connoisseurs would condemn frappicinos as being real coffee, this one wasn’t the watered-down version that we were so used to in Singapore. I ordered the Irish cream frap while Grace had the hazelnut frap; both fraps were infused with a strong aroma of coffee.  Quan An Ngon- Our first taste of Vietnam Our first taste of Vietnamese food was at Quan an Ngon, a stone’s throw away from the Reunification Palace. This restaurant was housed in a colonial house with brightly yellow painted walls with wooden bench-like tables and chairs. We waited for about 10-15minutes for a table as it was packed with locals and expats. While waiting for our table, I was getting really excited about trying the food because the food on the tables look great and smelt even better! Once we sat down, we were flipping furiously at the menu which seemed foreign to us even though t here was English description. They had a whole page just on rice roll dishes! In the end, we settled for pho tai nam ( pho with beef slices), Goi Cuon (rice rolls with shrimp & pork) and Canh Ga Tam Bot Chien Sot Ca (Battered chicken wings with sweet & sour sauce). The pho was really good! The broth was infused with lots of spices like star anise, cardamon. The rolls were made from the thin, slightly translucent rice paper and the filling was mint (their favourite), rice vermicelli, shrimp and pork). It was served with a slightly spicy peanut sweet sauce. I realized that I don’t quite fancy these rice rolls. The mint overpowers the taste of the shrimp and the pork so I cant quite taste it besides its texture. The battered chickens were fabulous. The batter was really unique- not the usual flour and egg, or breadcrumbs batter. It was lighter the tempura batter and on top of that, the chicken was really well-marinated. This dish made me an instant fan of chicken wings!  Rice rolls with shrimp and pork  Battered chicken wings with sweet and sour sauce After lunch, we took a long walking tour and visited the War Remnant Museum which left a somber tone to our trip as we were taken back to the Vietnam war period and took in the atrocities that happened as well as the cruelty and pain inflicted on the civilians. After a entire day of walking in the hot and humid air of Vietnam, we were feeling sticky and grossed out. After showering, we headed out to eat the famous Pho-24 near our hostel. Pho-24 is a chain of casual dining restaurants in Vietnam. It is voted as one of the best phos in Vietnam so I thought we had to try it for sure. I’m gald we did. We ordered a set meal each which consisted of a bowl of beef pho, a plate of deep-fried spring rolls and a drink. The pho was even better than the one that we had in the morning. The broth was so sweet and fragrant at the same time. This stock is made with 24 ingredients and boiled for 24 hours- which explains why the shop is named Pho-24. Never thought that soup could taste so good using all the seemingly simple spices and condiments. The beef slices were still slightly rare which makes it better though there are only a few slices of them.. The spring rolls were much better than I thought they would be- it was served really hot and crispy and unlike the vegetable ones they have in Singapore, the filling was made with a pork base. After such a good yet simple dinner, we agreed to come back again for the pho.  Beef pho at Pho 24  Deep-fried spring rolls We headed to the Mekong Delta on our second day and we were opened to their world of a simple life. What kept me fascinated was observation how the rice paper, a quintessential of Vietnamese cooking, was being made. The rice flour and water is being mixed till it forms a goey white texture. The lady then pours a little of the mixture onto a white cloth which is placed on top of a steamer. The steam cooks the thinly poured rice flour mixture in seconds, after it is cooked, she flips the cooked rice paper onto a round straw disc for it to dry.  Rice rolls left out in the sun to dry  Woman making rice rolls  Sozo and Vietnamese drip coffee On the third day, we started off the morning by having breakfast at Sozo which was a café set up for a much nobler cause- to help the poor children by acting as a training facility to give them some lifeskills. I ordered the Vietnamese drip coffee here. It was really very strong and rich in coffee flavours. It’s almost like drinking a cup of espresso really. Then again, I admit that I don’t know much about coffee.  Le Bordeaux Our best meal during the trip was lunch at a French restaurant, Le Bordeaux, which was located in district 2. Le Bordeaux is situated in a two-storey shop house that stood out like a prick amongst the old and rundown shops. The first level is a bar area with a bookshelf full of French cookbooks. The second floor was the dining area that was decorated with pictures of France and porcelain pieces as well as Vietnamese art.  Bar area of Le Bordeaux We were served with warm crusty freshly-baked bread roll which was the best bread that I had on the trip. The butter was slightly too salty for my liking but that can be easily forgotten once you bite into the bread. Our waiter told us that our starter would be “fish salad.” He didn’t mention that it would be a huge piece of red snapper on a bed of tomato coulis served with a bed of fresh salad with olive oil. The waiter then brought us fleur de sel after serving us such a beautifully presented platter. I was ecstatic- it meant the chef knows what he is doing. The fish fillet was mild to taste but the flavours are being brought out the moment you add a pinch of fleur de sel.Yes, Fleur de sel is best eaten when sprinkled freshely onto already cooked foods. The tomato coulis went perfectly with the fish fillet.  Red snapper salad I was pleasantly surprised by their starter that I hoped that the mains and dessert would have that same tingling effect on me. The main was a piece of seared veal topped with cooked onions (wasn’t cooked long enough to bring out the natural sweet taste of the onion), a piece of buttery potato cake on the side, with cooked vegetables in tomato sauce. The main was decent though it wasn’t as fantastic as the starter. The veal could have been seared further to give the outer skin a smokey but flavourful taste and also I think it could have been rarer. The veal was served with mustard seeds which were a perfect complement to this dish. The potato cake was great- loads of butter, seared top- nicely done. The ratatouille-look alike wasn’t too good. The vegetables like the zucchini was chopped too coarsely and it kind of stuck out queerly as a side to this dish.  Our mains The dessert was profiteroles and I’m glad that they were superbly good. There are just too many restaurants that serve less than decent profiteroles. This one was homemade, not your usual frozen packaged choux pastries. It was light with a crusty top , which I felt should be less crusty so that we can taste the “eggy-ness” of the choux pastry. The ice cream was vanilla bean ice cream though the vanilla taste wasn’t too strong. The chocolate sauce had the right consistency and texture and it was topped with toasted almonds silvers. I wish that they would use Valrhona instead, it would have made all the difference!  Profiteroles with vanilla bean ice cream Last of all, we ended the meal with petit fours and tea. We had orange almond crisp which was so light and yummy when eaten with our tea. They also gave us two dark chocolate pralines with liquer in it. I wish I could go back to Le Bordeaux for a meal as it was such a great experience. Not just with the food, the service staff were really helpful too. They helped us call for a cab (cause it was raining)while we were getting the bill and we did not even request for that!  Petit Fours and tea Our Ho Chi Minh trip ended with a good breakfast with two new friends that we made at Givarl bakery café just opposite the Municipal Theatre. The bread roll here was filled with buttery goodness that rolled off your tongue with such rich yet sinful pleasure. It was a perfect morning of sipping iced coffee (which was really good too!) and chatting.  Breakfast at Givarl With that, we ended our trip with a visit to the Ben Thanh market for shopping. It was quite an experience though I must say that bargaining and haggling isn't quite for me. I'm waiting to head back to Vietnam soon to experience more of their food and to see the sights.  Huge artichokes at Ben Thanh Market *** Café L’Opera (Centro) 11-13 Cong Truong Lam Son, Distric 1, Ho Chi Minh City Just opposite Caravelle Hotel Quan an Ngon 139 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia District 1 Ho Chi Minh City Tel: +08 829 9449 Opening hours: 630am to 11pm Pho- 24 a pho restaurant chain For a list of locations, go to http://www.pho24.com.vn/ The one we went to was at Pham Ngu Lao St which was near our hostel.
Sax N Art (Jazz Bar) 28 Le Loi Street District 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (84.8) 8228472 Le Bordeaux, Ho Chi Minh city 72- D2 Street, Van Thanh Bac, Binh Than District District 2, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: 08 899 9831 Opens:1130-1330 1830-2130 Closes on Sunday and Monday lunch Saigon Saigon (Rooftop bar at Caravelle Hotel) Caravelle Hotel (9th floor) 19 Lam So Square (Off Dong Koi Street)
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