On my first trip to Vietnam to do taping of our TV show, I had visa problems. Work was delayed by almost three days, so upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, all I did was catch up with work and eating.
It wasn’t such a bad experience though. I hardly had time to go around but still had a great time sampling Vietnamese cuisine.
I told our badminton group about my experience, and pretty soon, we were planning a food trip to Vietnam—all 34 of us.
The first day was at Pho Bac on Pasteur street. Its specialty is pho or noodle soup. I got the combination of raw beef with beef balls. The broth was piping hot and when combined with the thinly sliced raw beef, it cooked the meat perfectly. The beef balls were firm, a bit bouncy and very tasty. The broth was almost clear but rich; underneath were freshly made rice noodles.
I was handed a plateful of fresh green vegetables, and another with bean sprouts. I loaded a lot of the veggies on the pho and slowly submerged them to lightly cook and flavor the broth. The result was a healthy, delicious combination of this most popular Vietnamese breakfast. Saraaap!
I twirled some noodles on my chopsticks, drizzled hot sauce, then some hoisin sauce over it, took a bite, followed by a spoonful of the hot broth. There was a burst of flavors, textures and the ultimate result? Heaven!
That afternoon, we were taken to a place that served banh mi, roast duck, lechon kawali and Vietnamese siopao. It was good, but nothing I would crave in the future. I wasn’t specific about the banh mi place I went to, so we were brought to the wrong place. The only thing I liked there was the siopao which looked like the dough was made with rice flour and stuffed with fantastic-tasting bola bola. Yum!
Tiny stall
Later my sights were set on Hong Hoa Banh Mi on 62 Nguyen Van Trang, a tiny stall with makeshift tables and chairs. The place bakes its own bread, and many banh mi places in Ho Chi Minh buy from there.
I got the mixed meat version; it was simply outstanding. The kitchen staff got the light but crunchy bread, sliced it and wiped mayonnaise, put in slices of Vietnamese ham, bacon, meat loaf, wiped a thick spread of paté or liver spread, put pickled shredded carrots and radish, flaked pork, cucumber, wansoy and sprinkled it with Maggi seasoning.
Every bite meant crumbs will be all over you. The bread was crunchy outside, light and soft inside. The experience was quite out of this world.
Foodie friends Ricky, Myrna, Gerard, Lalaine, Sandra and Sharon were all raring to return and bring some back to Manila. I took eight pieces home and stored them in my freezer. The bread sagged, but when toasted a bit, it gave you almost the same experience.
For dinner, we went to Co Ba Xu Quang on 144 Hai Ba Trung St. This is a fine-dining Vietnamese restaurant with exceptional, unique food. We all immensely enjoyed the meal.
I ordered a seafood salad which is mixed and placed on top of kropeck (prawn crackers). Delicious!
We also had fried tofu with peanut sauce, spare ribs, a platter of grilled chicken, fried rice, and warm black sesame soup for dessert.
Everything was fantastic. This is a must-visit place. I shall return.
The following days were spent shopping, going on night market tours, a Mekong River day tour, and lunching at the Ben Thanh Market.
We feasted on ground shrimp on sugar cane, dry rice noodles with barbecue pork with a sweet lime dressing, pork barbecue, banh mi and delicious, refreshing halo halo.
You can eat a lot of meat without the guilt because of all the veggies and leaves that go with it. What a healthy cuisine!
This Vietnam experience is one for the books and I will return to these places.
Filipinos with the time and money should have a Vietnamese food tour soon. Tara!
Happy eating!
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