Ho Chi Minh – Day 3 – Street Food

Day 3

Today started with a visit to a cricket farm on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh city.  This is the second time this year, I have tried crickets (the first time was Mexico City).  I tried one, but could not try a large portion in the rice roll as the locals do.  They were cooked in garlic, and tasted fine, but this is not something I would eat regularly.

After this, we headed to the Cu Chi tunnels.  I was disappointed to learn that much of what we saw was a replica and/or not one knew for sure about the history of much of what we saw.  Although this is a major attraction in the area, I would skip it all together.

Although we drove to the tunnels, we took a boat back to Saigon on the Saigon River, and avoided all the traffic.  Its always nice to be on a boat, especially feeling the cool breeze on a hot and humid day, but the river is heavily polluted.

In the evening, I did a street food tour of Saigon.  THIS IS WHAT YOU COME FOR!

Stop 1 Bahn Mi

This was my favorite thing I have eaten here so far.  The bread is fresh and perfect as are all the fillings.

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Stop 2 – Pho

The second best thing I ate tonight – Pho.  Delicious broth.  I was told that this was authentic Northern Style.

Stop 3 – Rice Paper “taco”

This was just OK.  The lady put some cheese, hot dog bits, and other random items in them.

Stop 4 – Vietnamese Crepes – Bahn Xeo

I have had this a couple of times outside Vietnam, and have always thought they were just OK.  I was excited to try them in Vietnam….the verdict…still just OK.

Stop 5 – Snails

The Vietnamese eat these with beer.  Its drinking food.  The sauce for the snails was a tamarid based one, and absolutely delicious.  I also had clams which were very fresh.

Stop 6 – Broken Rice and Pork

Its called broken rice because the grains are fragmented; they look like “half” grains of rice.  Its a popular dish in the south.  I had it with grilled pork and various pickled veg.  It was good.

Stop 7 – Coffee

Of course, the last stop had to be coffee.  Although I take mine black everywhere else, and hot, there is something nice about an iced coffee with a bit of sweetness from the condensed milk, in a hot climate like Saigon.  The coffee here is strong enough to balance the sweetness of the milk, and its delicious.