VST

Fish and Shrimp On a Hot Plate ...

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... eaten after wrapped up in - you guessed it - rice paper! There was a bit of a debate between Rocky and the waitress over the proper use of the rice paper - does the shiny side go up, or down? We decided that shiny side up was the winner, since it holds up better to hot juices.

Banh Mi ...

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... decent, but not as good as the ones we've had in Hoi An. Banh Mi makes the best late night snack - too bad Hanoi was the only place where we've really seen any of them available at night.

King Roti ...

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... this bun was a revelation - Japan's melon pan buns might get all the press, but they are bland in comparison to this. Melon pan might have a lighter, fluffier texture, but we'll take the light chew and tasty coffee crust of King Roti any day. Inside is a choice of vanilla, chocolate, or a coffee filling - the chocolate was fantastic, and the vanilla a bit plain. But warm and straight out of the oven? Nothing compares to this! We even went back twice more, but it was never as good as this one - we think Rocky specifically requested ones straight out of the oven, which makes a huge difference.

Corrupting the Tour Group ...

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... most on the tour group had not sampled durian before, so this was their chance - though it normally smells and tastes like soiled diapers, we lucked out with this out-of-season version. It tasted and smelled far better, like three day-old diapers, where the nasty funk has mellowed out a little bit, reducing the pungent aroma to tolerable levels. Would I purposely seek it out again? No. But it wasn't entirely horrific like it usually is.

The Neverending Food Tour ...

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... we actually thought it was over after the banh mi, but then there was the bun from King Roti, the durian, and then a stop at Giang Cafe, where the egg coffee was invented in 1946. There is a real technique to the coffee here - the hot cup of coffee is placed inside a bowl of hot water, to maintain the temperature. You can also get it with rum here, but Rocky advised that it only be added to the iced version, as it doesn't taste as good in the hot version.

Finally, Breakfast ...

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... after missing breakfast at the hotel, the most welcoming sight at the Ho Chi Minh Complex was a platter of fresh baby pineapples for sale.

Coconut Bun ...

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... definitely not on par with King Roti, but that didn't stop us from gorging on a couple of these as part of breakfast!

Blue Butterfly ...

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... yet another fancy restaurant geared towards the tourist hordes - again, the food was good ... but could've been better. A creamy soup with chicken, mushroom, egg, corn, and carrot.

Rushed Coconut Coffee ...

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... our tour guide abided by VST, so we were rushed back on to the bus before we could finish all of it. We tried to guzzle it down, and ended up with a wicked ice cream headache!

Bun Cha Ta ...

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... not being overly impressed with the bun cha at New Day, we gave it one more shot at Bun Cha Ta. It was superior in every way, and this time, we ate it correctly! The accompanying spring rolls were excellent - a traditional version, and a seafood version, although it wound up tasting a tad fishy. The grilled pork meat balls were moist and tender, unlike the dry ones dished up at New Day.