Category Archive for ‘Saigon’ at gas•tron•o•my

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Cơm Gà Xối Mỡ - Vietnamese Fried Chicken

Published

on October 6, 2008

in Chicken, Restaurant Review, Saigon and Vietnamese

. 3 Comments

The fast food landscape in Saigon is dominated by KFC, a questionably finger lickin’ good American fried chicken import that can be found on every one of the city’s major arteries. KFC is incredibly popular with Vietnamese youths and the rising middle class because it represents modernity and Western tastes (not to be confused with good taste). The establishments are also spic and span, air conditioned and offer free parking and Wi-Fi—amenities that are becoming increasingly important to locals. While I haven’t eaten at KFC in years, I’m pretty sure the Original Recipe hasn’t changed one bit since the last time I dug into a 10-piece bucket.

District 3’s Su Su restaurant specializes in cơm gà xối mỡ, a type of Vietnamese fried chicken that’s loads better than the Colonel’s, but doesn’t draw the kind of crowds and birthday parties it ought to. I would most definitely rock the big 2-7 at Su Su if I were still in Saigon. What’s unique about Su Su’s chicken is the style in which it is fried. Hot grease is unleashed upon wings (canh) and thighs (dui) to order, and they’re served dangerously piping.

The chicken is prepared al fresco, which causes the air outside the eatery to smell like an intoxicating brew of bubbling fat and seared spices. This unique frying technique yields chicken with crispy skin and moist meat.

The fried chicken is served on a platter with a scoop of com do, a mild tomato-flavored rice, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) and slices of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. There’s also a savory dipping sauce made of drippings, soy sauce and garlic that really brings the chicken and rice up a couple of notches. A minor tweak that would make Su Su even better is the addition of gizzards to their menu. Although gizzards may be a turn off to many, I love their chewy, unyielding texture.

And speaking of awesome fried chicken, my mom makes a killer lollipop fried chicken. Check out her recipe here.

–
Su Su
59 Tu Xuong Street
District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

Pavlova @ Jaspa’s

Published

Gastronomer

on October 2, 2008

in Dessert, Kiwi and Saigon

. 3 Comments

My editor in Saigon, an Aussie named Fiona, broadened my culinary horizons during our brief but wonderful publishing days together. She introduced me to eating passion fruits straight up—awesome, Vegemite—not so awesome, and pavlova—wooooot! Fiona grew up eating pavlovas and was shocked to hear that I had never heard of or sampled one of her country’s classic eats.

Pavlova is a meringue dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer, Ánna Pávlova (Russian: А́нна Па́влова). It is referred to colloquially as ‘pav’. The dessert is crispy on the outside but light and fluffy inside. The dessert is believed to have been created to honor the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand. The exact location of its first creation and the nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two countries for many years, however more serious research into the matter indicates New Zealand as source of today’s pavlova. The dessert is a popular dish and an important part of the national cuisine of both countries, and is frequently eaten during celebratory or holiday meals such as Christmas dinner.

Curious as heck as to what the fuss over pavlovas was all about, The Astronomer, Nina and I headed to Jaspa’s, a Saigon eatery specializing in Aussie fare, to taste our very first pav. The dessert arrived decadently adorned with diced fresh fruits (passion fruit, watermelon, dragon fruit, mangoes), whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and creme anglaise.

The texture of the room temperature pavlova was crisp on the outside and marshmallow-y inside. The tart fruits and creamy accoutrement were easy on the eyes and taste buds. The dessert is sweet, but the fresh fruits reel it in, keeping the pavlova from feeling heavy.

I’m not sure what you’re doing this weekend, but I’m gonna try my hand at making pavlova. Who’s in?

–
Jaspa’s
33 Dong Khoi Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Phone: 08 822 9926

Hương Viên

Published

Gastronomer

on October 1, 2008

in Mon An Chay, Restaurant Review, Saigon, Vegetarian and Vietnamese

. 3 Comments

About one year ago, two things that are loosely related took place. First, my pants stopped fitting. And second, The Astronomer and I discovered Hương Viên (101 Vuon Chuoi Street, District 3, Phone: 8327115), a local spot serving vegetarian Vietnamese food. Do you see where this story’s headed?

It turned out that my first month of living in Saigon was a little too decadent and as a result, those sky blue pants that I liked so much were a bit tight around the waist. To get things back to right, The Astronomer and I spent many lunches the following months dining next to Buddhist monks and nuns downing meatless fare.

Even after the pants ordeal passed, The Astronomer and I continued to dine at Hương Viên because aside from being healthy, their food is genuinely good. Hương Viên, like a lot of veggie restaurants in town, has a pretty hefty menu. So even though we ate here a lot, we barely made a dent in the offerings. Here are Hương Viên’s greatest hits, and a couple of misses too.

Xoi Ga (4,000 VND) - One of my all-time favorite dishes at Hương Viên was their savory sticky rice. The portion size was just right and the “pate” and “pork floss” tasted like the real deal. Coulda fooled me!

Com Thap Cam (10,000 VND) - The Astronomer and I also really liked the rice platter topped with four different tofu and mock meat dishes. The composition changed every day depending on what dishes were on hand. This platter cost a measly 7,000 VND when we first started dining at Hương Viên but crept up to 10,000 VND by the end of our stay. Inflation is something we definitely don’t miss about Vietnam.

Com Thit Xa Xieu (8,000 VND) - Of all the mock meat and tofu dishes, the “barbecued meat” was one of the best.

Vegetables - Nothing complements a hearty plate of rice like stir-fried vegetables. The vegetable selection changed daily, and it was difficult to make a bad choice. The chayote (Xu Xao - 4,000 VND), okra (Dau Bap - 3,000 VND) and green beans (Dau Cu Ve - 6,000 VND) were all great.

Goi Ngo Sen (6,000 VND) - The lotus root salad was another excellent side, but The Astronomer and I had to keep our eyeballs peeled for camouflaged chilies. Orange colored chilies are the trickiest, especially with carrots in the dish.

Although their rice plates were stellar, Hương Viên had more difficulty transforming classic Vietnamese noodle soups into tasty vegetarian fare. The Hu Tieu Bo Kho (top left - 12,000 VND) and Mi Sa Te (top right - 10,000 VND) were bland, a little watery and tasted nothing like their meaty renditions. The one noodle soup that Hương Viên nailed was Bun Ca Ri Ga (bottom - 15,000 VND).

Hương Viên’s pho (left - 12,000 VND) was also a massive failure. The best vegetarian pho that we encountered in Saigon was at Pho Chay Nhu. The Banh Xeo (10,000 VND), on the other hand, was awesome! Lots of bean sprouts and pieces of mock meat. Didn’t miss the pork and shrimp one bit.

Bun Thit Xao - vermicelli rice noodles with stir-fried beef (12,000 VND) and banh hoi thit nuong - steamed rice noodle cakes with grilled meat (not pictured) were solid efforts. Hương Viên’s nuoc mam sauce is pretty darn similar to the ones that use actual fish sauce.

Hoanh Thanh (12,000 VND) - The wonton soup is another notable broth dish. The “meat” filling inside the wrappers taste nothing like pork and shrimp, but I kinda liked them nevertheless.

Hương Viên’s Canh Chua - (sour soup - 4,000 VND) was good, but not as tempting as the one served a few stores down at Giac Duc. Both varieties of buns, steamed (Banh Bao - 6,000 VND) and baked (Banh Bao Nuong - 4,000 VND), were lovely little bites, but not so amazing that we felt compelled to order them on every visit like the sticky rice and rice platters.