Monthly Archive for April, 2008

Eating in Nha Trang II

Published by Gastronomer on April 30, 2008 in Com Chien, Nha Trang, Scenes, Seafood and Vietnamese. 8 Comments

We started off day two with complimentary breakfast from our hotel. I ordered a pineapple crepe and a banana smoothie. The crepe was all sorts of bland so I dipped it in The Astronomer’s honey, which made it much better. After we finished breakfast, we headed off on a snorkeling tour!

The Astronomer and I had such an awesome time on our snorkeling tour in Phu Quoc, that we had to sign up for another one in Nha Trang. While I usually dislike tours, I think that snorkeling ones are wonderful because there’s usually lots of interesting people to meet, beautiful sites to see, and good food to be had.

The Astronomer loves being out in the open sea. Just look at him—the boy is deliriously happy. The coral along the islands off the coast of Nha Trang weren’t as colorful as the ones in Phu Quoc, but we still had a great time swimming and floating around. The Vietnamese girls on our tour liked to squeal before getting into the water. What a riot.

After snorkeling, we were served lunch on board. This here is shark with tomatoes. Shark, as you can imagine, is a meaty fish.

The squid with pineapple was my favorite. The squid was much more tender than what we had for dinner the first night.

I ate two plates of tofu with tomatoes by myself. I just love how deep-fried tofu soaks up flavors like a sponge.

I used the fish forcemeat with black peppercorns (cha ca) and a baguette to make a lovely sandwich.

Matt says that the shrimps were damn good, but I was too lazy to take the shells off. Lame, right? Sorry.

I did not try the ramen noodles with vegetables because I was too busy eating tofu and baguettes.

Now this is my kinda dessert. These types of bananas are called chuoi gia, which means old bananas. They taste very similar to the ones the U.S. imports from South America.

After lunch we were treated to live music! This was THE best part of the whole trip. I had an especially good time because they honored my requests and played both “Hotel California” and “My Heart Will Go On.” Eee!

Who has four thumbs and loves cover bands? These guys!

After the concert, the crew busted out the floating bar and handed everyone a bottle of wine. A boy from Australia got super drunk and made out with a British girl. I never thought I would encounter such shenanigans post-college, but I guess we’re never too old to whoop it up!

Good friends sharing a bottle of wine on the open sea.

A slightly tipsy Astronomer swimming back to the boat.

And just in case you wanted to drink what we drank—the wine is from Dalat and made of mulberries. Look for it the next time you’re at Beverages and More.

Once everyone was thoroughly wasted, we had a fruit party! We invited all of our bestest friends—pineapple, watermelon, oranges, dragon fruit, guava and even water apples.

Our last stop before heading home was the Nha Trang aquarium. This unagi looks more scary than delicious.

Shark.

After our day of snorkeling fun, we returned to our hotel and went for a run. Later that evening, we walked around town in search of dinner. “Spaghetti Street” was calling our names, but we passed. We ended up at another seafood emporium because I didn’t do proper research before my trip.

Our first course was a plate of onion rings. These were sliced really thinly and battered lightly. I prefer fatty onion rings with a thick panko crust like the ones at Buddakan.

Our main course was a deliciously prepared fish with woodear mushrooms and glass noodles. Mmm boy.

I ate the fish straight up, but The Astronomer chose to wrap it properly with rice paper, green mangoes, cucumbers, herbs and lettuce.

We closed out the night with some fried rice. It tasted just like my mama’s, minus the Chinese sausage.

Eating in Nha Trang I

Published by Gastronomer on April 29, 2008 in Bun Sua, Ca Kho, Candy, Che, Goi, Markets, Mi Xao / Hu Tieu Xao, Nha Trang, Nuoc Mia, Scenes, Seafood, Vietnamese and Xoi. 12 Comments

After suffering through his first Boston winter, we treated our friend Matt to a trip to Nha Trang during his week-long stay in Vietnam. The goal of the trip was to nosh, relax and “get brown.”

By the way, Nha Trang will be the site of this year’s Miss Universe Pageant and the picture above is a billboard counting down the number of days until The Donald comes to town.

Unlike the Jersey Shore, the beaches in Nha Trang are peaceful and empty. The funny thing about Nha Trang is that the waves roll on to the shore sideways. The Astronomer and I took a dip as soon as we arrived, while Matt soaked up some rays because he’s not much of a dipper.

After beach time, we walked toward Nha Trang’s major market. On the way, I bought 100 grams of xi muoi Thai. I usually avoid xi muoi because it is oftentimes too lip-puckeringly sour, but this version was just right—salty and sweet. I also bought 100 grams of me Thai because I am addicted to sugar coated tamarind candies.

We arrived at the market in the middle of the afternoon, which wasn’t the smartest because it was pretty much deserted and the vendors were napping.

Our first stop at the market was at an alfresco joint serving up bun sua—rice vermicelli noodles with jellyfish. It turns out that jellyfish isn’t all that exciting. I would say that it’s definitely more texturally interesting than it is flavorful. The broth was clear and mild and the cha and tomatoes came through where the jellyfish lacked.

Since Matt had never tried nuoc mia (sugarcane juice) we ordered him a tall glass.

The boy dug it!

Next we moved on to a che vendor. So many choices, so little time…

The Astronomer and Matt tried the che bap, which was warm and good, but a bit too sweet.

I had the che troi nuoc because it’s one of my favorites. Everything was exactly on point, down to the sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. The mung bean paste inside the tapioca balls was just the right among of salty to contrast with the overall sweetness. Mmm!

As we enjoyed our che, Matt spotted a bunch of live roosters hung from a motorbike. They were surprisingly quiet as a result of all the blood rushing to their heads. Poor guys.

Xoi! I seriously can’t pass a xoi vendor without buying some and dropped 3,000 VND on a small bag of xoi gac. The sticky rice was more oily than usual and a really vibrant orange.

While I munched on my newly acquired xoi, The Astronomer and Matt downed two bowls of mediocre mi quang—too much broth and too little zing.

The Astronomer and Matt have ridiculous metabolisms and are thus able to munch on cookies all day and still have killer abs. I, on the other hand, must participate in street aerobics and run daily to maintain my physique.

After the market, we walked to see the Cham towers. This is a view of the bridges of Nha Trang from the towers.

And here is an actual Cham tower. I don’t mean to be a traitor to my people, but Angkor Wat was heaps more impressive.

For our first dinner in the city, we dropped in at a large seafood emporium. The food wasn’t great, but we left stuffed and satisfied enough. Our first course was a jellyfish salad served with rice crackers.

Here’s a closeup of the goods. I think I ate enough jellyfish for a lifetime in Nha Trang.

Our second course was sweet and sour squid. The seasonings were meh and the squid was not Phu Quoc-tender. On a postive note, the pineapple chunks were tasty!

Our penultimate course was braised catfish in a claypot. This dish was the standout of the evening and different from the ca kho I’ve eaten in Saigon due to the generous employment of ginger.

And lastly, stir-fried noodles with seafood. Ho hum seafood makes for a ho hum noodle dish. However, a dousing of caramelized sauce from the ca kho turned things around.

Sweet Tofu with a Twist

Published by Gastronomer on April 28, 2008 in Che, Dessert, Saigon and Vietnamese. 3 Comments

Since I’ve been in Saigon I’ve had at least two dozen bowls of che dau hu—silken tofu with a spicy and sweet ginger syrup—but I only first encountered it paired with tapioca balls last week. The chewy orbs of tapioca were dunked in with the warm ginger syrup and spooned atop the tofu to order. The jury is still out as to whether tapioca balls add or detract from the overall dish, but I will say that it was an amusing surprise.

Cơm Tấm Mộc – Ho Chi Minh City

Published by Gastronomer on April 25, 2008 in Chain / Multiple Locations, Com Tam, Restaurant Review, Saigon, Thit Kho and Vietnamese. 7 Comments

April 9, 2008
Cuisine: Vietnamese

85 Ly Tu Trong Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: 8248561
Website: none

–

Com tam thit kho (30,000 VND)

Com tam suon bi (25,000 VND)

Com tam bi cha (22,000 VND)

–

Air-con street food is a popular trend sweeping through the Saigon dining scene. The formula for this genre of eateries is pretty straightforward—ditch the dirty, embrace the modern, halve the portions and double the price.

Plastic stools are replaced by solid furniture, wall calendars of Hong Kong movie stars are traded in for eye-catching color schemes, and inattentive waiters are given lessons in service and hospitality.

Pho 24 is the current leader of the air-con street food movement with hundreds of locations throughout the country. Although not nearly as prevalent, Cơm Tấm Mộc is one of the powerhouses in the realm of broken rice. The decor features light-colored wood furnishings and minimalist decor.

The Astronomer, Matt and I decided to try fancy broken rice after Plan A for lunch fell through. I ordered the com tam bi cha (broken rice with shredded pork and pork skin with a slice of pork loaf), which was high-quality, but wimpy in the size department. Whereas most Vietnamese establishments serve a lot of rice and a little meat, Cơm Tấm Mộc piles on the meat and skimps on the rice. This is perfect for those still on the Atkins Diet, but a growing girl demands more rice.

On a sunny note, the pork loaf was the best I’ve had in the city—the yolk-y topping was fresh and the pork actually tasted like pork. Fancy that. Sadly, I could not get my com tam with a fried egg on top.

The Astronomer was also quite pleased with his com tam suon bi (broken rice with shredded pork and pork skin with slab of barbecued pork), but had to order an extra portion of rice (com them – 4,000 VND) to round out his meal. The hunk of grilled meat was well-seasoned, but truly no better than broken rice sold street-side.

Matt’s com tam thit kho (braised pork bits) was damn good, but missing some hardboiled egg action. Thit kho without eggs is like Lucky Charms without marshmallows, you know what I mean?

If Cơm Tấm Mộc started offering more eggs (fried and hardboiled) and increased their rice portions, I’d be all over it like white on rice.

Black Cat – Ho Chi Minh City

Published by Gastronomer on April 24, 2008 in Breakfast / Brunch, Restaurant Review and Saigon. 12 Comments

April 6, 2008
Cuisine: Breakfast

13 Phan Van Dat Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: 08 829 2055
Website: none
–

Mango (32,000 VND) and soursop smoothies

French Connection – homemade cinnamon swirl bread dipped in egg and fried in butter served with maple syrup with homemade sausage and apples (99,000 VND)

Toast with blackberry jam

Hello Kitty – strawberry crepes filled with passion fruit cream and topped with toasted almonds and whipped cream (54,000 VND)

Whole grain bagel with “the works” (65,000 VND)

–

A half-marathon, 3K, 7K and 10K road race was organized earlier this month as part of French Cultural Week. Neither The Astronomer nor I were up for the half-marathon, so we both signed up for the 10K. The course, which weaved in and out of traffic, took us through downtown Saigon and along the riverfront. The Astronomer finished in the low 40s, while I finished in the low 50s. Our friend Matt who was visiting from Boston finished somewhere in between, and our Canadian friend Nina manhandled the 7K. Unlike the BBGV road race we participated in last September, this event attracted a good number of elite Vietnamese athletes. These boys and girls looked scrawny, ran barefoot and totally kicked my ass.

After pounding the pavement in the Saigon heat, The Astronomer, Matt and I wanted to carbo-load, and a hot Viet-sized bowl of noodles wasn’t going to cut it. We headed to Black Cat, which was voted one of the “Top 10 Places in the World You Must Eat” by CNN.com in 2006 and is home to the city’s largest cheeseburger.

Although indulging in a mammoth burger before noon was awfully tempting, all three of us stuck to the breakfast selections. The Astronomer had the French Connection brunch prix fixe that included a soursop smoothie, cinnamon French toast with sausage and apples, and buttered toast with blackberry jam. Although I prefer French toast made with thick slices of brioche and paired with real maple syrup, this version was definitely above average for lacking both elements. The sausage was well-seasoned and texturally unique due to its lack of casing, but the toast was a little too toasty for The Astronomer.

Matt ordered a mango smoothie and strawberry crepes with passion fruit cream; he shared a bite with me, which was super pleasant. It’s hard to go wrong with dessert for breakfast.

I ordered a toasted whole-grain bagel with “the works”—smoked salmon, lettuce, tomato and cream cheese. The bagel sandwich lost major points due to the dangerously skewed ratio of cream cheese to lox. Whenever I drop major dong for a sandwich that tastes no better than a 5,000 VND banh mi, I get mighty depressed. Oh, well.

Breakfast was fun, but forgettable. I will return to eat the famed burger because I like a good challenge and I know that gas•tron•o•my readers will appreciate another post about western food.