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. 

Bun Days

What did I do with my day? Eat, eat, then eat some more. 

Breakfast - banh cuon with a side of banh cong

Coffee - Sorrento milk coffee

Lunch - bun cha

Snack - che Campuchia

Dinner - bun thit nuong

Breakfast was taken a bit later than usual today because I was video chatting with mother dear and my uncle was stuck on Sudoku. 

We went for banh cuon. It was pretty good but I was more tied to the banh cong. It was really crispy, haha. 

At Cafe Sorrento, my cousin and I met a lady who coincidently takes her breakfast in our neighborhood every morning, so we made plans to meet up with her soon for some Cambodian food. 

Speaking of which, whyyy me?! I was lounging around when my aunt asked if I wanted to take a stroll through the neighborhood market. Of course I was game since nobody was home. I saw a sign for che Campuchia (Cambodian dessert soup) and was curious as to how it measured up to its Vietnamese counterpart. Someday, I tell ya, curiosity will have the best of me, not that I haven't experienced that before. 

The yellow things looked like jackfruit but turned out to be something else entirely. I don't even know what. There was a slice of squash with an egg custard center. The only thing I knew in the che was the green jelly. Overall, I thought the che was really odd. 

Every aspect of the che looked normal but once I poured it out of the little baggy, I sensed a familiar smell. What do you know? 

Durian.

The worst part is that I had to eat all of it while looking as though I was really enjoying it. No such thing as wasting food here. Just. My. Luck. 

Much fun and good food was had at dinner. My uncle and I stopped by his cousin, Bac Xuan's sewing shop. He had joked that we were hungry but had both forgotten cash at home, so she insisted we all just go out for dinner, which we did! We joked about Bac Ky cons (younger generations) the whole time, even though my dad's side is from Northern Viet Nam (Southerners like to mock Northerners' accents). 

Bun thit nuong. 

Going to eat with nice aunts means that she'll keep on placing food in your dish no matter how often you reiterate that you'll grab food as you please. To top it all off, aunts don't like to waste food. At times like these, yeah, I really wish I had more than just one stomach. 

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!

Oren's Hummus Shop

The early birthday celebration begins! And with hummus nonetheless! 

Went for lunch with my friend Wing today in downtown Palo Alto. Ahhh!!! Hummus!

I'm an avid lover of hummus. I eat it all too often. I can honestly say I've tried most of the huge variety from TJ's. Yeah, okay, I'm a bit obsessed with hummus, but it's sooo good! 

(I apologize for the incessant use of exclamations throughout this post).

I've passed by University Avenue a million times, but somehow I've never noticed this shop. Then again, better late than never!

It was a really nice day, so we sat outside!

I ordered the beef kabobs with hummus and sweet potato fries (not included in the above picture). For the first time ever, the kabobs were nicely seasoned and perfectly moist. I've been to my fair share of Mediterranean restaurants and usually the kabobs are dry and hard. The fries were crispy and the hummus. Oh the hummus! Hahah, tasted fresh, no lemon = My kind of hummus! 

Shakshuka. Wing didn't say much about it, but he finished the whole thing? Hahah. 

Definitely will be back for more hummus! 

Porto's Bakery

Cheeeeeese rolls! These two words alone make my mouth salivate. 

On Saturday, we were off to Porto's for cheese rolls. Yeup, that's right. I had cheese rolls for lunch. Don't forget the potato balls! 

When Dora told me about these famous cheese rolls, I actually thought they'd be savory. The name is a bit misleading, isn't it? Between Julie, Dora, and I, we bought two dozen. AHAHA

The potato balls were meals within themselves.

Ground beef is stuffed in a potato ball and fried. 

Thank goodness I don't live near this place, or else I'd be in for a double bypass in no time at all!