Restaurant Review
09 Jun 2008

Goat Breath

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Once you go goat, you can’t ever go back. I swear.

My gig at AsiaLIFE has given me the opportunity to sample a lot of foods that I wouldn’t normally seek out. Our latest issue features a great piece about the joys of eating goat at 304 Le Van Sy Street in Tan Binh District. Even though I wasn’t assigned the article, I tagged along with the writer and the photographer during their visit to see what goat was all about. Plus, it’s not everyday one has the chance to sample a brand new meat!

Before I delve into the food, it must be stated that THE shortest stools in Saigon are at the goat palace. Although I didn’t whip out a tape measure, I’m pretty sure the distance between the floor and my bum was six inches max. My legs were so sore by the end of the meal.

Our first course of the evening was grilled goat with okra. The meat was sliced into thin slivers and marinated lightly. After dredging the meat with some vegetable oil, we placed the raw goat onto the grill. The first few pieces were a bit leathery because we cooked ’em for way too long. When it comes to goat, rare is best. Just 45 seconds on the grill yields tender morsels of meat. The texture of goat is very pork-like, which was deliciously familiar. A salty fermented tofu (chao) sauce pairs extremely well with this preparation.

Next, we tucked into an awesome goat curry served inside a clay pot, which turned out to be the best dish of the night. Hunks of potatoes, okra, eggplant and goat arrived submerged in a sweet, creamy, thick and slightly spicy curry broth. We sopped up the broth with many warm baguettes. The curry was so unbelievably good that the photog, writer and I made plans to return for more before finishing up the portion before us. What can I say? We’re a greedy group.

The final course of Goat Fest 2008 was rare goat salad accented with lemon leaves. I kind of over did it with the curry, so I was toast by the time this course arrived. The salad was really raw onion intensive, which doesn’t float my goat boat, but my dining companions scarfed it up with baguettes.

I had such a pleasant experience at 304 Le Van Sy that I returned a few weeks later with Hawk, Nina, The Astronomer and two visitors from New York.

Restaurant Review
06 Jun 2008

Au Parc – Ho Chi Minh City

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May 7, 2008
Cuisine: French, Mediterranean

23 Han Thuyen Street
District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

Phone: 8292772
Website: none

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Garden salad with roasted vegetables (35,000 VND)

Bagel toasted with Brie, caramelized onions and green apple shavings (67,000 VND)

Pasta with lamb, cashews, coriander pesto and Parmesan (95,000 VND)

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When it comes to restaurants, I don’t believe in second chances. The world is filled with too much goodness to waste precious little space on unworthy morsels. That being said, I had to return to Au Parc for research purposes (I was assigned a piece about Saigon sandwiches for AsiaLIFE). My first visit was dangerously unspectacular, but luckily my second experience was a different story.

The Astronomer and I shared a garden salad with roasted vegetables to start and found it satisfactory. Salads can never be truly great, you know what I mean? For my main, I ordered a bagel sandwich with toasted Brie, caramelized onions and green apple shavings. Let me quote myself:

There’s something about toasted bread and gooey cheese that just couldn’t be anymore perfect. Au Parc’s toasted bagel with Brie cheese takes this classic combination up a couple notches with the addition of caramelized onions and green apple shavings. The tart apple cuts the Brie’s richness and the toasted bagel ties all the components together into one neat and satisfying package.

The Astronomer also scored. His pasta with lamb, cashews, coriander pesto and Parmesan was flavorful, nuanced and filling. Th lamb chunks were moist and seasoned lightly so that the lamb flavor really came through.

My brother and his girlfriend never fault the kitchen for bad meals; instead, they blame themselves for ordering poorly. Or vice versa.

The Astronomer and I ordered really well on this occasion at Au Parc.

Street Food
05 Jun 2008

Lunching in Binh Thanh District

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When The Astronomer and I are noodled out, we cross the bridge to Binh Thanh District for lunch. Binh Thanh reminds us a lot of our home base in District 4, namely, helmets are totally optional and street food is abundant. Even though helmets are mandatory by law these days, as soon as motorbikes reach the halfway point on the bridge, everyone takes them off because there aren’t any traffic cops around. It always cracks us up how safety takes a backseat to fashion and comfort.

The banh xeo in Binh Thanh were larger and flimsier than the Da Nang-style ones that I prefer. But at 3,500 a go, we weren’t complaining. The Astronomer hates the large mustard leaves that are traditionally eaten with banh xeo and prefers romaine lettuce. I can go either way.

We also got an order or goi cuon. I firmly believe that hoisin sauce can either make or break this dish. This version was really watery, so it broke the dish (so to speak).

Our final course was banh bo nuong (5,000 VND)—a rice cake of sorts made on a waffle iron type device so that the sugar in the batter is caramelized and the texture is invitingly chewy. The Astronomer ate steamed banh bo stuffed inside a savory doughnut a few weeks back.

A lovely mini-food tour, but the lunch lady’s still where it’s at!