Bun Thit Nuong
This lady is Linh. We read about her food stand in the New York Times travel section. After a bit of bird doggin' we found her in the Ben Thanh market at the east end of September 23rd Park in District 1. Her specialty is a bowl of rice vermicelli heaped with BBQ pork and herbs to which you add a small bowl of rice wine vinegar. The assemblage is topped with crushed peanuts. The resulting meal is amazing. Complex flavors. Sweet, sour, salty and crunchy. Cost 30,000 Dong ($1.50). Her daughter hand makes fresh shrimp spring rolls for a side. Her stand seats 8 people at a tiny wrap around counter. It's worth the wait for a seat as she is always busy.
The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forc... ... read more 
