About to enter The Củ Chi Tunnels

On the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, there is a series of underground mazes called Củ Chi Tunnels that were used by the Viet Cong to fight the Americans during the war.  It was a major part of the Tet Offensive. Now, it’s a theme park catering mostly to western tourists.  But a word of warning, just like Disneyland and other theme parks, it is propaganda based.  Before you go into the tunnels, you are shown a 20 minute documentary about the tunnels and how it was crucial in the war against the ugly Americans.  Some tourists believed that this documentary is propaganda by the Vietnamese government.  Most of us grew up with American government side of the story so  it is only fair to hear the other side, regardless of what your personal believes are.

Inside The Củ Chi Tunnels

The Củ Chi Tunnels are just a series of side-way, up and down small mazes that the Viet Cong constructed during the war to smuggle supplies.  The tunnels are full of booby traps and safety mechanisms to discourage the American soldiers to coming into the tunnels.

One of the Booby Trap around the tunnels

As a western tourist, the first thing I noticed about the tunnels was how small they are.  I can not imagine fitting into the original entrances to the tunnels.  The tour guide told me that they have widened the tunnel to accommodate the tourists. Along with most of my tour group, I decided to crawl through the tunnel for about 10 meters, While inside the tunnel I noticed that it was very warm and space and oxygen were very limited. I went in through one hole and came out the next hole about 10 meters away. The Củ Chi Tunnels are one of the must do when visiting Ho Chi Minh City.

My WOW Factor: 6/10

Nem Lui from a local Hue Restaurant

Nem Lui is a Hue Specialty dish made up of grilled minced pork rolls on leek sticks served with rice paper, vegetables, and peanut sauce. This dish is similar to Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls, which has shrimps or pork with vegetables wrapped in rice wrappers. Unlike the Fresh Spring Rolls, this dish uses rice paper rather than rice wrapper. What is the different? Rice wrappers need to be dripped in warm water before using, while rice papers are ready to be eaten as is. They have the consistency of raw wonton wrappers.

The focus of this dish is the grilled minced pork that reminds me of Middle Eastern grilled seasoned meat on a kabob. In this case, the minced pork is seasoned with uniquely Vietnamese spices and grilled using a bamboo or leek sticks. The grilled minced pork on four or five sticks of leek or bamboo is then accompanied by vegetables, made up of lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, and string carrots and radishes. Another great thing about this dish is that all the ingredients come unassembled and the diner must put this dish together. I love interactive dinning experiences.

Grilled minced pork in Nem Lui

Assembling Nem Lui

Putting this dish together is the fun part. First you take one or two rice paper, depending on how much sauce you want to put in your Nem Lui. If you want the pork roll to be drenched in sauce, I would recommend using two sheets of rice paper. Then take one skewer of pork and place it on the rice paper(s) while removing the bamboo or leek sticks that was use to grill the pork. Next you can either put the sauce or the assorted vegetables depending on what you want. There is no rule that you must put the sauce on top of the pork, so it is up to you. For me, I put my vegetables first then the sauce, the Vietnamese do not really care what you do as long as you are having fun. After all the ingredients have been placed in the rice paper(s), roll it up and take a big bite out of this delicious Hue Specialty.

My WOW Factor: 8/10

In front of Chơ Bén Thành Market

In the central district of Ho Chi Minh City, near the tourist area, lies Chơ Bén Thành Market, a place where you can get cheap knock-off Gucci Bags to a traditional bowl of Pho Noodle Soup.  But, when making the round at the market, make sure your bargaining and haggling skills are sharpened to the max so that you can go home with good deals on your favorite items.  It is good to keep in mind that most, if not all, name brand items are not genuine but cheap knock-offs.  I saw a Ralph Lauren’s Polo logo stitched on an ugly stripped Pascal shirt.  The merchant claimed that it was the real thing.  Does Ralph know about this?  So even if you pay half the asking price for most items, you have been seriously been ripped off.  I would only consider paying 20 to 30 cents on the dollar for most items.  There is no need to get stressed out over haggling.  Worst come to worst, you can just simply walk away.  (This market reminds me of the indoor swap meets that my students in Los Angeles frequent on the weekends, filled with merchant and food stalls.  Similar markets, on a small scale, can be found near the corner of Slauson and Avalon in South Central Los Angeles.)

Inside Chơ Bén Thành Market

At sunset, the sidewalks adjacent to the market are closed to cars and transformed into a night bazaar where merchant stalls are filled with cheap consumer items that did not sell during the day and local restaurants serve authentic Vietnamese and other Asian cuisines.  The only nuance about this night bazaar is that motorcycle scooters are allow to pass through creating a dangerous atmosphere for those who’s eyes are fixated on the food rather then scooter traffic.  But, all in all, it was a good cultural experience.

My WOW Factor: 7/10

Bánh Khoái

Bánh Khoái is Hue Specialty Fried Rice Pancake stuff with pork, shrimps, egg, and vegetable served with peanut sauce. From first glance, it may looks like a taco from a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles but the taste is quite different.  The rice pancake is fried to a crisp and folded so that pork, shrimps, egg, and vegetable can firmly rest inside.  Unlike spring rolls, the stuffing inside, including the vegetables, are stir-fried cooked and well seasoned. The pancake then is drizzled with a few teaspoons of peanut sauce just before sinking your teeth into it.

Me & Bánh Khoái

This Hue Specialty Rice Pancake was a new taste experience for me.  With its unique and unexpected flavor that one would come to expect from fresh Vietnamese Cuisine.

My WOW Factor: 8/10

Across the street, on the east side of Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, I accidently walked up on a Fanny Ice Cream Parlor.  I read about how great their ice cream and sherbet desserts were.  Described in Lonely Planet as “the place for French style ice cream,” Fanny reminds me of an old fashion ice cream parlor where waitresses seat you and bring you menu full of delicious choices.  Their products contain no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.  And, are gluten-free. At this place, you can buy ice cream and sherbet by the cone or order their “ice cream specialties.”  There were many specialties to choose from.  I narrowed my choices down to three:  Eloite (mango, strawberry, passion fruit, orange, and banana sorbets on a fruit salad), FaBaileys (vanilla and chocolate ice cream, Bailey, and whipped cream), and Meule De Riz (combination of fudge caramel and caramel ice cream topped with meringue).

Meule De Riz

Choosing between these three specialties was almost as difficult as choosing which college to attend.  The decision was hard but I finally went with the last choice, Meule De Riz. Caramel got the best of me.  I have always loved caramel as a kid and love anything and everything that has to do with it.  It was an awesome choice out of the three great selections.  The caramel ice cream was inside the meringue topped with fudge caramel.  The plate was decorated with an orchid and wafers.  This is one of those desserts that you pay around $20 at a fine dinning establishment in the United States, but only cost $3.50 at Fanny.

My WOW Factor: 8/10

Thunder

Before I left Vietnam, I decided to stop in at Fanny again.  Luckily they had three locations in Ho Chi Minh City, one near the backpacker area.  When I went into the ice cream parlor, I taught I was going to order one of the other two that I missed out on earlier.  But to my surprise I went with a totally different menu item.  This time I had Thunder (Vanilla Macadamia, Caramel, and Stracciatella Ice Cream, caramel sauce, cranberry, and whipped cream) topped with harden caramel slice.  Damn you, Caramel !!! It was another hit.  I can’t wait for Fanny to come to Los Angeles.

Delicious Daifuku

Daifuku is a Japanese sweet snack made from pounded rice (mochi) and stuff with sweet things. The most common filling is red bean paste, but they can be as unique as fresh strawberry to exotic as flavored ice creams. (I will be reviewing the Yukimi Daifuku, ice cream Daifuku, later.)

Mochi, which surround the stuffing inside, has a chewy texture that protects the delicious flavor inside. Most Daifuku’s mochi taste similar but there are settle differences depending on the color of the outside mochi. For example, green mochi might be flavored with green tea, while white mochi is just ordinary rice flavor. For me, inside is what matter most. I like the simple red bean paste filling but fresh strawberry filling are quite nice as well. They are very satisfying and makes a delicious snack on the go. I am sure you can pick up Daifuku in most Japanese supermarket across the globe.

My WOW Factor: 6.5/10

Nagoya Specialty: Uirō

What is Uirō ?

In Japan, like in most countries, there are regional specialties that associate certain food to a city or prefecture. The city of Nagoya is known for many famous dishes and sweet confections. My favorite of all them all is Miso Katsu, which I will blog about it later. Today, my colleague and friend Tim Schlosser and I sampled a Nagoya specialty called Uirō. It is a sweet confection made of rice flour/powder and sugar. Uirō comes in many different flavors such as green tea, red bean paste, chestnut, etc.

As we cut into the block of Uirō, we noticed that it had a gummy texture that is harder then Jell-o but softer then cheddar cheese, almost the texture of Brie. Even though sugar is one of the main ingredient, the taste was rather mellow and settle, not too sweet but not blend at all. We also notice that it was kind of chewy and sticky. I would recommend Uirō for adults who can appreciate settle sweetness. Children and future diabetics might not be satisfied with the flavor. They are probably served in Japanese Tea Houses across the country and can easily be found in local department stores.

My WOW Factor: 6/10

Wakaya Tofu Restaurant

About an hour and a half way from Nagoya lies the city of Iga (Iga-shi) in Mie Prefecture. Wakaya is a famous restaurant in the city that has been serving tofu for over one hundred years. Yesterday, our school went on a field trip with visiting AFS foreign students to the city and had lunch at the restaurant. Our lunch was consist of a bowl of rice, condiment of pickle vegetables, a bowl of simple soup, okara, steam vegetables, and tofu. The tofu is placed on sticks and barbequed while being brushed with orange-miso sauce. Each lunch comes with 16 tofu sticks (served in yakitori style), which are displayed in a nice wooden container.

As a proud carnivore, a meal without meat is like a day without sunshine. But, this meal was rather healthy and flavorful. As flavorful as a tofu can get. The tofu, which is the center piece of the meal, taste is sweet and savory due to the orange-miso sauce. The other side dishes, such as rice, soup, etc., are meant to complement the tofu.

The whole lunch seem to have a lot of food but it was rather light for my American-size stomach. My WOW Factor: 7/10

Wakaya Restaurant
TEL: 0595(21)4068

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Thank you for stopping by this little insignificant blog in the universe filled with endless stream of information.  The message of this blog is quite simple.  It will be about eating, drinking, and exploring our phat world.  You are invited to come along on my journey of discovery.

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