Eat & Drink like the locals, Ho Chi Minh City

Banh Bao is the same as the chinese steam bun which could be found almost anywhere from street vendors to convenience stores. The size of banh bao is so much bigger than the big bao(savory) sold in Singapore. It also had a denser texture too.

There are 2 types of banh bao: sweet or savory. I tried the banh bao with sweet custard-like fillings and the fillings were smooth. The fillings was made with egg and mung beans. I had no idea how much the banh bao cost because my volunteer guide's brother bought it for me.

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Last night the Saigon sky offered a beautiful celestial trio – the moon, Venus, and Jupiter – all within reaching distance from one another. In the city lights, all other heavenly objects were obscured and these three bright bodies had the entire sky to themselves. A balmy breeze and celestial show! What a great way to start the evening on the back of our motorbike on the way to dinner.

Such a beautiful night deserved a special dinner.

A bit of a drive – but not too far, we headed off to Binh Thanh district to enjoy a special meal at Tư Trì. Special for several reasons. First, the food here is priced at not typical Saigon prices (usually about 50,000 vnd – $2.50/person) – we’d end up with a bill of 440,00 vnd for 2 ($10 usd/person) – but still affordable . Secondly, we wouldn’t be enjoying classic Saigon Street Food in an alley or busy city boulevard, nor a standard Saigon restaurant. Instead, we’d sit at our table beside the Saigon River! Very nice! And finally, our food itself would be quite special. Main course - vú dê nướng (BBQ goat udder). What!?

I admit, I was mildly uncertain when Hai made the selection. But he assured me I’d love it. And he was correct.

After offering us a small bag of both cashew nuts and peanuts with our Saigon Beer Đỏ (red label), the waiter set up a small wood-charcoal stove topped with domed grill in the center of our table. He proceeded to lay out slices of marinated goat udder over the coals along with slices of okra and eggplant.

Hai, as usual, immediately took over the chef duties and attended to the grilling, continuously turning each udder and vegetable segment.

I, as usual, began sampling the other food on the table. Enjoying the beer (of course, served in Vietnam with large ice cubes in each glass); sampling the nuts; and tasting the stir-fried vegetable, hoa tiên lý, that arrived at the table.

Hoa tiên lý, a vegetable I’ve never encountered in the US, but always order here in Vietnam when it’s available. Bright green colored, tenderly crunchy, and chuc-full of tiny moist flowers buds. Sauteed in garlic, let’s just say, life was good on the Saigon river bank!

“Ăn đí” (the eating command), Hai instructed.

Time for the BBQ’d goat udder.

A texture and flavor “bomb” (as in explosion, not failure)! Squid-like in its chewy texture, but more tenderly meaty. Seared on the outside and moist on the inside. Good job Hai! We wrapped the udder, the okra and eggplant, a few leaves of Vietnamese herbs, and a slice of quả khế (unripened star fruit) in a sheet of rice paper and dipped the entire food assembly into a never-before-encountered-by-me sauce, chao. The charcoal flavor of the udder, okra and eggplant, dipped in the chao was remarkably delicious.

Chao is a southern Vietnam specialty (I plan to do more research here) - a blended tofu base, a fermented tangy accent, and a chili-pepper kick. I hit bottom on this dipping sauce before the grilled items were all devoured. So indulgently, I ordered more. A large circular, plate-sized rice cracker, bánh đa, served as the meal’s “bread”.

I was already a happy camper when the final dish, gà nướng (BBQ chicken), arrived.

A small bird – seems this chicken was more or less pigeon-sized. It was chopped into segments of unidentifiable chicken parts. Cleverly cut so that every piece had the maximum number of chicken bones available for gnawing, chewing, and manipulating in your mouth. Again, the Vietnamese way (I hear the French way too) so that the flavor concentrated around the meat bones is available to the eater to enjoy with each and every bite. Makes sense. Just heightens the required eating alertness, and extends the total meal time. In any case, it was moist, meaty and delicious.

A totally enjoyable and memorable meal.

We’ll be back for sure – and very likely long before the moon, Venus, and Jupiter present their next heavenly trio show.

Tư Trì is a sprawling restaurant complex suitable for large groups/parties in certain areas, and for romantic private dining along the river bank.

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Number 1 yellow - like a red bull but not carbonated and without the foul aftertaste
Number 1 red - Strawberry
Number 1 "black" - cola ( they will tell you it doens't exist but I have had it)
Number 1 White - I forget maybe soy milk
Number 1 Brown - I forget
Number 1 Bap - "Corn"
Number 1 Clear - water

Sting - Strawberry carbonated and hypersweet
Xaxi - A foul attempt at root beer
Sarsi - see "xaxi

Marinda orange - orange soda
Marinda Sarsi - even worse a xaxi than xaxi

Sinh To - fruit or vegetable "smoothie"

Tra Da - Iced Tea
Tra Xanh - green tea

Cafe Da -Iced Coffee
Cafe Sua Da - Iced coffee with condensed milk

Nuoc Suoi - bottled spring water, sanitized ( note- brand "Happy Water" is not sanitized)
Nuoc Dua - Coconut
Nuoc Cam - orange juice
Nuoc Thom - Pineapple
Nuoc Ca Chua - tomato juice
Nuoc Chuoi - "banana juice" but its what girls call semen so don't ask for banana juice

"ep" means pressed or squeezed

Amuse your friends - tell them the Number1 yellow you're drinking is sterilized monkey urine

Com Tam with your choice of meats stuffs. suon nuong, ca kho, ga, etc

I'm a regular.
Once the owners asked me if I wanted to marry a vietnamese girl because they have 3 daughters who are not yet married..... I replied, " oh, no, because 3 wives would be too many....... maybe one wife is too many"

Favorite Dish: suon nuong

Thanks to Shrimp56, I've decided to list out delicious recipes collected from all over the world. Here's my own recipe for good Vietnamese Beef Pho. Hopefully, it taste just as good as one found in Pho Hua. However, this looks like Greek to you, you're better off enrolling in the Vietnam Cookery School. It's situated in town and it cost roughly USD30 to learn how to cook good Viet food. Click on my link below for more details.

Favorite Dish: Pho Bo Recipe - Get the ingredients from a Thai or Chinese supermart. If you're living in Singapore, you can get all these ingredients from the Thai Supermart in GoldenMile Shopping centre.

Ingredients
Soup
1/4 cup thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger
1 medium onion, sliced
3 1/2 pounds oxtail, cut into 2-inch pieces
One cinnamon stick
6 star anise ( this is a spice )
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
One 1-inch piece Chinese yellow rock sugar
+
12 ounces, sukiyaki beef
+
Garnish
A basketful of Thai Sweet / Holy Basil, Saw Pine Leaves, Mint Leaves, Sprouts, Sliced Bird's Eye Chilli and Thai Lime Wedges
+
Dried Pho

Now, I just love preparing the Soup the night before in my slow cooker, so that it'll be full of flavour the next day. To start, sautee the onion and ginger till onion turns transluscent. Brown the ox tail next . Transfer the ox tail to a slow cooker and pour 3.5quarts of water. Stir in the spices, salt and sugar. Cook overnight.
To serve, soak noodles in hot water till its soft. Blanch it later with hot soup. Dry it. Arrange beef slices on top and pour searing hot soup on it. Garnish and serve.

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We walked around the vicinity of our Windsor Plaza Hotel and chance upon these locals sitting on these small/low chairs at street stalls enjoying their meals.

As we don't speak a single word of Vietnamese, we weren't able to ask them the price or anything at all.

But I reckon the price should be at least 1/3 of that in air-con food outlets within malls.

Favorite Dish: Didn't get a chance to try the Vietnamese beef noodle at this place but managed to do so in the hotel's cafe during buffet breakfast.

Eating off the street vendors is a great experience.

Just look for a clean store and squat down and eat with the locals.

The name of many of these places are called "stove and stool" restaurants...because that is all there is

Look at the picture and you'll understand

Favorite Dish: Pho is a good choice to try

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In the Ben Thanh Market is a section where you can have a snack, or even have a full meal. I do not specially want to recommend to westerner stomachs to refill here, as many are quite sensitive. . . . Well, I think there is no danger Montezuma will revenge here, as the food is fresh, renewed all time, there are many customers, so, the risk is minimum. And if you just have a soup (I had a noodle pho with meatballs), there is no risk, as the food is cooked and very hot (in both senses of the word!).
But there are also lots of other dishes, from the classical nems to rice dishes, vegetables. . . . I did not see grilled fish here; so for a snack, why not?