Lunch @ Ngon

Saigon - Lunch was at Ngon @ Pasteur Road.  Always can rely on this restaurant to deliver good Vietnamese food.

Fried spring roll

Fresh spring roll

So, delicious and I could eat it every day....

Cassava noodle with crab meat

Ngon signature dish

Salad on the prawn cracker, very nice when dipped into the 2 sauces.

Escargo with lemograss 

Steam Fish

We were hankering for fried elephant fish but could not identify which is this dish on their complicated menu.   So, we settled for the next option, which turns out to be our liking.

Dong Pho restaurant

Saigon - Dong Pho has an elegant and classic colonial style to the restaurant;s building.   The restaurant is packed with well spaced out dinning tables.   This restaurant specializes in Hue style of cooking.   The menu has a wide selection and we chose from each section to try and taste.  The only qualms I have about this dining is that the waiter are not attentive which makes the dining pleasure a downhill one.

We raise our hands to attract their attention but it seems that they are too busy or just fail to catch our attention.

Hue Style pancake

We had to ordered another dish because the portion was small.  To give credit to the chef the food was really good.

Bun Bo

I had Bun Bo a number of times in Hanoi as it was served in many small stores.  Here the Bun Bo is much sophisticated with a classy presentation.

so unique

This dish reminded me of the Spanish Paella but here in this restaurant they use Com, which is broken rice.

Vermicelli stir fried with Scallops

Morning glory sitr fried with garlic

The deserts was bland but acceptable for a nice quencher to end the nigh.

Che Thap Cam

Che Banh Lot

Che Ba ba

Breakfast @ Tours Le Jours

Saigon - We had breakfast at a Korean 'French' theme restaurant - Tours Le Jours.   It seems having a french sounding name is good for the bakery business.   The other french theme Korea-owned is French Baquette Cafe.

simple bacon breakfast

But it seems that English spelling is still a problem to many....

Cuc Gach Quan - The Original

Saigon - I read so many rave reviews of this dinning institution in Ho Chi Minh and decided to make a bee line to taste the food.   Understandably to many people, they would visit the popular and newer Cuc Gach Quan which is a branch restaurant of this original.   This restaurant came into reputation because of a visit by Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie.

address: 92B, Thach Thi Thanh Street, Tan Dinh, D1

Upon entering, the decor and ambiance feels like you are entering someone's home which is exactly what this Architect owner intention.   He design the decor by himself and it was very nice.

courtyard

Sitting from the dinning table, we are able to see across the courtyard to the kitchen.  The courtyard has a narrow pathway leading to the kitchen, toilet and upstairs dining area.  The courtyard is filled with Japanese Koi.

There are no menus for the food, your choice is only for the drinks which everything cost 30,000dong regardless whether you ordered beer, coffee or fruit juice.

Passion Fruit juice

Since there are no food menus, the chef prepares his own menu for lunch and dinner and patrons dine on what is being cooked.   It takes the burden off figuring what you want to eat today.

Our dinner

The dinner menu today comes with a generous portion of white rice, slice cucumbers, clear soup with cucumbers, sliced pork with fried tau fu, cabbage salad and a plate of fried egg.   Simple home cook food that cost 70,000dong each (about S$ 4.50).   For refill it cost 15,000dong.

After which, we had no frills popcorn.

popcorn

Bloom Saigon

Saigon - Dinner was at Bloom Saigon one of the highly recommended restaurant in Ho Chi Minh.  This restaurant was housed in an old colonial Bungalow and was guide up to the second floor as we had a reservation.   The decor was quaint and pleasant.

old dial phone as an art piece

We order the chef recommendations on the menu.

fresh spring rolls

I simply cannot get enough of Vietnamese fresh spring rolls and can eat this everyday.   Just love the freshness of their rolls.

Fried tofu with lemongrass

This was a unique dish with fried lemongrass and toss over the fried tofu.

Pork belly braised in clay pot with Duck Eggs

A delicious dish and recommended with the pork succulent and moist on the inside.

On the right is Sea Bass Fillet with passion fruit sauce.  The Sea Bass was fresh and was fried fried nicely with a soft inside bringing out the flavour of the meat.  It was topped off with passion fruit and nice combination.

The left dish is Morning Glory sauteed with garlic and mushrooms.

Deep fried chicken wing filled with glutinous rice

City Botanic Gardens & Goodwill Bridge

Brisbane - We continued our Sunday heritage walk from St Stephen's Cathedral to Brisbane City Botanic Gardens located at the Albert / Edward Street.  It was spacious with many families out jogging and playing at nearby sand pits or greens.   There are lots of fauna and birds to look at.

entrance to the Botanic Gardens

lots of greenery

From there we passed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) campus and walked towards Goodwill Bridge.  This bridge is meant only for pedestrians and cyclists only.

me and my sons

upward stretch of the bridge

This bridge stretches from Brisbane city to Southbank and we have been walking for hours.  The view of the sunset on the Brisbane river is scenic and beautiful.

Brisbane river

At the Southbank side of the river, there is another University campus - GriffithUniversity.  This is a public and new University conferred only in 1971 and named after the premier of Queensland.

Griffith University

We found this cafe along George Street which offered reasonably price steak that comes with fresh vegetables and french fries.

murals on the cafe's wall

Beautiful Brisbane Heritage Churches

Brisbane - Bisbane has many beautiful heritage churches within her city.

St John's Cathedral

This beautiful cathedral is situated along Ann Street next to Cathedral square.   St John's Cathedral is the Anglican Cathedral of Brisbane.

inside St John's Cathedral

Another heritage church is St Stephen's Cathedral along Edward Street.   This is a Roman Catholic Cathedral.

buildings within the St Stephen's compound