In our part of the world we've only been cookin' and eatin' for about 200 years. We still think we do it to survive. In Europe where it's been about 1500 years since folks were throwin' chunks of oxen into the fire they have it developed as art and vice. In asia where folks have been cookin' and eatin' for 6000 years they surpassed art and vice a long time ago. They have discovered eating as a perversion. No beating Cobra heart for me. I let the snake live to eat another rat. I was not in a perverse mood on this trip. I was more interested in art and there was plenty of that. The photo below was my dinner with Chris Rose and his girlfriend, Trinh. Chris is the son on one of my colleagues at work. He lives in Saigon and teaches English at a local university. This is one of their favorite restaurants. It was good. The dish in the center is a spicy beef preparation. I had fried tofu with noodles. We also had spring rolls which were to die for.
This is a seafood stir fry. It was my first meal. It was lunch at my hotel while I waited for my room to be ready.
This is a stir fry served on crispy noodles served at one of the market side food stalls cum restarurant. There is good food in those places for prices similar to what we experience in the family Vietnamese restaurants in our part of the world. I did not find Saigon to be particullary cheap. There were bargains but not everywhere.
These are rice dishes. They were available on a street cart. I didn't try one but they did look good.
This is my favorite; Banh Xeo. It is a crepe. There is a lot of french influence in Viet Nam. Trust the Vietnamese to take something the french taught them and make it better. This is a good example. They have taken the french crepe and prepared it with coconut milk, added shrimp and pork, stuffed it with bean sprouts and served it up with lettuce leaves and assorted arromatic herbs. All this is combined with the wonderful Nuc Cham dipping sauce and the result is kicked up several notches. I found this place on the internet and my Economist cum social scientist cum bike rick driver found it. Notice the stoves. They are fired with characoal.
This is a market side food stall/restaurant where I ate. There were about six of these in a half block along the side on one of Saigon's main markets. All had menus posted on large signs with a person out front to entice customers. It reminded me of the restaurants in Paris in the left bank except these were outdoors. The tables were foldable metal tables with small plastic chairs made with those weird colors only available in the pacific rim. These folks are trying to make up their minds.
These folks made up their minds. As they sat down it started to rain. Not to worry. These resourceful restarurant folks materialized an awning propped up with a stick, rope and some rocks. Everybody stayed dry and ate well.
I was seated further in at a long table with a couple of younger Vietnamese guys. They were friendly and we had a conversation as far as their english would take them. I don't think they had taken Chris's class but we were able to exchange pleasantries. My order came. I had ordered a fried fish. In my opinion, the Indochinese own this dish. No one does fried fish any better. This one was delicious and prompted the nicest compliment I have received since I came to Asia. The two Vietnamese guys saw my order and handed me a menu and asked me to point it out. They ordered one. Thank you. The dish is shown below. Note the garnish in the upper left corner. I had ordered stir fried water spinach along with the fish and garnished it with those sliced hot peppers that were stocked on each table as a condiment.
The photos below were taken in the outdoor kitchens where the food was prepared. I am always amazed at how much Asians can do with so little and how well they do it. All of us who like to try Asian receipes in a wok should take note. Notice the fires. They are very hot. They use huge gas burners. It takes a lot of heat to fire a wok properly.
Did I mention it was raining this night? Did I mention Hoi was waiting in his bike rick? I was wondering how wet I would get on the way back to the Majestic. Hoi's rick had a top similar to an old fashioned baby carriage. When I got in the rick he draped a tarp-like cover over my legs so that there was just a small slit for me to pier out of and stay dry. I took this image on the way home through the slit.
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