A Hop, Skip and A Jump to Vietnam

Recently, Lio and I had the chance to visit Vietnam for the weekend. The city is a fast paced one with more motor scooters than cars and where crossing the street involves trusting the scooters not to hit you as you walk through the sea of moving bikes. (just don't make eye contact and keep moving once you get out there!) Here is a good example...



As you can see, the city was decorated for Tet (or the Vietnamese version of Chinese New Year) and at night it was beautiful to see all of the red, yellow and gold lanterns and lights decorating the city.



We had a couple of favorite things we discovered while we were there...

The first being the iced Vietnamese coffee (ca phe sua da) which is served using an individual coffee press over a cup with a little condensed milk at the bottom. Once the coffee has seeped through the device (which takes about 5 to 10 minutes -- a long time, but so worth it!) you stir the coffee and milk together and pour over ice. It's a nice reprieve after dodging scooters all morning and listening to the constant din made by the cars and motor bikes alike with their habitual honking. It is also always served with jasmine tea, I assume to give you something a little bit less rich to sip on!



And our second favorite thing being the Pho Bo, which is a hot rice noodle soup with thinly sliced beef. Like many Vietnamese dishes it is served with basil, lime, bean sprouts and peppers on the side to use as you like. So our first night in the city we headed out to a well-recommended restaurant called Quan An Ngon to try the Pho Bo and some other 'must try' Vietnamese dishes. Out of the 4 dishes we initially ordered from their 25-page menu -- they were out of 3! We had a great dinner anyways and now know for next time to come early (not at 7pm) to make sure to get first choice of all their yummy treats!


Quan An Ngon - The food stalls that line the outside of the restaurant.

I have to share another wonderful experience... we were directed to (of all places!) an obscure Japanese restaurant called Banh Xeo Nhat Ban by one of Lio's colleagues who lived in the city for a few years. It doesn't look like much at all... a small little place with two tables and a hibachi type grill surrounded by stools -- but it was wonderful!! We had dumplings, steak and something else I can only show you a picture of because I can't remember what it was called...


mmmmm.... everything is so much better with bacon!





During the day on Saturday we walked a ton and explored the city's monuments, markets and backstreets. (see the highlights below!) Though we didn't get to visit any other part of the country, we are looking forward to visiting a more relaxing Hanoi and Hoi An (along the east coast) while we are still here in Asia. :-)






Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral, 17 Le Duan Boulevard, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam






Reunification Palace, 135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam


A little French architecture showing through the asian facade, reminding me a bit of New Orleans.

Quan An Ngon - A restaurant consisting of many different hawker stalls brought in from the street, 160 Pasteur or 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia , District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Pho 24, located all over the Vietnam
Banh Xeo Nhat Ban, Japanese Restaurant, 15 B-11 Le Thanh Ton, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam