re: Exploring the food culture in Vietnam beyond pho

$20 challenge continued…

Went and got some clay oven pork belly bánh mì(#6)this morning:









These were 22k each and I got 2 of them. The best bánh mì on the trip so far. Filled with chili paste, egg mayo, home made fish sauce, chopped pork belly, shredded carrots and green papaya, green chili, cucumber, cilantro, rau ram(Vietnamese coriander). The home made fish sauce, chili paste, and the crispy skin of the pork belly were the stars of the show.

After the 2 banh mis, I got the salted coffee. Top level=salt foam/cream, middle layer = coffee, bottom layer = condensed milk. Tasted like liquid chocolate with sea salt caramel on ice. 20k

Then went to the market to get some fruits.

Thai mangosteens


2 types of rambutan


Custard/sugar apples and mangos. These mangos are my favorite. Sweet, juicy, and have a unique citrus flavor. There are no mangos like it and I wish I knew the variety name.


These 2 are for BigDropper. What are the names?


All the fruits 260k

Finished of breakfast with sugarcane juice and coconut water with meat. 27k


Remaining balance 84k

I saw 3-4 varieties but haven’t tried them yet.

have you tried the mangosteen? I love that fruit. Gonna have to swing by the asian market tomorrow and get raped on pricing here in the good ole usa.

Thanks for this thread, it has been a great read. Curious, how far in advance did you book the flight and how long do you normally stay? It seems you are on the move on this trip, is that something you normally do on your trips? Is staying put in Da Nang for a week or two too small-minded and would you say to take day trips to nearby places?

Da Nang is next on the list for overseas travel. From what we have read, it's safe, more tranquil than Saigon, cheap, they speak some English and has awesome food. After 2+ weeks in India, I can't imagine a place more chaotic.

Safe travels and keep coming with the food pics!

Usually, when I go to VN I stay at least a month. I flew into Saigon this time because this one flight was particularly cheap. I believe it was around $530 one way. Stay there 2-3 days and head into Da Nang. I think Saigon is a smaller India minus the cows or monkeys in the street. District 1 and 7 can be nice but overall the city is very chaotic, noisy, hot. It does have good food and a wide variety. I have family ties in Da Nang but if it wasn’t for that, I’d still visit it. Cleaner and more quiet than Saigon but it still has a laid back city feel. It has mountains, beach, the riversides, coconut trees, friendlier people and cheaper prices. Hoi An 30 minutes to the south, Hue 45 mins to the north.

Don’t worry, I had to look both of these up. The little ones are Barbados cherries. How’d they end up here? They’re like chewy small tomatoes with large flat seeds. The other one is Thai green jujubes. Crispiest fruit I’ve tasted but very bland in flavor. So bland that the locals eat it by dipping them in chili salt.

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cows or monkeys in the street

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Exactly.

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciated! Any nuances you would point out, like drivers, hotels? Unlike India, we would be on our own.

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Thai green jujubes

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I've only seen the dried version of these. Cool to see the fresh ones.

I'm considering going next summer.
Looking at flights, seems most flights have two stops from MSY that's a bummer. Any flights direct from the US to anywhere in Vietnam?
After flights everything else seems cheap.

My issue is I hope I have my transplant by then. If not I'll have to get a ton of PD solution out there (doable but a hassle)

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I flew my buddy in from BR to visit and he loved it so much that he decided to move to Hoi An. Got a 2 br apartment by the beach ($250 a month) and a job at a tailor shop. Life changing trip as his life in BR was passing him by (kids moved on … career stalled etc).

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That's just nuts!.. Happy for him though!