Pho24 Com Tam

Ho Chi Minh City - For lunch visited the old faithful pho restaurant Pho24.  They have changed their menu recently to include broken rice (Com Tam) set dishes.  So, I tried one of their broken rice set dishes.

Broken rice set dish

It wasn't platable to my liking.  The broken rice was a first for me; very different from the long grain fragrant Thai rice.  The only meat was chicken but it was too hard and void of taste.  So, just rice and egg was my lunch.

Broken rice (com tam) is traditionally eaten by the Vietnamese working class as it is cheaper to buy and has gained recognition as a dish due to its unique flavour and texture.   Broken rice originally consisted of grains which were broken during the harvesting and cleaning of rice. Today, broken rice is softer in texture than it’s cast-off ancestor and has become distinctly Vietnamese.

Broken rie are rarely sold in Singapore anymore; it used to be the favourite for making 'cantonese porridge' - an early morning sun riser meal for many.  

Sour sop smoothie

Platter of spring rolls

I love all kinds of Vietnamese spring rolls....

Nha Hang Tan Hai Van restaurant

Ho Chi Minh City - Had dinner at Nha Hang Tan Hai Van restaurant.   This is another upmarket Vietnamese Chinese restaurant with a very wide selection of dishes.    This restaurant is part of the CNSG group of restaurants.

Address: 158-160-162 Nguyen Trai, P. Ben Thanh.

Chicken Noodle soup

Won Ton Noodle Soup

Sweet sour pineapple pork

Deep fried Lady's fingers (Okura)

Fruits platter

Trung Nguyen Coffee

Ho Chi Minh City - After the meeting we had coffee at Trung Nguyen Cafe - their coffee is famously exported around the world.   The aroma of freshly brewed coffee was very pleasant to my senses.

Vietnamese brewing apartatus

coffee strained out

perfectly brewed cuppa coffee

Com Nieu Sai Gon Restaurant

Ho Chi Minh City - My customer brought me to this upmarket Vietnamese restaurant - Com Nieu Sai Gon.    

Address:  59 Ho Xuan Huong St., Dist.3, Ho Chi Minh City

Seems that this restaurant has been places and on the lips of every known gastronomic legend.   This is Celebrity Chef Anthony Bourdain favourite restaurant but as the saying goes ' One man's meat is another man's poison'.   This restaurant is run by the famouse Madam Ngoc.   Com Nieu Sai Gon specialize in clay-pot-baked rice which, after shattering the crockery, they spin, sizzling hot, through the air over the heads of diners to be caught at the other end of the diner; then dress it with various sauces.

Flying rice

The 'flying rice'  was exceptionally hard but an experience worth trying.

Deep fried spring rolls

Fish cakes

This restaurant is an experience worth trying once....

Tapella @ Greenbelt 5 - Worst Restaurant in Manila

Manila - We hankered for something different and came across this spanish restaurant @ Greenbelt 5.   Walking into the restaurant gave me an impression that it's a classy and the food is good but on the contrary - it took so long to serve the 1st dish.

Pasta con Chorizo

The pasta was nice and soft and was tossed nicely with the flavoured blended well.

Cod Fish

This was the most pathetic dish of cod fish in tomato sauce.   Then we have to wait and wait for our next dish...plus the service is really bad.   If you check TripAdvisor, many people had complaint about this restaurant - our bad not to have checked the review.

I looked around and saw that the 2 tables had bread and we did not and I did asked sternly why we weren't given any bread.    We had to ask for butter and olive oil too.

Potato and leak soup

  The soup was too small to share with Lesley.

Rack of lamb

This rack of lamb was cook medium done to our requirement and it tasted good maybe due to the long waiting. 

We just had enough time to have a drink at Starbucks before our movie starts - Ironman 3 - 2nd day of premiere in the Philippines.  

This restaurant is not recommended due to the long waiting time, portions are small and very expensive and bad service.

Sentro 1771 @ Greenbelt 3

Manila - This restaurant serves authentic Filipino cuisine with a modern twist - Sentro 1771

Squash Blossom

A plate of squash flowers stuffed with shrimps and cooked in coconut milk.  A very delicious dish authentic from usual greens.

Rated GG

Galunggong (round scad) fillets fried in garlic oil and topped with brown garlic.   A bit salty dish but a good fish dish that goes with my rice.

Corned Beef Sinigang

This soup Sinigang dish is very unique as it is cooked with corned beef short ribs and boneless shanks in tamarind broth with native vegetables.  I love this so much that I asked for a top up of the soup. 

Blackbeard's Seafood Island @ Green Belt 3

Manila - We walked around Green Belt and tried most of the restaurants there until we saw this seafood restaurant - Blackbeard's Seafood Island - a chain of seafood restaurant in Philippines.

Classic Pakbet

Pakbet is an indigenous Filipino dish from the northern regions of the Philippines. Pinakbet is made from mixed vegetables steamed in fish or shrimp sauce.

Isla Mano A Mano

A plate of grilled seafood and meat.   The only meat left on the plate was the chicken liver.   A very nicely grilled meal.