Another visit to Vietnam….when for a walkabout somewhere near Ben Tharn market, and I saw this 1Malaysia stall..
Had dinner at Pho 24, I have tried pho ( beef noodles ) and the broken rice but hadn’t tried the vermicelli noodles (Bun), so I opted for the Bun + spring roll + grilled pork version and for drinks I ordered pamelo juice. I thought this was something soupy but err..it was a dry dish. The vermicelli was nesting on top of bean sprouts..oh oh…I am not a fan of raw bean sprouts. The vermicelli were surprisingly moist yet non sticky and rather pleasant really. The fried spring roll were tasty and so was the grilled pork. Pamelo juice was perfect as a refreshment.
Can I get a refund for the beansprouts ?
The next day, we traveled to Binh Duong, visit some customers and took them out for lunch. Lunch was at Phuoc Hoa , the place was air-conditioned and the setting was basic but serves its purpose.
I was told that these red chilies are not as ‘innocent’ as the red chilies we see back home in Malaysia, these packed a fiery kick- i dare not give it a try , chicken !
I was asked to guess what these were :
I thought i was so pandai and said ‘oh, I know, these are the eggs from the bird (quail)’ and became the object of mirth for those around the table.. these were the small bulb egg plants ! It was crunchy and the texture was graining at the centre when you bite into the seeds. This was slightly salty as they were soaked in salt water.
Each of us have our individual pot of steamed rice
Stir fried beef with some kind of flower buds, the flavour was very light, which gave the flavour of the beef the center stage, the beef was chewy but not tough, this was nice.
Catfish in claypot – this dish has a multitude of flavours including bit bit sweet, a bit bit of spicy and then lots of pepper. The fish was smooth and sweet, there were no earthy taste from the fish. Yum
Blanched pumpkin leaves – this was cooked just right, the pumpkin leaves/shoots were tender, the flavour wasn’t overly green. This was usually eaten by dipping in some sauce, but I find the leaves taste well enough on its own.
Fried eggs – err…this tasted like the usual fried eggs loorr
I find that the Vietnamese uses a lot of dips/ sauces, there is almost 1 sauce for each dish.
Fried squid rings- the squids were tender and fresh. The batter were thin and did not get into the way of squid. Ah..a joy with each bite..
Bitterguord soup with minced pork – this was a very simple dish and I am not sure what was it but the flavour reminded me of an olden lost flavour that I used to enjoy. The soup was strongly flavoured with lots of pepper. I find the bitter guord slices a bit too green and too crunchy, if this was back home, we would have boiled it until all the slices would have turned soft and yellowish.
Steamed chicken – being used to the soft and muscle-less ‘ayam daging’ back home, the chicken in Vietnam is kinda tough – but tough in a good way. I guess these chicken were not pumped with hormones or cooped up all day hence the tougher texture and better chicken-y flavour. Yumm
Overall, a simple meal but an enjoyable one.
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