Vietnam Trip

So, The Economist and I went to Vietnam recently to visit with family members who are teaching at an English-language school over there.  One of the highlights of the trip was the food.  This post will be primarily a photo recounting of the food.  If you have never tried Vietnamese food, you are missing out!

 Before the good, the bad: Airplane food.  Usually, Asian airplane food is pretty good.  This stuff tasted pretty good, but it looks a mess, not unusual for airplane food.  

The "Western" option for breakfast--Chicken Stew!  Who is eating chicken stew for breakfast?  I mean, it was really delicious.  Let's start doing that more!  

In Tokyo, on our layover, I experienced for the first time the culinary transcendence that can occur with a good bowl of ramen.  I don't know what kind of meat that is and I don't care.  The broth was rich, flavorful, unctuous.  The noodles were soothing.  The egg to top it off--that slightly soft yolk--was heavenly.  I had no idea a soft-centered egg could add so much richness to a bowl of essentially soup.  I didn't finish the whole thing off and I burned the hell out of my tongue, but boy was it worth it.  I will be seeking out more ramen in the future.

Our first meal in Vietnam was breakfast/brunch at a warehouse-turned-cafe that could rival any trendy place in Brooklyn.  Obviously, this meal isn't Vietnamese--Actually it's a very good version of eggs benedict.  It came "with bacon" but as you can see, it features a mountain of bacon.  Anywhere in Vietnam that claims "with bacon," you basically end up with this.  Which is no bad thing!  

Coffee break with  my homies.  Iced sugar-free vanilla soy latte.  Yeah, in Vietnam, no problem.  

We went to a german-style beer hall and drank steins of beer.  Yeah, Vietnam, no problem.  

Vietnam of course has a history of French colonialism and, if anything good can be said about colonialism, here is the silver lining.  French cuisine is made even more amazing here with fresh sea food.  This is whole fresh sole in a lemon, white wine, and butter sauce.  It was served so simply but it was so delicious.  Yes, it's bathing in a lake in butter, but I was on vacation!  Plus, look at all that veg!  

 Flan cerise with vanilla bean creme anglaise.  

A fancy Vietnamese restaurant where we ate family style and sat on a rooftop terrace overlooking a busy intersection.  The green-bean looking dish on the right is a plant called morning glory.  It's cooked in lots of garlic and is a weird, delicious cross of spinach and sticks.  

  

Passionfruit mojito.  This will be my drink of choice this summer.  

I can't get ENOUGH spring rolls.  Literally cannot.  

Iced coffee was our constant quick pick-me-up, plus it's cold, thick, sweet, and thirst-quenching.  This tropical fruit sangria was also delicious.  

This chicken and mango salad with passionfruit aioli dressing was so good we ate almost all of it before I remembered to photograph it.  

Caramelized pork in a clay pot with rice.  So, so good.  

Not my dish, unfortunately, but I did photo it--BBQ pork ribs and accouterments.  

Believe me when I say there were many more spectacular and delicious meals that were not particularly photogenic.  We had an amazing thai meal, an indian, and several western-style meals that were also amazeballs to the max.  Those will simply live in my memory.