2007 August Archive at gas•tron•o•my

Archive for August, 2007 Page 5 of 8

Vegetation Profile: Mangosteen

Published

on August 13, 2007

. 10 Comments

My brother sent me an interesting piece from the New York Times the other day about Mangosteens:

Don’t be surprised if you see a round purple fruit in a locked jewel case at the grocery. Small shipments of fresh mangosteen, a Southeast Asian fruit legendary for its exquisite flavor but long unavailable legally on the United States mainland, started coming in last week from Puerto Rico.

…

Mitchell Spitz, the owner of the Orchard, a high-end produce store in Brooklyn, said he paid $30 a pound wholesale and was selling the fruit for $45 a pound (about $10 each).

Mangosteens are seriously addictive, but at ten dollars a piece? I think I’ll stick to apples, oranges, and the mundane when I return to the states. Even though mangosteens are priced a little higher than other fruits in Saigon, their prices still trail far behind those in the US. I bought mangosteens the other weekend at a produce stand in District 4 for 25,000 VND per kilogram, which roughly equates to 75¢ per pound. ¡Que Ganga!

Continue reading ‘Vegetation Profile: Mangosteen’

Xinh Xinh

Published

Gastronomer

on August 10, 2007

in Bun Cha, Com Tam, Goi Cuon, Restaurant Review, Saigon and Vietnamese

. 1 Comment

August 1, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese

65 Tu Xuong Street
Ward 7 District 3

Phone: 9321099
Website: none

–

Goi Cuong - summer rolls filled with shrimp, pork, rice vermicelli, basil, mint and a hoison dipping sauce (15,000 VND)

Com Tam Bi - thinly shredded pork and thinly shredded pork skin served over broken rice with fish sauce (12,000 VND)

Bun Cha - charcoal broiled pork with rice vermicelli (20,000 VND)

–

Xinh Xinh is one of a handful of restaurants neighboring our office on Tu Xuong Street. Our colleague Binh recommended that we try the eatery for lunch on our first day of work.

Unlike the majority of restaurants in Saigon, Xinh Xinh has an extensive menu spanning 10+ pages. Besides being 9 pages too long, the other strange thing about the menu was the lack of prices on certain items. This sort of situation sometimes occurs in American restaurants on dishes affected by market forces, such as lobster and is generally denoted “M.P.” However, I don’t think that was the case here. Perhaps after a few more visits I’ll figure out their pricing scheme.

The Astronomer and I both ordered from the section of the menu without prices and hoped for the best. He had the com tam bi, while I had bun cha. Both items were superbly prepared and actually priced lower than the other items on the menu. The pork in the bun cha was seasoned well with nouc mam, sugar, salt, and other spices. Combined with the cool noodles, herbs (mint, lemongrass, basil), and nouc mam vinaigrette, the dish really hit the spot.

The Astronomer enjoyed his com tam bi as well, but as usual was left unsatisfied due to his enormous appetite. To supplement our entrees and to avoid leaving hungry, we ordered three spring rolls. The goi cuon was extremely fresh and contained lots of little shrimps, which I appreciated because the goi cuon in the states always contain wimpy shrimps sectioned in half. Xinh Xinh’s spring rolls are definitely the best ones we’ve had in Saigon thus far.

Cơm Bình Dân - Workers’ Lunch

Published

Gastronomer

on August 9, 2007

in Canh, Chicken, Com Binh Dan, Mam Chung, Saigon, Street Food, Thit Kho and Vietnamese

. 0 Comments

With the help of Rad and his wife, The Astronomer and I scored a spacious three-bedroom/two-bathroom apartment on the 9th floor of a high-rise building in District 4 soon after we arrived in Saigon. Although its a bit far from the touristy-action of District 1, we’re settling in nicely and discovering lots to like about the place everyday.

We moved into our new space on our third day in Saigon. After spending the morning unpacking, we headed out to explore our ‘hood and to find some grub in the afternoon. Clueless about our new surroundings, we stumbled into a small, residential neighborhood with narrow streets. With the assistance of a woman selling che (a genre of Vietnamese desserts) on the street, we found a home selling Com Binh Dan—cheap eats for laborers/workers. The woman running the joint had a kind face and her food looked pretty darn good, so The Astronomer and I decided go for it.

Com Binh Dan almost always consists of big plate of rice, some sort of boiled or pickled vegetable, canh (soup), and a selection of meat dishes. From the extensive choices available, I chose the thit kho (braised pork with eggs), dau hu kho (braised tofu), and mam (fermented fish and pork). I opted not to have any canh. The rice was a little dry, but all the dishes tasted just like grandma’s cooking. Mmm!

The Astronomer chose a piece of curry chicken, fried chicken, and dau hu kho. He didn’t like the pickled mustard greens and bean sprouts that came with his plate, so he passed them on to me. The curry chicken was his favorite, while the fried chicken was only so-so.

The Astronomer and I ate our lunches at the woman’s house on low plastic chairs and a slightly taller table. We shelled out 17,000 VND ($1.06) for our meal. We returned a few days later for lunch, but this time we took our meal to go, which was a much better choice.

–

After such a pleasant experience with Com Binh Dan in our neighborhood, we decided to try a place near our office located off of Ba Tháng Hai street in District 10. I once again had thit kho, while The Astronomer had dau hu xa (tofu with lemongrass). We both had small bowls of canh. The food here was not nearly as flavorful as in our neighborhood and the ratio of rice to meat was fit for a famine. What really icked me out was the skinny cat sitting underneath our table; this was easily the worst meal we’ve had since our arrival. The cost of this meal was 16,000 VND ($1).

The workers are hungry, not desperate.