Can Tho and Kien Giang

It's been a few weeks since I've stepped foot out of the city, and surely, every place in Viet Nam has its own distinct delicacies. 

Our first stop was Can Tho and not the city, mind you. We visited my uncle in-law's family in Hau Giang Province, which is about 20-30 minutes from downtown. 

Local delicacies included snake and field mice. 

The snake was slow-cooked into a stew. I found it a bit difficult to eat since there wasn't much meat but a lot of small bones that one could easily choke on. The texture was chewier than chicken for sure and the color a kind of beige-grey. 

I skipped on the fried field mice. 

 Since Hau Giang is located so far off on its own, its people make do with fresh local produce. 

The main dish was hotpot. Instead of the usual greens, a different kind of watercress was used into combination with squash flowers and another (the name doesn't come to mind at the moment). I liked how the flowers still had a crunch to them, even after having been dipped into boiling soup. 

Being the late risers that we are, a good portion of the water market vendors had dispersed by the time we arrived in Downtown Can Tho. 

Each vendor hung their product on long sticks to indicate what they were selling. 

After the market, we stopped off onto an island for lunch. 

Candied kumquats, used to cure sore throats. 

Sea snails before preparation. 

Cooked with ginger, lemongrass, and fresh coconut milk. 

Banana tree. Nothing ever goes to waste, as almost every part of the tree is utilized in some way, whether in cooking or other purposes. The reddish/pink flower is sliced into thin strings as garnish in many Viet Namese dishes. Banana leaves are, as seen in many Asian cultures, used as wrapping for storing and cooking food. 

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Onward to Kien Giang! 

It was the first time I'd done a homestay in a (very) rural area. It's simplicity was a refreshing break from city life. We showered with water pumped up from a well. Also, I slept under a mosquito net for the first time in my life. They say that without one, the mosquitoes would have sucked me dry (although Saigon mosquitoes have already done a pretty good job at that). 

This is my uncle chopping up sugarcane. As I've come to know, there are different types of sugarcane. Either because they are too old or just plain too hard, most sugar cane found in Saigon this month is just used for pressing. The sugar cane in Kien Giang, however, was young enough to be had as a snack. During my last trip to Viet Nam, sugar cane was more or less the only thing I was snacking on all and every day. 

Preparing fresh crab for boiling. 

Even rural areas have modernized (a bit). In these photo, you can see a partial water pump mechanism. For those who can afford it, a motor can be used to pump up water instead of the old hand-pump mechanism. It saves a lot of effort and is much more productive. 

Fresh shrimp caught in the backyard!

Our Kien Giang stay was short but truly eye-opening. The biggest problem that I saw was the amount of lead contamination in the local water. The only source of close to drinkable water that these people have are derived from wells, yet the grounds are seeped with lead. They do as much as they can to filter it, although it is evident by the locals' skin condition that the problem still remains. 

The Usuals.

It's been all too quiet on this blogging front. Yes, yes, I know...

Lately, most days are spent lazing away. Eat, sleep, repeat. Oftentimes, when I am not traveling, I feel as though this summer is just like any other, except I am residing on another continent. 

I have been filling the gaps between main meals with street food. There are so many options here (mostly savory), that it's ever-so difficult to make a decision as to what to eat. Lately, my usuals have been fried sweet potato wedges, xoi bap (sticky rice with corn, sugar, and fried onion slivers), and nuoc sam (tonic). 

Fried sweet potato wedges:

I've tried a couple different stalls and so far, the lady on a Ba Hat Street alley (by the Lawyer's office with the navy signage) does it best. Although there is usually a bit of a wait - the fact that she fries it according to orders really makes the fries hot and crispy. Also, the potatoes she uses are actually sweet. She does not, however, take orders over the phone, nor does she deliver. In this day in age, that is very much a set-back for her business. Luckily, she is stationed only a couple blocks from my house. My growing impatience and laziness does mean that I refuse to walk such a distance for fries. Hahah, do I sound like a stuck-up fat kid or what?!?

Xoi (sticky rice) bap (corn):

I had heard of some UH-MAZING xoi bap from across the grapevine. My cousin and aunt were raving about it. The problem was that the xoi bap lady could only be found once in a blue moon. Fear not, the people of Saigon! I hold, in my phone contacts list, the holy grail! (We figured out her daily location schedule anyway. Yes, we stalk food vendors, but not just any. Only the great ones of course.) I usually don't even touch xoi bap but heck, I ate a whole lotta xoi bap last night and am still craving for more. 

Nuoc sam:

There are tonic vendors on every damn street corner of this city, but of course, my lady makes it best. Hahah. Located right off the seven streets intersection, we usually just drive up onto the sidewalk and stop in front of her cart for some refreshing (and I use this term only because she keeps the tonic really chilled) nuoc sam. Mind you, we don't even need to get off our scooter! 

The water in Viet Nam tastes off to me for some reason. It just doesn't taste like...water. So it's always two tall glasses of tonic and two bottles for home. 

Dalat

Saigon temperatures were bearable before I left for Dalat...or so it seemed.

Dalat lies nestled in the valleys of the Central Highlands. Its weather is much like that of San Francisco and in Viet Nam, that's god-sent. 

The market had a lot to offer in terms of variety - quality, not so much. This is primarily a photo-post since I haven't done that in a while. 

Quail, rubbed with coloring for more "appeal".

Chao ga (Chicken porridge)

Fertilized quail egg and hot vit lon (Balut).

Does the texture of the babies (hair and tiny bones) freak you out as much as it does me?

Shellfish galore!

Nem nuong with fried rice paper. I could eat the fried rice paper all day!

Asian yogurt - tart. 

Grilled rice paper with an egg and chives. Apparently this is one of the new "it" snacks everyone has been craving. Dip it in a tarmarind or hot sauce. Viet Namese flat bread, anyone?

Stopped by Windmill Flower and Coffee because it reminded me of home. Macadamia latte. When in Viet Nam, drink Viet Namese iced coffee only!

Jackfruit spotted on roadside stands on the way home. 

Banh Cay

When I am not stuffing my mouth with delicious food, my mind is left to wander about what foods I should be eating. It's a dangerous cycle really, one that I don't see myself escaping in the near future. 

So. much. snacking. 

Today, while at my cousin's place, I had banh cay (spicy fried dough). There's a lady who sells fried snacks literally right in front of her front door. I wish I had that kind of convenience back home. 

On the rare occasion that my mom picked me up from school, we would stop by the Vietnamese fast food place to buy a dozen banh cay or so. It was always a hit or miss, sometimes more fresh and crispy than others, but always a cherished memory. 

Banh Xeo

I honestly can't remember the last time I had banh xeo (Viet Namese pancake). In the states, I'm usually not a fan because the crisp is lost to the thickness of the pancake. No worries, a trip to Viet Nam will fix that. 

Wok-sized banh xeo were the main attraction on a busy street side. Behemoths! I never knew they came this big! Holy smokes! If you've ever eaten banh xeo, do you ever find yourself just picking at the soggy parts after all the crispy areas have been consumed? Well, I do. The feeling is along the lines of..."Can I bring this back and refry it?" 

We also had banh khot (which was also thinner than usual) and some nem nuong. 

Rice cake overload. 

To close the night off, my cousins and I scootered around District 1 looking for refreshments. We ended up at a smoothie stand on the sidewalk. I ordered an avocado smoothie. I know...so vanilla of me, but all that rung in my mind from the list that the waiter had told us was durian smoothies. No thank you to that!

I can assure you that it's not just me who is repulsed by the mere thought of durian, although I did enjoy it as a kid. 

We were planning on going for sea snails tonight but I was stuffed. Yes, sometimes that happens. Another cousin called for a late-night snack. Is it possible to gain weight while in Viet Nam? We'll have to wait and see.  

Until tomorrow!

Hello Saigon!

The heat will not deter my foraging for food! That's not to say that I won't be found lazing away wherever there is air conditioning.

My plane landed around 10 pm last night. By the time I got home, it was close to 11 pm. The streets were mostly empty except for those selling the last of their pushcart food. No worries! My cousins took me for banh bot chien (fried rice cakes) in an alleyway. They cut it up for you in bite-sized pieces here and it's actually crispy (who would've thunk!). Back in the states, no matter how many times I reiterate the fact that I want my rice cakes to be crispy, they always come out as if they never even touched a frying pan.

My cousin Ky and I stopped by her cousin Kim's place for ice cream. Kim needed an electronic whisk but we only brought over tongs for kneading dough. Suffice to say, that wasn't of much use. It also turns out that she was trying to make more of a mousse than ice cream, since she was planning on whipping up some cream and adding coffee and sugar...unless that's what people consider to be ice cream over here? I'm confused. Will have to find out later.
Anyway, we sat in the kitchen for about an hour trying to whip the cream until its peaks were stiff but that was to no avail. Once again, I blame the heat! Heat = no peaks!
Kim likes to try out new recipes and her parents left her and her brother to live by themselves in a pretty big house. Something tells me I'll be over there pretty darn often.

I apologize for the lack of pictures. It's been less than a day and I'm still a paranoid newbie. Using an iPhone on the streets is just asking for trouble over here.

Will be meeting up with my aunt and cousins for more rice cakes and whatnot later for dinner today! Hopefully pictures come up soon?

Goodbyes, Hellos

Currently waiting to board my flight to Saigon!

Alley food is calling my name!