Restaurant Review
18 Sep 2007

Bà Ngọc – Da Nang

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August 28, 2007
Cuisine: Vietnamese

24 Pasteur Street
Da Nang, Vietnam

Phone: 0511817080
Website: none

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Bun Thit Nuong (10,000 VND)

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Banh Xeo (9,000 VND)

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Following the staff retreat, The Astronomer and I spent several days in Da Nang visiting EMW programs and beneficiaries. Ba Ngoc is located a hop, skip, and a jump away from the office. We bounced in there for a quick bite to eat before heading off to see good works.

The Astronomer had one of his favorite dishes—bun thit nuong—vermicelli noodles topped with grilled pork, herbs, lettuce, and nouc mam. Vietnamese BBQ isn’t saucy like Alabama ‘cue. The typical marinade consists of shallots, garlic, fish sauce, salt, sugar, and black pepper. The result of these simple ingredients is a smoky meat that’s sweet and delicious. I love how the smell of grilled meats fills the air outside restaurants serving up this style of ‘cue.

Note to self: learn how to make thit nuong ASAP upon returning to the states.

I ordered three banh xeo, which are often referred to as Vietnamese crepes. These “crepes” consist of rice flour, unsweetened coconut milk, tumeric, sugar, salt, and water and are stuffed with shrimp, pork, onions, and bean sprouts.

When my grandma cooks banh xeo, she prepares them in a huge frying pan, which results in a dinner plate-sized crepe. The ones served at Ba Ngoc were itty bitty in comparison and contained little meat (one shrimp, one piece of pork), but were yummy nevertheless. The banh xeo were crispy around the edges, just the way I like ’em.

Back at home we pour some nouc mam on top of the banh xeo and dig in, but in these here parts, the banh xeo is wrapped in rice paper, lettuce, and herbs and dipped in nouc mam. I must admit that wrapping the banh xeo is pretty good, but it’s just too much work! I enjoyed the banh xeo so much that I sought out more the following day.

Che
17 Sep 2007

Sweet Treats in Đà Nẵng

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Dessert highlights in Da Nang included nouc mia (sugarcane juice with a dash of lime juice) and che troi nouc (sweet glutinous rice balls with coconut milk). The Astronomer bought a tall glass of nouc mia from roadside vendors to cool off during hot afternoons, while I was a che-fiend at every opportunity.

Kem nho (grape ice cream) was the lone lowlight in Da Nang. Since when did grapes taste like bubblegum flavored fluoride treatment?

I am developing a theory about Vietnamese interpretations of American/Western foods—I hypothesize that the people cooking up this cuisine in Vietnam have never tasted the actual food they are making and as a result, their product resembles the food on the outside, but tastes far from the real thing. Thus far, this theory rings true for hamburgers and ice cream sundaes.

Saigon
14 Sep 2007

Vegetation Profile: Rambutan

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The rambutan is a round to oval drupe 3-6 cm (rarely to 8 cm) long and 3-4 cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10-20 together. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name rambutan, derived from the Malay word rambut which means hairs. The fruit flesh is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor. The single seed is glossy brown, 2-3 cm long, with a white basal scar.

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with chom chom—I love them because they’re plump, sweet, and juicy, but I hate them because they’re dirty and make my nails icky. While I generally prefer fresh fruits to canned ones, in the case of chom chom, canned may be superior. I hate debris under my fingernails.