Robyn Eckhardt writes: In Vietnam, sometimes things work, and very often they don't. We already knew this fact, of course, after two-plus years living in Saigon, but were reminded of it once again during our trip there last November. We'd asked our very resourceful friend M if she might be able to help us get access to a bun (rice flour vermicelli) workshop so that we could document how this staple is made. Via a friend of a friend of a family member M came up with an introduction to the owner of a small, twenty-year-old bun factory outside the center of town. So one afternoon we caught a cab and, after enduring some nasty ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: For many food-obsessed travelers to Vietnam the Holy Grail is a fantastic pho. Which is a shame, really, because in the course of a single-minded quest for the ultimate version of this northern Vietnamese soup noodle many equally worthy noodle dishes are bound to be overlooked. Bun oc (snail and rice noodle soup), for instance, consistently flies under the foreign chowhound's radar. Yet this combination of thin rice noodles with one or another member of the molluscan class of Gastropoda in flavorful broth - also a specialty of the north - is brilliant, easily as delicious as the finest bowl of pho. It certainly was a favorite of a certain formerly Vietnam-based blogger. ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: A few days before we left for Saigon, I poured the last of the 5 pounds of Vietnamese black pepper that had moved with us to Malaysia in 2005 into our pepper grinder. This was not a coincidence. Did we return to Saigon just to restore our stock of Vietnamese pepper? I wouldn't say that, exactly. We knew we'd go before the end of the year. As October passed and our stash shrank, well ... it just seemed like a good time to make plane reservations. Vietnam isn't the country that comes to mind when gourmets start talking black pepper. It's all Tellicherry this and Sarawak that; if a pepper-loving foodie really wants to impress her ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Saigon is not the most cordial city in the world. It's a little rough-and-tumble, a bit jagged-edged, pretty aggressive. Energetic, exciting, adrenaline-pumping - yes. Warm and gooey? Not exactly, and especially not when compared with the larger cities of its Southeast Asian neighbors. When you're a resident, the place starts to wear on you a bit. Hong Hanh was our Saigon oasis of niceness. From our first appearance at the top of the precariously steep and narrow flight of stairs that lead to Hong Hanh's second-floor perch we were never made to feel anything but welcome. We didn't speak a word of Vietnamese (shame on us, but that's the way it was) and no one ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: That title is a bit of a test. We were curious as to how many would stick with this post after seeing the words 'rice porridge' up top. Known variously around the region as congee, zhou, khao tom, chao, bubur, and lugao, rice porridge may well be Asia's most underrated dish. Perhaps it's the unfortunate use of the word 'porridge' which, for most Westerners, conjures up images of gloppy oatmeal or lumpy creamed wheat. Maybe the untrained Western palate is to blame; for many of us rice is a bland, uninteresting side starch more suited to the task of sopping up sauce than serving as the focus of a meal. Whatever the reason(s), we find ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Over the two-plus years that have elapsed since we left Saigon for Kuala Lumpur we've nursed a few fond food memories. (And no - we don't count pho among them. Are we the only visitors to/former residents of Vietnam who do not count themselves among the world's pho-natics?) A problem with nostalgia, culinary or otherwise: it's only half-rooted in actuality. The rest is idealized 'reality' - so encounters with whatever one is nostalgic for are bound to disappoint. We returned to Saigon prepared to be, at least a little bit, underwhelmed. But we weren't, not once. We found the flavors of the city's streets to be, if anything, brighter, bolder, and altogether more captivating than we remembered. ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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teckiee writes: One of my colleagues brought me here to celebrate his 10th anniversary working in the company. It's not some where near work, so we all drove to Restaurant Sai Gong in 63 Jalan 1/62D, Medan Putra Business Center in Bandar Menjelara Kepong after work. It didn't take me long to locate the place because the restaurant is in the same area where The Bird is. (Bookings can be made by calling 016-6000655)The dishes I try were just awesome so I just had to bring my family here to try. I keep ranting how great the food is until my sis had to shut me up LOL! ... read more

© teckiee | original post at http://eatfirstthinklater.blogspot.com/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: Cafe sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee with milk) - if there's a better way to wake up in Southeast Asia, we don't know it. We love Malaysian coffee. Thai coffee, sock-filtered the old-fashioned way (if you can find it), can be lip-smacking as well. Sumatran and Balinese brews give a certain endearing jagged-edged kick (just avoid the loose grounds at the bottom of the glass). A mug of Philippine barako is worth a bit of contemplation. But there is just nothing like a glass of iced coffee Vietnamese-style. So thick, so smooth, so caffeine-laden, yet so refreshing. We gave up long ago trying to figure out what the secret is. We tried brewing ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: I had forgotten how loud Saigon is. The deep-throated rumble of the motorcycles that rule its streets makes sidewalk conversation all but impossible. At morning and evening rush hours that purposeful hum would literally shake the floors of our District 1 house (now, curiously, a trendy creperie). It's the kind of racket that rattles the bones, the sound of a city on the move from work to home to play and of a populace rushing from present to future. It's exciting, exhilerating, electrifying. And then it's just not. Narrow alleys offer respite for those in need of one bloody minute's peace. Pick a passageway barely wide enough to accomodate two motorbikes. Enter and walk, ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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Robyn Eckhardt writes: In Vietnamese cities one must be alert to the existence of hidden culinary delights - dishes cooked in kitchens and served from stalls all but invisible to the untrained eye. Working Saigon's Tan Dinh market one recent morning, we're made aware of the existence of one such enterprise when a tray-bearing woman emerges from behind the vegetable stall Dave is photographing. We eye the gorgeous orange-tinted soup noodes balanced on her shoulder, and then crane our necks to peer behind the stall. Sure enough, people are eating back there. From the looks of those noodles, investigation is warranted. A man, his wife, and ... read more

© Robyn Eckhardt (article) and David Hagerman (photographs) | original post at http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/
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