After leaving Nha Trang, we flew into Vietnam’s capital – Ho Chi Minh City. We got there in the afternoon, and after visiting the War Remnants Museum, it was time for dinner. My friend chose Ngon restaurant, located at a colonial-style mansion where we sat outdoors. Menus were noticeably fancier than previous restaurants we had been to – fabric hard cover bound menus rather than cheap plastic menus and table linen. Surprisingly, prices weren’t that much more expensive (and still so much cheaper than Australian prices).
I started off with a fresh coconut juice which was gigantic but not that cold.
For a starter, I tried the banh beo, bot loc and nem nuong – small steamed rice cakes, shrimp dumplings and grilled pork. I could have eaten the steamed rice cakes on their own but it was nice to try something different. I loved that everything was complemented by the accompanying fish sauce.
I ordered one of the specialties on the menu – banh canh cua consisting of thick udon noodles with crab meat and pork.
I loved having udon noodles for a change but I found that the pork was really fatty and I would have liked a bit more crab meat in the bowl. The broth was very light but suitable for a really humid night.
Mr FPJ had the com tam with a fried pork chop and egg meatloaf.
For dessert, I finished off with a che thap cam (25,000 VND or AUD $1.40), a drink with an assortment of sweet beans and jelly in it. It was a good way to end the night with a cold dessert and drink in one.
The next morning, we did some exploring around the city. We came by a cafe that was popular with the school kids who were all having breakfast.
We also came by a guy selling what looked like doughnuts or similar pastries on his head. Now that’s balance!
That night, we had a dining in the dark dinner experience at Noir. Basically, we were all led into a pitch black room to eat while our blind wait staff served us. Obviously, no photos were allowed so I have no food photos to post. When making the reservation, dietary requirements were sent to the restaurant.
Before we were blindfolded, we were seated in a lounge area where we could order drinks and relax. One of the staff talked us through what would be happening and then provided each of us with a wooden tray with various shaped blocks. Our task was to put our blindfolds on and place each shape (which were in a velvet bag) into its corresponding slot on the wooden tray. It was a good segue into the dinner as the food trays had the same concept with each small bowl going into a corresponding slot on the tray. When our table was ready, we were told to line up behind each other in a certain order, hold onto each others shoulders and walk conga-line style into the dining room. The order we were seated in assisted the wait staff to remember who was who as there were some dietary requirements. It was definitely a different experience. I had no idea what food was coming, whether it was hot or cold, so I really had to rely on my other senses. There was a little bit of beer/wine switching trickery on the table but that was by us. Happy to say there were no spills (by us or the staff). There was a mix up with Mr FPJ’s dietary requirement of no coriander (he hates it) but there was a herb from a similar family on one of the dishes which he coughed up and spat out. It wasn’t coriander but it was similar and he discovered another herb he didn’t like.
The next day, we booked into a cruise down the Mekong Delta. The first stop was at a local village where we received some fruit to snack on.
We visited a small coconut candy factory where the sticky candy is made and rolled out by hand, before being cut into squares and wrapped.
We were then given some honey tea from the local beehive. A very sweet drink!
It was time for lunch and we headed further down to a riverside restaurant. The first item to arrive was the fried fish.
I was curious about this massive deep fried hollow ball that the staff were cutting up to serve to us. I later found out it is called xoi chien phong which is basically sticky rice cake that’s been blown into a ball and fried.
It was my favourite item at lunch – so soft and gooey. I could have just eaten it on its own.
I also enjoyed the fried spring rolls and calamari which were golden and crunchy.
There was certainly no shortage of food. We all left feeling full and satisfied.
I had a coconut juice on the cruise back to Ho Chi Minh City. The brown water made me really appreciate the beautiful water we have in Australia.
Our hotel was really close to the Ben Thanh Street Food Market so we headed there for dinner. It is a very touristy destination made up of various food stalls and communal tables. These markets are similar to most others where you get a receipt with your number on it and need to wait close by to pick up the order.
You should be able to find most things at the Ben Thanh Street Food Market – juice, beer, banh mi, pho and more.
What caught my eye was one lady making fresh rice flour rolls.
I noticed what looked like a large clay steamer of sorts with mini round lidded dishes on top for making banh beo.
I ordered the banh beo with three different toppings – shrimp, octopus and pork mince. These were tasty little treats and great with the fish sauce. As the dish was quite small and light, I headed back to the stalls to find something else to snack on.
That’s when I came across a stall selling one of my favourites – bun cha with pork on a stick and spring rolls.
I didn’t hesitate to order a bowl of bun cha which came with a generous amount of noodles. The spring roll was large and stuffed with pork, mushrooms and vermicelli. The pork was wonderfully charred and slightly sweet, though I would have liked some more of it. The pickled vegetables on top were a nice touch to add crunch and tartness to the meal. Overall, I was nicely satisfied.
For dessert, I wanted to try a stall that sold soft serve ice cream (in vanilla or chocolate) in a u-shaped corn pastry. The soft serve is piped into either end so we decided on both flavours. It wasn’t anything spectacular and there was hardly any soft serve, but it was something different to try.
That was our last night in Ho Chi Minh City. We then flew to Singapore for a night (to stay at the amazing Marina Bay Sands). More on that later…
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
- Eating in Vietnam – Phong Nha, Hue, Da Nang and Nha Trang
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