The making of banh cuon

I went to eat banh cuon (rolled rice cake) with my cousin Vy in Saigon. These rolled rice cakes are filled with shrimp, beef, and dipped in fish sauce. So good! Even better is that I got to see the making of these rice cakes. Making these goodies takes a lot of skill. The rice flour has to be poured out and spread evenly. When it is finished, it has to be picked up in such a way as to not rip these very thin rice papers. This person does it so well, she could multitask.

I'll be making my last trip around Vietnam (to Dalat) for the next few days so I won't be updating. After that, I'll be home soon!

Saigon by xe lam

A really cool way to see the city from a local's point of view is to take a ride on a xe lam. I'm not sure what they're called in English, but they're basically these little metal covered wagons that function as buses over here. People hop on and off of these (while still moving!) to get around the city. And when you want to get off, just knock on the roof of the bus and yell to the driver where you want to get off. The #46 goes to the center of Saigon and passes right by my family's place in District 8. Perfect. It's a neat, interesting way to go around the city and also very cheap--only 3,000 a ticket, less than 20 cents.

Clothes shopping in Saigon

I came here thinking that this was going to be a haven to buy cheap clothes, thinking that since everything seems to be made here nowadays, these clothes should be easy to find. This has not exactly been the case. The thing is that clothes made here for stores like Forever 21, Gap, or Northface are not sold here. Everything is shipped out to the U.S. and European countries, making it difficult and frustrating for people like my young cousins to find. What they do have here in abundance is clothes made here or imported from China.

And these clothes are...to put it lightly, not exactly my style. To put it bluntly (because who cares), they are tacky and borderline fugly. Too much crazy patterns, sparkles, ruffles, and of very poor quality. They're the clothes you find in those empty stores in that corner of Great Mall no one goes to named Diva or Fashion House. You pass by those stores thinking no one in their right mind would waste their money there, but you do see them at Grand Century rocking their outfits with an admirable level of confidence and high stiletto shoes. That is basically Vietnamese fashion in a nutshell--A crazy assortment of tackiness and a fierce sense of confidence that their outfit is the hottest to ever hit the block. I seriously saw a woman, in 100+ degree weather walk around Saigon in a long black velvet, low v-neck jumpsuit with white pleather 5-inch stilettos. Hair highlighted golden brown, a thick mask of makeup painted on her face--she was certainly a wonder to behold. How she managed to wear that thick jumpsuit in this awful heat left me confused, but her ability to walk around like the hottest shit around with makeup melting off her face is really admirable. I wish I had that self-confidence.

But, totally off-topic. Back to shopping. SO, I've been around to all different kinds of places trying to find some nice, cheap clothes. I've been to newly built malls with brand-name stores that sell American brands for inexorbitant prices (they have Papaya over here and a dress that would cost about $15 bucks over here cost $100 over there...ridiculous!) and outside markets that also charge a ridiculous amount (because I'm a foreigner) for some ugly, tacky clothes. I almost gave up shopping in Vietnam until my cousin, Vy, showed me two places for foreigners to shop for some cute and cheap finds.


Place #1--The Russian Market (Cho Nga)
I didn't know that Vietnam is home to a pretty sizable Russian population here (and in Russia), which is a remnant of Russia's Soviet Union past and its influence on Communist Vietnam, especially during the early days. The Russian Market represents this influence. Most of the sellers here have some connection to Russia, either having lived there and returned back to set up shop or they have relatives over there who send them merchandise from Russia. The merchandise sold here is made in Vietnam, but exported to Russia. Somehow (and possibly through illegal means), these merchandise got into the hands of these sellers and sold to Vietnamese (and Russian) locals living here.

What makes this market special is that it sells clothes more fitting to the Western style. The material of the clothes here is thicker and of better quality. This mall is a good place to shop for coats, especially real Northface (which are made in Vietnam) and Abercrombie and Fitch coats. Brand names are sold at a third of the price. I saw the exact same coat I bought from Abercrombie a few years ago for $150, sold here for around $30 bucks. Same coat, material, quality, and everything. The clothes here are also not that bad. I also bought a dress shirt for around $5. Bargaining is key. Pay only about 60-70% of the asking price.

The mall is relatively new, tucked away near a freeway, out of the touristy area so not much people know about it yet. Go there for deals on coats.

Place #2-Saigon Square
This place is shopping central for foreigners on the lookout for cheap clothes, knockoff designer purses, and shoes. Located near the center of the city, it was actually the home of the Russian Market a few years ago before the government moved the Russian Market to its new location. This place is just awesome. Sure, most of the "brand-name" are fake (and if real, it is stolen), but they sold very cheap. One thing on fake brand name clothes sold in Vietnam to keep in mind--I was told that companies like Gap that come here often have their designs sold to local sewing factories, who make the same thing with very similar material and sell it to foreigners at very low prices. Fake, then, doesn't mean bad quality. It's basically the same design and material, just not made by the company itself.

Like the Russian Market, it is set up like an inside flea market. For the claustrophobic, it can be a bit much. There are a crazy amount of people scrambling inside, most of which are tourists from Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia, grabbing Kipling bags and bargaining over piles and piles of clothes. What I like about this place is that it not only has a good selection of cheap clothes, but the sellers here are a lot nicer than the ones catering to locals. Sellers catering to locals are awful and often yell at you when you bargain and don't buy. The ones here are a bit more patient, offer better customer service, and don't curse you when you leave their stall empty-handed.

Bargaining is also key here. The prices are generally cheap--$5 and below for shirts, shorts, and jeans. A bit more for designer knock-off purses and electronics. It is best to walk around and get a few for the prices of a certain item you like at more than a few stalls since they all basically seling the same merchandise.

So glad that my cousin showed me these places. I certainly know where to waste my Vietnamese money at now.

Russian Market
225 Ben Chuong Duong Street in District 1.

Saigon Square
At the intersection of Le Duan and Hai Ba Trung, right in downtown Saigon

The Holy Grail of pho

I found it...a bowl of pho that not only rivals my mom's, but tops any other bowl of pho I have ever had. This is the Holy Grail of pho-a bowl so good that despite sitting in a packed restaurant, I didn't hear anything else other than the furious slurping and clattering of utensils against bowls.

Pho Le, located in Saigon's Chinatown, is famous among locals. It is considered one of the best pho restaurants in all of Saigon (which to me, makes it one of the best pho joints around). The pho here is so good it is attracting the attention of foreigners--I spotted a few Westerners eating here, which is sort of surprising considering that it is nowhere near any tourist site but in the middle of a bustling business district.

True southern Vietnamese pho is eaten with a lot of vegetables. Most restaurants in the States are very cheap with their veggie servings, but not here. You are greeted with a huge bucket of bean sprouts and ngo gai (don't know the English word for it).

...and a plateful of lemons and chopped chili peppers

How to describe this bowl of goodness? Let's start with the broth...
I don't know about other people, but what makes pho pho is the broth. True pho is a rigorous undertaking. Beef is cooked overnight until the meat falls off the bones and becomes tender. The broth, sweetened from the beef bones and meat, is saved to make pho. Most pho broth at other places are flavored by prepackaged pho flavorings. You taste that artificial flavoring immediately because it lacks a certain depth to the flavor. Not at Pho Le.

The broth here was sweet and I could taste that bit of fattiness from the meat. I also squeezed in lime to add a bit of sourness and chili peppers for spiciness. This combo of sweet, sour, and spicy was perfect, and attacked my taste buds with every slurp.
The meat was really, really tender not like that tough meat I've been eating at most other places here. It had a bit of fat and muscle still on it. I knew eating all that fatty tissue wasn't good for me, but dang, it was so good.

Look at that...so beautiful.
The bowls here are HUGE, but I finished the whole thing because it was just that good. I really can't describe how good it is, but it's the type of good that you just want to keep returning back to eat. I've never, ever had pho this good, which is saying a lot because before eating here, I swore that no one could ever make pho as good as my mom. But this place...it's just that good. Everyone in my family that has been here all agrees that it is the best place.
The final stamp of approval that seals it all...my mom's. My mom criticizes every bowl of pho she doesn't make herself, often with good reason. But even she agrees that the pho is good here. Also, my aunt, (pictured on the right) agreed and her tastebuds are shot due to sickness.

I didn't think I would find a bowl to rival my mom's, but I did. And I am oh, so much happier for it.

Pho Le
413-415 Nguyen Trai
Phuong 7, Quan 5, Saigon

Snail hunting in Saigon

In preparation for this trip, I watched and rewatched Anthony Bourdain's episodes in Vietnam. In his South Vietnam feature, Bourdain visited what he termed as "Oc Street" in Saigon, an entire street dedicated to serving snail (oc means snail in Vietnamese) and other seafood delicacies, such as shellfish, clams, oysters, and soft-shelled crab. Watching him feast on snail and crab, cooked in tamarind sauce and all sorts of spicy goodness made my mouth water and I told myself then that when I went to Vietnam, I had to find this Oc Street and eat there.

I asked my family of such a street and they immediately knew what I talking about, but they were more surprised that I would actually want to eat there. "Aren't you scared?", they asked me. Scared? Why would I be scared? Should I be scared? Apparently, these places aren't known to be the cleanest and with my foreigner stomach, the risk of getting a stomach ache or even worse, food poisoning is high. Pssh...screw that. I wasn't going to pass up the chance to eat seafood for a third of the price it would cost in the States and seeing that my stomach has been surprisingly healthy so far, I was game.

They took me out on a Saturday night and Saigon was bursting at the seams with energy. Everyone was out on their motorbikes, taking in the nightlife and the streets were full of hungry people looking for some good Southern Vietnamese food to fill up their stomach to either sober up or prepare for the drunken festivities ahead.

Oc Street is located in Saigon's District 4, an area well-known by locals to be sketchy and dangerous, but also where you can find some good drunk food. The street itself isn't difficult to find because once you locate an oc restaurant in the area, chances are there are many more around the corner. With so many restaurants to choose from, we randomly picked a place to eat.

The other patrons were mainly young men, already drunk and thoroughly enjoying their late-night dinners. The place was staffed by young, pretty girls, fitting for the clientele and the ambiance in which they were serving. And the cleanliness? The seats were covered with a layer of dirt and when I tried going to the restroom, there were no stall doors, no toilet paper, and the toilet itself was crumbling and moldy. Oh, it was also unisex. I decided it was best to wait until I went home. But all of this didn't matter because when the food arrived, the aroma and the presentation captured all of my senses.

The first dish, clams cooked in tamarind sauce with peanut bits as garnish. The sauce made the dish--the right amount of sweet and sour.
My favorite dish. Not sure what type of clam this is, but pour a little fish sauce on top and scoop the whole thing in your mouth. So, so good.
Clams cooked in a hotpot of lemongrass soup.

Spicy soft-shelled crab. This dish was too spicy for my taste and my lips were burning red after eating just a few.
Mussels eaten with fish sauce.
And the snail dish? I left the ordering to my family and they ended up not ordering snail, which was what I had been anticipating the most. Not really sure why that was the case, but it didn't really bother me, considering that this was one of the best seafood meals I ever had in my life. It was also the cheapest. Every dish was around 45,000-55,000 dong, which is about $2 to $3 per dish and rounded out to be about $20 for the entire meal (we ordered seconds). A seafood meal such as this would run around $40 at the very least in the States. So cheap.

My seafood cravings are satisfied for now, but I'm still hunting for a good snail joint and I will gladly return to Oc Street again to continue my search.

A trip down memory lane

I'm in Saigon now and for my first day here, my Mom wanted to go to the center of the city and explore the area. What was supposed to be a nice walk around the touristy area to do a little shopping turned into a trip down memory lane for my Mom, who used the occasion to point out places where she and my Dad used to go to for their dates.

I heard about the ice cream at 'Kem Bach Dang' from my friend, Amy, who told me that it was delicious. Apparently, it is a famous ice cream parlor and so popular that it has two stores located side by side. It also was where my Dad would take my Mom on their dates. Considering that my Mom was a spoiled city girl, it is only understandable that my Dad, a poor country bumpkin, would take her to such a fancy place.


I had high expectations for this place, but it was alright. I got a cocoa ice cream and it honestly tasted like any other ice cream I could get in America. It was good, but nothing special.
It cost 45,000 dong, which is a little over $2 USD. Very cheap for US standards, but for the average Vietnamese, it is very pricey and the reason why there were only foreigners in this place.

Rex hotel, where U.S army soldiers used to stay. There's a cinema inside and my Mom and Dad would go there for movie dates.
This was the coolest site my Mom pointed out--the main postal office, where my Mom would go to send my Dad letters. I was told that back then, my Mom loved writing poetry and that she was very good at it. I imagine my Mom, skipping class to hop on her Honda motorcycle, to zoom to the center of the city to send my Dad a love letter she took hours to write.
It was sweet to see my Mom pointing out these places. She is usually too embarrassed to talk about their courtship, so seeing her open up about the places they went was really cool. They just had their 35th wedding anniversary (they were married exactly one month after the Fall of Saigon, in 1975) so obviously dates at these places worked out as planned.

That's all for now. Here's a pic of my swollen mosquito bite on the sole of my foot. Have a good Memorial Day!