Day trip to My Tho and Ben Tre

Ho Chi Minh City - After the projects are over, my customer and I took a day tour costing SGD 12 per person from Shinh Tourist Travel near Pham Ngu Lao.  

My journey begins early in the morning as we had to be at Shin Tourist office at 8am because the tour begins at 8:30am.   It was good that the tour guide speaks English too.   The journey from HCMC to My Tho takes around 1hr 40 minutes along the National Highway bordered by green rice fields.   The weather was hot and humid but I had no comfort the air-con struggles to cool the coach.

My Tho is located in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam and important enreport years ago.  On arrival at My Tho, we took a leisure boat to Tortoise island to see rice paper making.

ferry terminal

Bridge that we just crossed

that's the ferry boat

Along the wide river, there are many fish farms.

Fish farms

Rice Paper Making

I always wonder how it was made and it was amazing to see the simplicity of rice paper making.

Stage 1: Grinding the rice

The grinder will grind the rice into a fine water base which will be mixed with tapioca flour to be laid out on a steamer.

Stage 2: steam

Stage 3: dry in the sun

Distinct Rice Paper pattern

 That is how the rice paper has the distinct pattern naturally.

Bee cultivation

Bee Hive

I tried their cultivated bee pollen and natural honey - nice.

Horse drawn carriage

that's my transportation

It is very different from the calesa in Philippines; it was a rough mode of transportation.  You can feel the bumps when crossing over a pot hole. 

The tour provided lunch but it was not appetising but I ate to fill my hunger.

Coconut Candy 

Melted candy simmering over a hot stove

soften candy paste

Candy production line

Then we went to another location to taste local fruits and listen to Vietnamese traditonal folk music.  Afterwhich, we proceeded on a boat ride steered by women down a narrow Tan Thach natural cannal in Ben Tre.  The cruise was under the shade of the water coconut trees, in Singapore we called it 'attap chee' (scientific Nipa Palm).  This is the only palm adapted to the mangrove and grows along the coastline.

We reach back to Ho Chi Minh City at around 3pm.   A tiring but eventful and educational day.  

Vuong Quynh

Ho Chi Minh City - Late night and hankering for food, the taxi driver brought us a Pho restaurant that I have never been to - Vuong Quynh.  I am also not sure how to pronounced Quynh too.  This restaurant serves Hu Tieu Nam Vang" or Phnom Penh noodle soup.

Across the street, you have another restaurant - Quynh hot pot restaurant and next to it Quynh Cafe, serving coffee.   Quite a huge variety to serve the late night crowd hankering for food.  

Address:  A65 Nguyen Trai, Q1, HCMC

Pho Pork Bones

I tried their Pho Pork Bones, the broth is tasty quite different from other Pho outlets.   The Pork bones are huge and not so refined like our Singapore Bak Kut Teh.  But the essence could be tasted from the pork and it is good and tasty.   The Pho is also different.   Pho is pronounced as 'Fur' and NOT 'Fo'.

For SGD 10 for 2 persons of Pho Pork Bones + 2 can of coke + 1 bottle of mineral water; seems like a good deal....

Enjoy!

Seafood street food besides Ben Thanh Market

Ho Chi Minh City - This seafood restaurant with make shift tents only opens at night for dinner and I have been coming here since my very first trip to Saigon.   I would think the price here is a bit pricey but the waiters speaks English and the food is fresh; even though it could be consider street corner food.

Fresh Spring Rolls

I must have this Vietnamese gastronomic dish - fresh spring rolls.....

Vietnamese coconut drink

I thin the pinnacle of coconut fruit drink is the Thai young coconut drink - it is succulent and sweet.  But the Vietnamese coconut comes the closet in so far I have tasted across countries.

Bowl of boiled snails

This boiled snails are cooked with citronella.  Yes, that was stated on the menu but Citronella plant is not edible and it is also called mosquito plant - the scent aparently drives mosquitoes crazy.  But Citronella is a close relative of the Lemongrass plant.  So, it should be boiled with Lemongrass.   Nevertheless, the taste of the snails (or escagoes) are lovely.

Crabs fried with garlic

Medium sized mud crabs nicely cooked - average it terms of the crabs dishes I have tasted at least better than the crab I had in Cebu.

Deep-fried Elephant Fish

The taste of the elephant fish is flavourless but with the delicious Vietnamese sauces, the dish comes alive.  You have to wrapped the fish with basil, lettuce onto the paper wrap into a spring roll and pop it in your mouth.   A very fresh and delicious meal....all this for a 991,000 dong bill (SGD 58).  

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....