The best thing about visiting family is that they are your best sources for food recommendations. Every place I went to served genuine, local food, and not a foreigner was in sight. Here are the places we went to:
Pho Le: See earlier post for pictures, but like I said before, the locals claim this is one of the best places in town for pho. Don't remember the address, but ask anybody in Cholon, and they'll tell you. Get here early in the morning, or else you'll be waiting for a seat!
Quan 94: A local recommended this place for its crab and seafood dishes. Looks like Food & Wine also discovered this "rough-and-tumble joint." Make sure you order the softshell crabs!
Quan 94, 84 Dinh Tien Hong St., District 1
Fried softshell crabs. Dip one of these bad boys into tamarind sweet sauce and enjoy!!! Soo juicy...
Crab meat and vermicelli dish. Very peppery and aromatic! Can taste the sweetness of the crab meat
Cha gio, deep fried Vietnamese spring rolls. Quan 94 serves these with crab meat. Wrap in lettuce and dip into nuoc cham sauce.
Deep fried crabs - drooling yet?
Au Pagolac: Ever heard of Bo 7 Mon, 7 courses of Vietnamese beef? My cousin Bruce introduced me to it when I was in San Jose last month, and I almost died from foodgasm. The meal usually goes like this (from Wikipedia):
- Gỏi bò: a salad made with pickled carrot, pickled daikon, and celery salad with thin strips of beef in nước mắm (fish sauce)
- Beef patties served with rice crackers
- Raw slices of beef to be cooked in a heated broth
- Ground beef rolled in caul fat
- Bo la lot: Ground beef rolled in a leaf very similar to a grape leaf
- Strips of beef rolled around a piece of scallion
- Chao bo: Beef ground rice soup
Bao Bao brought me to Au Pagolac on my second night in Saigon. This place has been around since the 1930s and it was PACKED.
978 Tran Hung Dao, Phuong 07, District 5
Raw slices of beef, ready to be cooked in the heated broth
BEEF
Finish off with flan for dessert!
Ling and her father Ming, full and happy after a delicious meal
Co Ba Vung Tau: This is my favorite out of all the restaurants! Known for their banh khot, lightly fried, savory Vietnamese mini rice crepes that originated from the beach town Vung Tau. We ordered the shrimp banh khot and the clam banh khot. Both were simply divine! Also ordered the banh xeo and the banh beo.
The restaurant, located at 59 B Cao Thang Street, District 3
Watching the chef make the banh khots
Banh khot with clams!
Banh khot with shrimp
Banh beo, steamed rice cake topped with dried fresh shrimp, scallions, crispy fried shallots and oil. I can eat 10 of these!
Goi cuon, Vietnamese summer rolls
Bi cuon, similar to the summer rolls but with shredded pork skin instead of shrimp
I think this is the world's largest banh xeo! Vietnamese crepe made out of rice flour with tumeric, shrimp, slivers of fatty pork, sliced onions, and fresh bean sprouts. Wrap this in lettuce and dip it in some Nước chấm and experience foodgasm!
Kem Bach Dang: These guys serve really yummy coconut ice cream! It's a chain, so there are multiple locations.
YUMMY!!
Street vendor food stands: You can't go to Saigon without sampling its street food! From Vietnamese sandwiches, otherwise known as banh mis, to noodle stands and dessert snacks, you can eat like a king for less than $1!
Bao Bao's friend runs this noodle stand every morning in District 5
I inspected it and looks pretty clean to me!
My breakfast in the morning - wonton noodle soup!
Freshly made waffles from the street
Late night dessert stand. Grab a che ba mau, or the Vietnamese tri-colored dessert cup made of beans and coconut milk
Fresh coconut juice
Fresh sugarcane juice!
Grilled fish. Wrap it in rice paper with lettuce, cucumber slices and rice noodles, dip it into some nuoc cham and eat!
Grilled fish at my Uncle's house. 好丰富!
2 comments:
yum! guess i'll have to go to Little Saigon to get my fix now....
David Spear's Mom says "WOW"!
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