Arrogant

Just because you’re not a local doesn’t mean that you’re in any way of a higher status than us.

Do not use that questioning tone as if we’re too stupid to understand what you’re saying

Hmph!

What I ate in HCMC - Part 2

During this trip, I’m really thankful to HS and his staffs for bringing us around to try authentic local food.

Row 1:
We had the superb mixed beef pho @ Pho Hoa (this is the only branch and they do not have any franchise, not even the one in Sg is).

The seafood dinner was delicioussssss! For $50, the 5 of us finished off 1 kg of prawns (stir fried with assam and artery clogging pork lard) 3 plates of shellfish dishes and seafood porridge. We even requested for baguettes so that we can dipped it into the sauce from 1 of the shellfish dishes. That’s Singaporean style for you!

Row 2:
Wrapped with lotus leaf, the Ban Giao is filled with flavorful minced pork and black fungus, and the outer portion tastes like our chwee kuay. It’s so good that I bought a dozen back home. This resulted in my bag being checked at the Viet airport when it went through the scanner. Well, they let me “off” as they know that it’s merely their local food and this crazy lady likes it so much that she had buy them back home :p

HS said that Viet is not just of Pho or rice roll therefore he brought us to try this yellow noodles with a soup base which tasted slightly like tom yum with slices of fatty pork, prawns and fish cakes. Yet another delicious meal I had in HCMC!

Row 3:
I vividly remembered that duck fetal eggs are sold in Vietnam. And when HS suggested the different kind of exotic food (rabbit meat) we can try there, I said yes immediately to try the eggs! It doesn’t taste that bizarre: slightly like hard boiled egg with hard crunches in between bites. However, I did had trouble getting the last few mouths down my throat. :p

What I ate in HCMC - Part 1

Being in HCMC, I decided to forgo the air-conditioned cafe and opted to have our drink from a street side vendor. It’s just something I had to try – sitting in those plastic chairs; experiencing what the locals do. Those thirst quenching lime juice and sugarcane juice were so damn good that I finished them in less than 5 mins! Just ignore the scene whereby the vendor handled the ice cubes and money with the same hand :p

We were to full to try the delicious looking fried carrot cake and Bánh mì (Vietnamese baguette with bbq pork and eggs). Salivating while writing this.

Lx and I woke up @ 6.30am on the last day in order to do some last minute shopping before our flight home. Breakast was at Nhu Lan as we wanted to buy the delicious Ban Giao back to Sg. Oh... how I miss the ice coffee in Viet and I’m not even a coffee person, that’s how good it is!

Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnel - day tour

. Breakfast @ Kim Café . Boarding the tour coach .

The tour started from 8.30am to around 6pm. Majority of the time was spent on the coach as the temple and cu chi tunnel is located quite far from HCMC. It’s interesting to see how devotees of the Caodaism come together everyday at noon for a prayer session. You’re not allowed to pose for a picture along with the statues as it will mean that you’re on the same status as the God.

. Temple . Prayer session .
. Cu chi tunnel . Tapioca with peanut dip .

Lx and I went into the tunnel and before I know it, we’re out from it. If I’ve known, I would have chosen the right side route which is longer and slightly smaller. Perhaps due to our Asian frame, I didn’t really felt claustrophobic or nervous inside the tunnel.

Lx, Shree-ann (new friend from SG who was travelling alone) and I went to have the famous Pho @ Pho 2000 (Pho for the President > as per signboard as Bill Clinton patronized them before). It’s pretty good but you’ll spot mostly tourist inside the shop. After dinne, we shopped around the night market and I had difficulty shopping as I did not bring out much cash. Shopping with limited cash in your pocket is quite a toture! Therefore, the next day I made sure I had enough Viet dong and Sing dollar :p