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<\/a>B\u00fan ch\u1ea3 – assemble yourself<\/p><\/div>\n
Also got some Ph\u1edf<\/em><\/span>, of course, to see if I have been getting the real thing. After visiting Yunnan<\/a> (China) I realize that it is very similar to their trademark dish \u7c73\u7ebf \/\/ Mi Xian<\/em>. Makes sense because Yunnan borders Vietnam. Except those noodles are round and Vietnamese rice noodles tend to be flat.\u00a0 Research reveals that it is a Chinese influenced dish. Of course…all noodles come from the motherland of noodles! Think hand-pulled beef noodle soup, just with the South East Asian substitute of rice noodles instead of wheat noodles. My plans contained a variety of noodle soups but plans flew out the window so I can only keep on dreaming about a steaming bowl of noodle soup.<\/p>\n Speaking of dreams, I once had a dream of going to a place to get B\u00e1nh m\u00ec<\/em> – the ultimate Vietnamese sandwich – but woke up before I tasted it (in my dream). I have never had B\u00e1nh m\u00ec<\/em> in my life.<\/p>\n Naturally, this is the one food item I go out of my way to try in order to make my dream come true (literally). Most of them are made with some kind of pork, usually spam. I don’t particularly like processed meat, but there are plenty of other options, like this grilled pork meatball sandwich with pickles and fresh herbs, topped with a sweet and spicy sticky sauce. The bread, of course, is a short French baguette<\/em>, wheat based and thus not at all native to Vietnam. There is a also a Cambodian counterpart to\u00a0B\u00e1nh m\u00ec<\/em> thanks to the shared French colonial history – how politics shape food! Paired with a fresh smoothie, a perfect and cheap (under $1) meal in the park, with free entertainment of watching the local kids play sports and old men play chess. Perfect!<\/p>\n B\u00e1nh m\u00ec and a smoothie in a park – what more to ask for?<\/p><\/div>\n food stall<\/p><\/div>\n What I love about Vietnam is the availability of affordable and tasty street food! Food stalls with snacks at every corner, I love it! And if you want to sit down, no problem at all! Actually, the cover picture is another great assemble-yourself dish called B\u00f2 n\u01b0\u1edbng l\u00e1 l\u1ed1t<\/em>, grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves, to be assembled into rolls using rice paper and again, fresh veggies and herbs. Well-seasoned and delicious.<\/span><\/p>\n There are also plenty of choices to satisfy a sweet tooth, the fruit available is usually already sickly sweet, as well as the go to snack\/dessert: a sweet cold drink. Coconuts and jackfruit with coconut milk is also definitely a South East Asian kind of thing. But I also love the fact that tea is always readily served, mostly tr\u00e0 nh\u00e0i<\/i> \/\/ Jasmine tea<\/em> or just Tr\u00e0 xanh \/\/ green tea<\/em>. It is like everything else in Vietnam: light and delightful.<\/p>\n tea and dessert time – jackfruit in coconut milk and a refreshing litchi black tea<\/p><\/div>\n Not so light, on the other hand, is this banana cake called B\u00e1nh chu\u1ed1i n\u01b0\u1edbng<\/span><\/em>. Usually enjoyed for Tet<\/em> (Vietnamese New Year), it is moist and dense thanks to condensed milk and sweet bananas. Filling and satisfying.<\/p>\n Thank you Mari for hanging out and being two sick travellers – here is her video about HCMC<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/maponmyplate.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/05\/1704_hcmc_food_02.jpg?w=500\")
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