Banh Khot
19 Jun 2008

Mũi Né

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After months of hardcore training, The Astronomer and I packed up our bags and headed to Mũi Né for the Le Fruit Triathlon. Although I was tempted for maybe five minutes to participate, I knew that I couldn’t hack the swimming and cycling portions of the race so I settled comfortably into my role as cheerleader.

We left Saigon late Friday afternoon. Although the advertised trip duration was four hours, the ride lasted closer to six. The bus pulled over at a rest stop about 1.5 hours into the trip and I impulsively bought some Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels that really hit the snacky spot. The pretzels had a certain ‘New Jersey Turnpike secret flavor factory’ taste that I hadn’t experienced in months. Living abroad does strange things to me, I wouldn’t normally eat this stuff in America.

When we finally arrived in Mũi Né, I went for a late night run and we passed out soon after.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early and took advantage of our hotel’s (Sunshine Beach) complimentary breakfast. I ordered a mango pancake. I don’t know what it is about pancakes, but EVERY hotel in the whole country serves them. I’ve had decent pancakes in Phu Quoc and Nha Trang, but these ones were the best because they were fluffy and substantial. Minus points for fake maple syrup.

Afterwards, I read on the beach and went for a walk. Which reminds me, white people love reading by the water.

The view from our room’s balcony. Mũi Né really is gorgeous.

Hey, look who finally woke up!

After The Astronomer pulled himself out of bed, we headed to Jibes Beach Club a few meters down the beach to register for the triathlon, collect his race number, claim his bike, etc. I cheered on the sidelines while this was all happening.

All that cheering made me hungry so I had a panini with pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella at Jibes. Looks tasty, right? It was. The rest of the day was spent napping, reading and taking advantage of the hotel’s wireless Internet. Ah, this is what vacationing is all about! I eventually made myself go for a run and then we headed to Jibes again for dinner. Sometimes choice is overrated.

In preparation for his triathlon debut, The Astronomer carbo-loaded with a hefty plate of penne with pesto sauce.

In a pasta mood as well, I had the home made beef ravioli in a Bolognese sauce. Both pastas were very good, but they took forever to come out. The waitress tried to tell us that our food was taking a long time because of the penne. Riiiiight…

After dinner we watched The Pelican Brief on DVD because we had both recently read the book. Note to self: do not watch a movie adaptation soon after reading the book—you will be disappointed. Then we hit the hay.

Race day! Can you spot The Astronomer?

After the open water swim, The Astronomer was in the middle of the pack. Maybe he would’ve been in the front had he worn Speedos or a wrestling uniform.

Gastronomer! Take my goggles.

While The Astronomer was biking on the sand dunes and running on the beach, I got in my own workout (so no pictures of those segments). After showering up at the hotel, I headed toward the finish line.

I came five minutes too late and missed The Astronomer’s triumphant first-place finish. Dang! Congrats! You rule!

After his victory, The Astronomer was hounded by the media for interviews. He granted one to HTV, a Vietnamese station.

The BEST question was: “Did you know that you would be champion?”

After the media hoopla, we headed to our hotel for breakfast. The Astronomer had the mango pancake, while I had a strawberry one. Once again, a great pancake with lots of fruit in the batter.

For the third time in 24-hours, we headed to Jibes for post-race festivities i.e. awards ceremony, buffet lunch, etc.

The buffet lunch included banh khot.

Unlike the banh khot I had prior, these were more pillowy than crispy and were stuffed with scallions rather than topped with meat.

Even though the bus ride sucks, Mũi Né is a SUPERB beach destination. I hope to return next weekend for Hawk’s birthday. Eee!

Restaurant Review
18 Jun 2008

Khên Lá – Ho Chi Minh City

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Hill Peoples’ Food – clockwise from top left – restaurant facade, su su xao (60,000 VND), smoked pork (85,000 VND), com lam (15,000 each)

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I stumbled upon Khên Lá over a month ago while working on an article for AsiaLIFE. Here’s a snippet that I wrote about the place in our June issue:

Restaurants specializing in Hue cuisine are a dime a dozen in this town, but eateries serving the foods of north-western Vietnam are few and far between. Khên Lá serves up minority tribe specialties including sup nam huong Sapa (mushroom soup) for 35,000 VND and com lam (bamboo sticky rice) for 15,000 VND. Ga nuong Ngia Lo, a dish of the Thai minority comprised of grilled chicken marinated with cardamom, sweet fennel and cinnamon, is also on offer for 145,000 VND. The strictly Vietnamese menu offers a good selection of Australian and French wine and champagne. Open for lunch and dinner.

Taking a break from our beloved lunch lady, The Astronomer, Nina and I ventured to Khên Lá last week. The restaurant was completely empty because it’s more of a dinner spot. Usually when I scan a menu, whether it be here or in the States, I have a fairly good idea what most dishes are. At Khên Lá, that certainly wasn’t the case. While I could identify individual ingredients, I was clueless for the most part about the mode of preparation and final presentation.

With a lot of help from our minority-tribe-garb-donning waitress, we settled on one main, one vegetable and three orders of bamboo sticky rice. All the dishes arrived at once with accompanying sauces and dips.

My favorite item was the bamboo sticky rice paired with crushed sesame seeds and salt. The rice didn’t taste particularly different from regular xoi, but the slightly drier texture was a notable and tasty difference.

My second favorite was the su su xao or stir-fried chayote with carrots and wood-ear mushrooms paired with a soy-based sauce. Flavored with bits of ginger and a dash of MSG, this simple combination was a very pleasurable way to take in vegetables.

The smoked pork dish was pitifully dry and tasteless on its own, but paired with a sour and spicy chutney/salsa, it was actually quite palatable.

All in all, a decent introduction to the foods of the hill people, but my loyalties and taste buds remain with the folks down north, central and south.

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Khên Lá
17B Mai Thi Luu Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Phone: 8242434

Saigon
17 Jun 2008

Vegetation Profile: Durian

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The durian (IPA: [ˈdʊəriən, -ɑn]) is the fruit of trees from the genus Durio belonging to the Malvaceae, a large family which includes hibiscus, okra, cotton, mallows, and linden trees. Widely known and revered in Southeast Asia as the “King of Fruits,” the fruit is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk.

The edible flesh emits a distinctive odor, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Regarded by some as fragrant, others as overpowering and offensive, the smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust. The odor has led to the fruit’s banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia.

Durian fruit is used to flavor a wide variety of sweet edibles such as traditional Malay candy, ice kachang, dodol, rose biscuits, and, with a touch of modern innovation, ice cream, milkshakes, mooncakes, Yule logs and cappuccino.

Southeast Asian folk beliefs, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, consider the durian fruit to have warming properties liable to cause excessive sweating. The traditional method to counteract this is to pour water into the empty shell of the fruit after the pulp has been consumed and drink it. An alternative method is to eat the durian in accompaniment with mangosteen, which is considered to have cooling properties. People with high blood pressure or pregnant women are traditionally advised not to consume durian.

According to a “You know you’re Vietnamese if…” list that reader N linked my way, #42 is likes durian. While #6 rang a little too true, “your parents think you’re 12 when you’re really 18,” when it comes to sau rien, I’m not that Vietnamese. While most people are put off by the smell, for me, it’s the taste. Whereas durian registers as sweet and creamy for fans, it just tastes like mushy roasted garlic to me. I don’t hate durian, it’s just far from my favorite.

Which side of the durian fence do you sit on—love or loathe?