Bun Cuon

Banh Khoc (a specialty from my home town, Vung Tau)

Banh Bot Loc - Sticky Rice Cakes

Banh Cuon (thin rice paper cakes)

So my posts are a little late (alright about 2 1/2 months late) but better now than never...

As everyone knows, I travel for the food. One day Vinny and I hope to get ourselves back to Italy where there's an amazing program where you have home cooked meals with families that are masters at their regions cuisine. So until I can get back, here are my food highlights from Viet Nam.

After work one day, my two friends Phuong and Hue decided that we needed to embark on a food adventure. After picking up Bus #26, we made our way to the edge of District 1 and District 3 border to a restaurant on the second floor. The only way up? A narrow spiral staircase. I knew the food had to be good considering that it wasn't even dinner time yet and the restaurant was packed with people.

As with all things in Viet Nam, a lot of cakes are made with rice. But oh are they delicious. There's nothing like biting into a warm rice cake (there are so many different textures, soft, chewy, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, the list goes on and on) mixed in with the sweet tangy fish sauce and the crunch of fresh mint, basil, and other various herbs I don't know the English equivalents too. As Top Chef judges would say, it has everything, flavor, great plating, and texture. No wonder all the Vietnamese inspired food on Top Chef always seems to make it to the one of the finalists for the winning dish. No one can beat flavor and texture. It's a great combination.