A hard overnight coach from Saigon to Nha Trang combined with checking into an overpriced hotel room during the high season of Tet called for a breakfast splurge. After walking around the coastal streets looking for at least a street vendor for breakfast (none of which were in sight because it was the night before Tet began), I stumbled upon Le Petit Bistro. Food is cheap in Vietnam, even non-Vietnamese food. Why not?
Out of the bare menu, the eggs benedict looked like the most bang for the dong considering an omelette and baguette were not worth that much or a sad looking pastry with preserves. To accompany the meal, fresh mango juice was ordered.
Eggs benedict were fair. Baguette cut in half with a thick slice of ham and a helping of hollandaise sauce on top. Orange juice and more hollandaise sauce were served on the side in shot glasses. The hollandaise sauce was slightly citrusy. The best part was the mango juice, which was literally mangoes put through a juicer with bits of mango fibers in the juice. If only it was also made cold before serving.
Circumstances given, the breakfast was decent, especially for Western fare. Bear the heat and keep walking to taste Vietnam.
Le Petit Bistro. #26D D Tran Quang Khai, Nha Trang, Vietnam
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Pho In Vietnam
Let us breathe out a sigh of relief as we are once again reminded what real pho tastes like. It is heavenly. Light, but flavorful. Fresh. Comforting. And cheap. Real cheap. That 48RMB pho is a fortune compared to the 20,000VND paid to a street vendor in Saigon.
Oh and that pot of stock was full of lovely bones. And the bits of meat and marrow that that came off the bones are floating delicately in the broth. Whilst sitting on one of those little plastic squat chairs, the woman was scooping out the bones from her giant stock pot. There were a lot of bones. Ladle after ladle came out all these bones. Which sort of bones these are is a mystery.
The rice sticks are already softened and set aside in a bowl, which portions are pulled from and put in a sieve and dipped into the broth. The same treatment is given to the meat. Chopped spring onions and parsley are sprinkled on top. With the bowl of pho, you are given a giant basket of basil, lemon grass, bean sprouts, a saucer of chilis, and a saucer of quartered limes (this is not as available in Hanoi as in Saigon). In Hanoi, sometimes sticks of fried dough are offered to accompany the pho. The differences between pho in the north and the south are yet to be further distinguished.
Definitely beats anything in Shanghai. Ruining the memory of amazing pho by continuing to attempt to find a version of it in Shanghai should be avoided. Just like all the bad Mexican food.
Oh and that pot of stock was full of lovely bones. And the bits of meat and marrow that that came off the bones are floating delicately in the broth. Whilst sitting on one of those little plastic squat chairs, the woman was scooping out the bones from her giant stock pot. There were a lot of bones. Ladle after ladle came out all these bones. Which sort of bones these are is a mystery.
The rice sticks are already softened and set aside in a bowl, which portions are pulled from and put in a sieve and dipped into the broth. The same treatment is given to the meat. Chopped spring onions and parsley are sprinkled on top. With the bowl of pho, you are given a giant basket of basil, lemon grass, bean sprouts, a saucer of chilis, and a saucer of quartered limes (this is not as available in Hanoi as in Saigon). In Hanoi, sometimes sticks of fried dough are offered to accompany the pho. The differences between pho in the north and the south are yet to be further distinguished.
Definitely beats anything in Shanghai. Ruining the memory of amazing pho by continuing to attempt to find a version of it in Shanghai should be avoided. Just like all the bad Mexican food.
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