After Eating in Vietnam – Hanoi and Halong Bay, we hired a mini-bus and headed south to Phong Nha.
Phong Nha
We had booked ourselves into the Phong Nha Farmstay for 2 nights mainly to take a break from the hustle and bustle of city life and to explore some caves. In 2003, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The park holds the world’s largest cave but places are limited to 500 spots a year, and this is sold out at least a year in advance. Instead, we decided to explore the Paradise Cave 7km trek which included lunch inside the cave. After being picked up in a mini-bus, we took small boats steered by locals deep into the cave.
After leaving the touristy part of the cave with walkways and railings, we trekked further into the cave wading through water, climbing over boulders and scrambling over rocks. The cave was spectacular. Walking with us was a porter who was holding all of our lunches. We found a random dry spot for lunch and the porter started to lay everything out.
There were several lunch boxes filled with rice for each person, as well as boxes filled with water spinach, pork, and fried eggs.
I should mention it was pure blackness inside the cave with only our head lamps lighting the way. It was such a surreal experience eating lunch deep inside a cave.
Lunch was humble but home cooked and tasted fantastic. I was really impressed that the food was still warm!
All of our meals at Phong Nha Farmstay were included in the cost of our accommodation. I can’t seem to find any other photos from that stay, but it was a relaxing few days. The farmstay overlooked working fields and it was nice to see a bit of the country side while we were there.
Hue
After our stay in Phong Nha to relax and recover, we got back on the mini-bus to head to our next destination, the town of Hue as a pit stop before traveling onto Da Nang. But first, we visited the Vinh Moc Tunnels, just outside of Hue. The Vinh Moc Tunnels were first built in 1966 when the USA were bombing the country. The locals did not want to leave their land, and instead, decided to build their town underground.
The tunnels have specific rooms for kitchens, sicks rooms and even some ventilation. I found the tunnels weren’t too low or tight but I did need to bow my head to get through most of it. A very interesting experience.
We moved on and drove to Hue which was the former imperial capital of Vietnam. We walked around the citadel but didn’t have time to explore the inside of the citadel as we had to keep moving to make it to Da Nang that night.
We did stop by the Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Ding before heading back to lunch. There was so much gold decorating the inside of the mausoleum, very impressive.
Lunch was at the Serene Palace Hotel where there was air conditioning and the prices weren’t too expensive. The pork spring rolls were certainly presented stylishly.
I wanted to try some banh beo as a starter. These are miniature thin steamed rice flour crepes topped with shrimp and fried shallots, served with a fish sauce as a dipping sauce. They’re basically one mouthful each, so cute and tasty.
While in Hue, I couldn’t help but want to order the dish Bun Bo Hue which originated in the town. The noodles were round and a medium thickness, kind of like a thinner udon noodle. The broth was a light beef stock and a whole heap of chilli oil had been added. The thin slices of rare beef slowly cooked in the broth, similar to pho. The broth was nicely balanced and I didn’t feel the need to add lime or additional chilli.
Mr FPJ ordered the grilled pork with peanut sauce and fresh vermicelli, bun thit nuong, which was another tasty dish.
Da Nang and Hoi An
After leaving Hue, we made our way to the Vinpearl villas at Da Nang where we stayed for 2 nights. The Vinpearl was stunning and it’s a destination we could easily go back to.
I must admit, we never actually explored the town of Da Nang as we didn’t leave the Vinpearl! I did have initial plans to do a food tour in the town, but we really just wanted to relax. A buffet breakfast was included in our accommodation and this was wonderful.
My first plate was filled with Asian food – congee, steamed pork bun, sticky rice with Chinese sausage, steamed sticky rice wrapped in leaves, stuffed tomato and a dumpling.
My second plate was filled with Western food – pancake, sausage, hash brown, waffle with chocolate sauce, apricot danish, a bowl of fruit, and I snuck in another dumpling.
We did a lot of lazing around, enjoying the beach, pool and drinks.
I also tried the Vinpearl’s afternoon tea (250,000dong – AUD $14) with a friend which came with toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, cheesecake, fruit tarts, brownies, cookies and scones with jam and cream. It wasn’t the best afternoon I’ve had – I found the sandwiches a little dry, and the scones were very dense. But at only AUD $14, it wasn’t too bad and we also had unlimited cups of tea/coffee.
We did leave the Vinpearl to visit the town of Hoi An, renown for its preserved Ancient Town and its tailors. We headed to Hoi An in the late afternoon to visit Bebe Tailors. Mr FPJ had two suits made, while I had two dresses and two pairs of work pants tailor made. For dinner, we walked a few blocks to try banh mi at Banh Mi Phuong, made famous by Anthony Bourdain on his show No Reservations.
There’s a whole production line of staff preparing the various banh mi sold at the shop. Fillings included the original with pork and pate, cheese and onion banh mi, grilled sausage, barbeque, grilled chicken with cheese, beef with eggs, bacon and more. I was surprised to see pancakes on the menu but we didn’t have enough time to try it. There was a short queue when we arrived but it moved quickly.
I found it really difficult deciding on what to order. Should I stick with the original pork and pate banh mi? Or try all the new combinations that I hadn’t heard of? I decided to try something new, the banh mi thap cam, the English translation on the menu stated it was ‘bread mixed’. At 25,000 dong (AUD $1.40), this was cheap as chips. I picked a winner as that banh mi was amazing. It was filled with three meats – pork, beef and chicken, stuffed full of fresh salad and herbs. The meats were tender and marinated. The entire banh mi was juicy and fresh and I loved that everything worked together. Major foodgasm. I was in heaven! And all of that for just over $1.
Mr FPJ ordered the barbeque banh mi which came with beef and salad. I had a taste of his and it was okay, but my mixed meat banh mi was so much tastier! He concurred with that statement when he had a taste of mine.
The following night, we made our way back to Hoi An for a bit more sightseeing and to attend our first fitting with the tailor (yep, they were super quick).
We saw a group of ladies selling fresh fruit and vegetables along the main street. At that time of night, everything was lit up including all of the bars and restaurants.
The others decided on dinner at Mango Mango, one of the brightly lit restaurants along the main street.
I chose the duck breast cooked with Asian 5 spices served with sticky rice, asparagus and watermelon (around the AUD$30 mark). The duck wasn’t as pink as I usually like it but was well-seasoned. I must admit, it was a bit of a shock paying a high price for the meal after all of our cheap eats through Asia.
Mr FPJ had the grilled pork in lemongrass, spices and orange, with steamed rice and asparagus (around the AUD$30 mark).
Various other dishes were ordered by our friends. The barbeque pork with mango and fried sticky rice looked good.
For dessert, I wanted to try the orange creme brulee served in an orange. Sadly the consistency of the texture was off and gluggy, and it tasted extremely sour. I could only handle a couple of spoonfuls before abandoning hope that the taste would improve. It had to be the worst creme brulee I’ve ever eaten.
The next day, we packed up to take an overnight train to Nha Trang. But before doing so, we bought one last banh mi from Phuong’s because it really was that good. I bought the exact same banh mi as the previous day and savoured every bite.
Nha Trang
The overnight train to Nha Trang wasn’t comfortable – it was hot, stuffy and smelled. The toilets were worse. But it was an experience (though next time I’ll fly). After checking into our hotel, we headed down to the beach to grab some lunch. I ordered a fresh coconut juice to enjoy on the beach.
I couldn’t resist ordering another Bun Bo Hue but found the soup lacking in complexity and flavour.
We visited Nha Trang’s Dam Market which sold local produce – fresh fish, vegetables and fruit, as well as handbags, clothing and trinkets.
Most of the outdoor stalls were covered by shades. I remember it being quite muddy due to the rain but locals were still out and about shopping and selling their wares.
I was a little peckish and ordered a banh mi from one of the carts outside.
Unfortunately it had been stuffed with a lot of chives and was nowhere near as good as Phuong’s in Hoi An.
For dinner that night, one of our friends suggested trying out Vietnamese restaurant Lanterns in Nha Trang which had received good reviews.
First we ordered some drinks – mine was an orange and cranberry mocktail.
We ordered the banh xeo, a crispy seafood pancake, (99,000 VND or AUD$5.50) served with salad and fish sauce. The meal also came with some rice paper rolls so we could turn the seafood pancake into individual rolls.
I really enjoyed the dish. It was fresh, cooked well with lots of herbs and flavour. Easy to eat but a little messy. And very filling.
I also tried the bun thit nuong (69,000 VND or AUD$4), a thin rice noodle dish consisting of sliced pork, spring rolls and salad. It was a large serving and we didn’t end up finishing it all, but I loved the aromatic pork and crispy spring rolls.
The pineapple boat (110,000 VND) was filled with thinly sliced beef, tomato, onion, pineapple and celery, served in a large fresh pineapple. Compared to the noodle dish above, it was a smaller serving but still very tasty.
Our friends ordered a seafood BBQ dish where a small clay fire pit and grill were provided so the seafood could be cooked at the table.
I was impressed by the quality of food, brilliant flavours and cheap prices. We only had time to spend one night in the coastal town of Nha Trang before flying to Vietnam’s capital, Ho Chi Minh City the next day.
Previous related posts:
- Eating in Chiang Mai – Part 1
- Eating in Chiang Mai – Part 2
- Eating in Luang Prabang
- Eating in Vietnam – Hanoi and Halong Bay
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