Quán Ốc Quang Anh Does anyone know how many different kinds of ốc ̣(snails & related shellfish) there are in the world? How about, just in Vietnam? Sorry, I don’t know either … well, except I know there’s a WHOLE LOT! Hai and my recent stop at Quán Ốc Quang Anh for dinner made that clear. A [Read on …]
Bánh Tráng Trộn in the Alley Imagine my surprise when, during Hai and my recent Escape from Vietnam holiday travels, we were challenged by a young woman in the middle of the Aegean Sea on the Greek Island of Santorini, as to why we had not yet discussed bánh tráng trộn on Eating Saigon! “Well, Hai and [Read on …]
Bánh Căn in Saigon Some Eating Saigon! readers might recall that a few months ago, Hai and I joined his family for a very fun three-day excursion to Nha Trang, a very wonderful beach resort along the south-central coast of Vietnam. You might also recall (and not be very surprised) that our adventure there included [Read on …]
Rau Câu Dừa Street Vendor N4A Trường Sơn Street P.15, District 10 ***** My friend John is a well-seasoned traveler. He spends at least 6 months each year traveling, scouting, and documenting cultural developments occurring throughout a dozen Asian countries. Sunday morning I invited him to come to District 10 to get a glimpse of a [Read on …]
What a treasure trove of community life in Saigon! If you’re in Saigon and wondering how to spend a free day – and if you’d like to take a peek at “real” Saigon (rather than a tourist street or a propaganda museum), considered spending some time at Le Thi Rieng Park. A few years back, [Read on …]
Hai and I have a nightly ritual concerning where we will eat dinner. Each evening after work and after our respective workouts at California Wow we hop on Hai’s motorbike and head down Le Lai Street off to dinner. But where? Immediately, Hai will ask, “Where do you want to eat?” He’s driving, so a [Read on …]
Phơ Hữu 58 Cửu Long Bac Hai neighborhood P.15, District 10 ***** I’m always mystified by folk who go to live in foreign “third-world/developing” countries for extended periods of time – either for work or retirement or school – and proceed to surround themselves with expat friends, go to western restaurants, and gather at sports [Read on …]
About 9 o’clock last night, I met Hai in front of Saigon’s California Wow health club. My usual first question as we get on the motobike, “How was your workout?” His usual first question, “Where do you want to eat?” More often than not, we him-n-haw and debate and suggest and reject where we should [Read on …]