Last Walk-About

Recently I was on a final walkabout of Saigon and caught the following sights:

New hanging planters installed along Dong Khoi street outside of the Sheraton Hotel.  

Sorta typifies Vietnam in this time and place - it's great that folks put up some pretty hanging planters, which gets watered from municipal water trucks from time to time, but if you look closely you'll notice that they stripped the tree of its bark in a quite violent manner just to install the mounting brackets.  And no obvious attempts to close up the wound with some physical barrier to prevent insects from getting at the wood.  

Two steps forward, two steps back.  Don't be surprised to see some sickly trees on this stretch of road in the near future.

  

Roadway medians here are immaculately cultivated, and this is one of the reasons why.  If you drive around in the mornings, you'll see teams of people hand cutting, weeding, and watering all the government owned greenery.  Once in a while, you'll see a gas operated weedwacker, but otherwise everything else is done manually.     

I've finally found the Apple-certified store - Future World, on NTMK in D3.  Of course it was accidental, as I wasn't going around looking for it.  

 Compared to Hanoi, you don't see much in the way of food vendors on the streets of Saigon, other than the Banh Trang ladies that is.  My theory is that it is because of the office lunch delivery business that goes on in Saigon.  

You see stacks and stacks of these trays delivered every mid-day to all sorts of businesses.  Even the xe-om guys in Saigon eat their lunch via these delivered lunch trays.  A complete meal - which in Vietnam means rice, veg, meat, soup and something pickled - for 10-15k delivered drives away a lot of street vendor competition.  

Bookend Meal at Quan An Ngon

One of the first meals we had in Vietnam, all those moons ago when we first visited, was at the Quan An Ngon in Hanoi.  Our first meal was probably at Pho24 - yeah, cliched, I know.  

So it's faintly appropriate that one of my last meals in Vietnam would take place at Quan An Ngon, this time in the HCMC location across from the Reunification Palace.

It's Saigon, so you gotta grab a Saigon Special beer.  And it's Saigon, so it's freaking hot and therefore I needed a side of iced green tea.  And you thought I was drinking my beer with ice.  And a straw.  Dude, I ain't that local.    

First up, you guessed it, banh cuon.

Next up, some grilled shrimp.  Seeing that I was eating alone, the waiter warned me that a single order was 10 skewers and asked if I really wanted it.  Of course!  Gluttony is best when left last.  

The dish came out with 12+ skewers.  This was some of the best grilled seafood I've had in this country, so I did the proper thing and finished it up.  

You can't often order snails, outside of Escargot at Les Halles or someplace like that, in the States, so I had to get some.  Strangely, they tasted like hard boiled eggs.  

  
To finish things up, I answered a curiosity of mine.  In the evenings till dark, food vendors on bicycles and carts would ply their offerings on the streets of Saigon.  One fare that I often see, and wonder about, is the "Bo Bia" carts.

My limited Vietnamese translates that to 'beef and beer,' which would be an interesting product to sell on the streets.  But I doubt that I was correct, so I never bothered to flag the vendors down and order some.

I saw "Bo Bia" on the menu here and had to finally know.  Turns out it's just a version of some spring rolls.  Then I recalled going to a spring roll dinner party in Hanoi, where the dry rice paper wrappers were in cellophane packaging labelled "Bo Bia."

So I knew it all along, but I forget things.  Coulda used The Google though. 

Chicago Hot Dog

One of the best things about a layover in ORD - the Chicago Style Hot Dog.

It's better in town, of course, but they still offer Vienna Beef dogs at O'Hare:

WIth all the fixin's:

The result - a hot dog so covered with goodies that you don't even see the frankfurter:

Falafel, Again

The Pham Ngu Lao Falafel shop that I posted about earlier has a cool little freebie for its customers.  Besides the common to Vietnam free wifi setup, it boasts free international calling.

Ok, so it's free for 5 minutes and 5k/minute thereafter, but that's still kinda cool and the sort of novel marketing idea that is impressive, especially being the first on the block with it.  

Bia 33

Recently I had some Bia 33.  If you're paying attention, then you know that in Vietnam it is Bia 333 - yeah, there's an extra "3."

I read online somewhere that the name sprouted the addendum shortly after 1975.  Maybe they changed it from the "33" to throw off former American servicemen, or to distance itself from Rolling Rock, who knows.     

What I do know is that the Bia 33 that is available locally to me in the States is made by some outfit in Binh Duong and is a heavier lager.  Bia 333 is made by SABECO (i.e. Saigon Alcohol and Beer Company), which may or may not have a factory in Binh Duong, and is a much lighter brew... like a Coors Light to the 33's Budweiser.  

Take out Pho

There is a lot to like about the national noodle dish of Vietnam, pho, but one thing about this relatively quick meal is that it is difficult to buy it to go, or so I thought.

Here is how Pho24 does its takeout:

The whole shebang, pre-assembly.  Note how many plastic containers one get just for one simple bowl of noodles.  Man, how much does this kill their margins?

This is the top vessel, containing the rice noodles and the meat portion.  This was the pho bo dac biet (special beef pho) version, I think.

Enter the veggies, mostly bean sprouts and sliced white onions and other sundries.

Don't forget the greenery.

Be careful with the splashing when you pour in the MSG goodness.  

A multitude of containers, keeping the cold side cold, the hot side hot.  This is like the McDLT or something.  And you know how that went in the marketplace.  

HCMC Falafel

Pretty darn good and worthy of Dagwood Bumstead in size. 39k makes for a good value in the Pham Ngu Lao area.

Beef and Tofu for Lunch

Here's a beef and tofu rice dish from Pho 2000.  I've eaten here a lot, but this is the first time I've ordered this - somehow I've never noticed it on the menu before.  It's pretty good, with a smattering of veggies to satisfy my fiber deficiency.  30-35k.

It may sound odd, but I eat less fruits and veggies in Vietnam than I do back home.  This is in part because we don't cook here, and in part because I shy away from fruits without a peel.  Ya know, "night fertilizer" and all.  

Here is some cha gio (aka fried spring rolls, shrimp here).  Normally I don't order this, but I was hungry enough to eat something more, but not enough for a full blown main course.  That's the point of an appetizer, I guess.  29k or something like that.    

Indian Dinner

Good thing I am not on Atkins. Potato masala and shrimp biryiani. 102k inclusive of a beer.  

I'm starting to think that the best food values around where I live is either the Vietnamese hawker stand or the Korean BBQ place.  

Xuxu Chicken

Back to some food - here is the famous Xuxu (alternatively spelled Susu, aka chayote) chicken dish, as blogged by Kevin and Lawrence, among others.

It is good and messy for 35k or so. I don't think their prices have changed since the last time I was there 9 months ago. At 55 Tu Xuong in D3, it is too far from me to eat there on the regular.

9 Things to Do in Vietnam

As any long term (be it two week or two months) blogger in Vietnam is wont to do, here is my obligatory "things to do in Vietnam" post.

1. Go get your hair washed

A lot of guidebooks that write about Vietnam gush about the affordability of it all.  I would generally disagree with this - yes, it is easier and cheaper to live comfortably here, but this country is certainly not cheap, but maybe that is because I've been to China a few times and compare Vietnam's prices to there.

Most everything here is cheaper than the US, but also most everything here is more expensive than in China. But that makes sense, for they were all made in China!  So you won't find much in the way of inexpensive goods, but you can find mind-blowing deals (if you're used to US prices) on services.

Housework, chauffeur and childcare services are insanely cheap in comparison, and about equal or less than China even.  But the average tourist isn't gonna use such services.

Instead, take in the affordable and very Vietnamese luxury of getting your hair washed. The hair salons in Vietnam do more business providing hair washes than they do in actually cutting hair. They'll also provide other expected services, such as mani- and pedicures, Asian style services, such as earwax picking, face washes, and clothed massages.  If you look real hard I'm sure you can find places that provide other services, but I'm pretty blind on that account.

A hair wash can be 50k or less.  Just remember to tip.  If you don't like to get your hair wet then go get a foot massage.

2. Enjoy the herb

I don't me the sticky sorta herb, but rather the panoply of SEAsian herbs that are virtually part of every local meal here.  In the US, even at decent Vietnamese restaurants, you're limited to generic things like cilantro, mint and thai basil.  Here, there is so much more, half of which I can only identify by smell and taste.  Out of all the food products in Vietnam, I think I'll miss the basket of herbs the most.  The main reason I like to eat seafood on the streets here is because of the herb mix that comes with it.

3. Go to the beach

I haven't really travelled around all that much in Vietnam, but I've been to some of the beaches here and they're definitely worthwhile. With its long coastline, Vietnam has a whole host of beaches to choose from - some are small and desolate (Sam Son), some are wide, crowded and dirty (Vung Tau), and some are pretty and peaceful (Cua Dai). Sure, it probably doesn't compare to Thailand, but life is pretty good whenever you have sand between your toes while swigging a beer, looking over the sound of crashing waves to the sun peeking over the horizon.

4. Get some clothes made

Before making this recommendation, a few caveats: custom tailored clothing is much cheaper in China (about 50% less), and labor costs here are cheap. Why is the latter a warning? Due to cheap labor, the concept of measure twice, cut once isn't employed here in Vietnam.

In all my dealings with the local labor pool, I find that folks are generally careless and error-prone. At first I attributed this to a lack of work ethic.  But I've slowly come around to the thought that such errors are due to cheap labor.  It costs so very little to rectify mistakes that it doesn't make sense within the local work culture to spend extra resources upfront to minimize mistakes.

It's sorta like the low-cost manufacturing facilities in China and elsewhere - it is cheaper to make 100 items with a 5% defect rate than 95 items with a 1% defect rate. If you engage in the former, you'll pay less and get more good product.

So, even though you should expect mistakes in your tailored clothing, and even though it isn't the cheapest in the world, why do I suggest getting clothes made here?  Because you'll likely end up looking pretty good when all is said and done.

Most Americans, myself include, wear off the rack clothing that is just too big for us. The locals, men and women, almost regardless of age, wear clothes so tight fitting, it would make Fredrick's of Hollywood proud.  So the tailors here are geared towards a more fitted, slimmer cut that ends up more flattering, no matter the customer.  Just make sure to emphasize that you want a more comfortable fit, or else you'll end up with some nut-hugger pants.

A dress shirt made in D1, depending on the fabric choice, costs between a regular off-the-rack Brooks Brothers shirt and the same shirt on sale. But the fabric and the cut will be much better.

5. Go to the mountains

As a country geographically oriented like Chile, the beaches are on the forefront of a tourists' itinerary. But if you want something slightly different, head to the mountains. Places like Fan Si Pan (the highest point in Vietnam), or Dalat or Tam Dao. One of the best times we've had was when we visited Tam Dao.

Of course there is Sapa also. But be aware of the "Sapa Curse" - it's a relatively well known and well subscribed to phenomena amongst the locals.  People say that if you go to Sapa, which is home to the ethnic minorities such as the Hmong and Yao, the women there will put a spell on you and you won't leave until you end up marrying a local ethnic minority and taking them back to the city with you.

It may be an old wives' tale, but I've heard of business colleagues who went to Sapa on vacation, disappeared for months, and returned with a Sapa wife.  And I personally know of a long term Hanoi ex-pat who met and married his wife in Sapa.

6. Play some golf

If you're an American golfer, you have got to play some golf when you're in Vietnam. The courses here are generally in very good condition, but besides that, having a caddy is just something that needs to be experienced. Sure, most of the caddies are not the sort that you would rely on for tournament golf, simply because, unlike the States, the average caddy here does not play the game so their knowledge of it is limited. But if you've thanked the inventor of the Izzo dual-strap, then you'll appreciate someone else humping your bag around the course.

Again, remember to tip, because they get very little, if any, part of the "caddy fee" that is on your bill. Locals tip between 100-200k per 18 holes.  I find that the local HCMC players tip more generously than their Hanoi brethren, so pay attention to where you're playing.

7. Go nhau

"Nhau" - it's a very Vietnamese word.  Loosely translated, it means go out drinking, but it's not really that.  "Go out drinking" sounds more like something you do on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday (and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) night while in college. 

It's not really that.  It's probably more akin to 'getting a pint' - but I dunno, I'm not from a commonwealth country.

No matter the proper translation, you should go out and nhau, especially with some locals.  It's practically a way of life here.   It's fun to sit on some plastic stools, grab some peanuts and Vietnamese style bar food (i.e. stir fried stuff that you can share and/or eat with your hands) and drink the local beer. Don't worry about getting too drunk - for all the bravado of the locals, by and large they don't drink all that much. When locals drink, they end up drinking more ice water than actual beer.

8. Slow down and look around

Visitors pretty much hang in the cities of HCMC or Hanoi, and longer term ex-pats definitely count these cities as their main stomping grounds.  The only comparison to these places are other Asian cities (well, perhaps S.America, Africa and the Middle East.. but I've never been).  It's crowded, it's hectic, and there is so much going on.

But once in a while, just pump your brakes and slow down.  Really look at your surroundings, and the people that inhabit it.  Take it all in and connect with this time, this place.

I am not talking about observing folks and passing judgments, ascribing some sort of bs quiet nobility to the poor and the working poor.

Unlike most American cities, you can see all of Vietnam from virtually any street corner here.  So slow down and breathe in the beauty, the warts, the frustrations, the wealth and poverty, the yearning, and the humanity of it all.  This is current day Vietnam looking back at you, so take it all in before looking away.

9. Leave

At the end of it all you should leave.   You weren't raised here, you don't have many ties here, you're not really from here.  A life spent with an updated passport and a visa needing to be renewed yet again is a life in limbo.

Stay too long and you'll end up like the well-worn caricature - a bitter, whiny, complaining, ugly foreigner.  Do yourself a favor and leave.  Or marry someone local.  I hear the weather is nice this time of year in Sapa.

Weekend Eats and Other Stuff

I was walking about D1 this weekend to do some shopping.  Ended up at the Parkson's Mall when hunger kicked in.  Unfortunately their food court is undergoing renovations, so I hit the street, hit the wall of steam and quickly decided that I neede to get indoors stat.  So I ventured to the food court at Eden Mall across the street instead.  This is the second time I've eaten at this food court, and again I'm impressed. Maybe I should go here more often.   

I got the above from Little Manila, which also has a full fledged outlet in PMH.  What captured my fancy on the menu was the whole fried Tilapia, for 45k.  Not bad, especially for an aircon food court.  The entirety above was like 120k.  

I don't know if it's a Filipino thing, or if it was just prepared incorrectly, but when the menu said "whole fish" I didn't really expect a whole fish, guts and all.  Maybe someone can enlighten me.  Save for the guts, the rest of it was pretty good.   

It's been a long while since I've had pizza in Vietnam.  It's one of those 'why bother' foods for me in this country.  As in, why bother eating it when you can wait for the next trip home.  But I was lazy and therefore wanted delivery.  Ordered from Pepperoni's in the backpacker area, and it was delivered in about 20 minutes to the CBD.  It was pretty decent, considering where I was eating it.  This large, 8-slicer good for about 2 adults was 110k or so.         

Of course, once in a while one has to do "work," so I attended the grand opening of the first HCMC branch of Tien Phong Bank, which may be more commonly known as the bank FPT (with some others) started.

I didn't do anything but watch the proceedings, yet it was freaking exhausting.  Whomever thought to have a protracted outdoor ceremony in the midday sun in Vietnam should really rethink their event planning skills.    

But the expected dragon dance was still cool.  

It was late, the restaurant was starting to shutter its operations for the day, so the older lady who owns the place broke out her Wii to get some tennis in.  This was more amusing to me than the drunk dude below.

Some dude by the name of Thirsty has been stalking me.  Here he is rolling on a moto, smoking up a cigar.

And again, next to a guy who had a really, really good evening out.  

I've been on a chao kick recently; here is the way they serve it at this particular Chinese joint on Nguyen Trai, which is one of the places in HCMC to grab some late night food after having your fill of beer. 

Fish at Jaspas, Pre-Inflation

As a comparo to the recent photo in Fish at Jaspas, here is a similar fish dish on the Jaspas set lunch menu from about 6 months ago.  Same fish species too (barramundi, if you're interested), so it's not like a bigger slice of salmon vs. a more delicate cut of something pricier.  

Visual evidence of the recent inflation, perhaps.  Actually, I don't really pay all that much heed to the local inflation - I'm more focused on inflation in the U.S.  

Fish at Jaspas

Had the set menu for lunch at Jaspas, which I do about once a month. Inflation finally hit their menu, as it has gone up to 144k (from 120k). And the fish seemed smaller. Didn't matter because I still felt a bit sick and didn't finish my meal.

Asian Chicken Soup

In the States you have chicken soup, or perhaps matzo ball, if you're sick. In Vietnam and Southern China, it's chao/jook/congee.

I had some streetside seafood in the Pham Ngu Lao area, followed by a few drinks over quiz night (note: be suspicious of iPhone toting folks at quiz night!). The next morning I woke up sick as can be.

Perhaps it was the clams, or the beers in glasses cleaned on the sidewalk, or those vodka red bulls. Who knows?! But now isn't the time to look back and play the blame game. I'm a Maverick! And I'm puking.

When I was finally comfortable enough to eat, I went around looking for some plain rice porridge and ended up at my fave Vietnamese hawker stand. Ordered a bowl with no meat, extra ginger and some pickled eggplants on the side. Finished that and had another. Totalled 27k and it was the best money that I've spent in a while.

Highlands Rat

This picture made the expat email rounds within the last week - I received it from Mr. Thirsty himself, after he told me about it over some drinks.  Because it seems that he no longer posts on his blog and is consumed by all things Twitter instead, I thought I should throw it up here.

The back story from the emails is that an expat couple went to Highlands Coffee for some cake, and ended up with a surprise.  Some on the email thread was thinking that may be a gecko, but that doesn't look like a gecko to me.  Too bad it's not Mardi Gras, then Highlands could pass it off as a Vietnamese style King Cake - congrats, you've found the hidden prize!

     

Pastries for Brunch

Single serving pastries brunch. That's some sort of croque monsieur,
raisin bread, strawberry and cream dessert and a milk-free shake. I
figured I'm getting enough Chinese melamine in the cream pastry.

Totalled 70k, not bad for a food court in the Diamond Plaza in D1.

Obama Eats Dog Meat

I was reading a Slate's piece about the Asian-American voting bloc, titled "Chinese Democracy: Why Don't We Ever Hear About the Asian-American Vote?

The basic thesis is that the Asian-American "bloc" gets ignored because it doesn't really exist due to the heterogeneity of this group - apparently the diversity within the Asian-American group is as diverse as America itself.  Interestingly, Slate suggests that the only states where Asian-Americans could be swing voters are Nevada and Virginia.    

One  link out of that Slate piece was to Jeff Yang's article in the SFGate, "Could  Obama Be The First Asian American President?"

I didn't know that Obama lived for a period of his childhood in Indonesia - I guess that is one of the sources for the false Muslim accusations.  His stepfather at that time was a Muslim Indonesian.  I'm relatively in tune with the news, but, outside of his Kansas hometown / Harvard Law Review / South Side community organizer / Illinois State Rep and Senate posts, I haven't learned much about the guy from his 18 months of campaigning.  On the flip side, I've read half of Bill Clinton's book and half of Hillary's book.  Throw a sex scandal in Obama's life and I'll promise to read at least half of his autobiography as well!

Here's a shout-out to the sizeable Vietnamese-American community in Virginia - vote for Obama because he has eaten dog meat!  One of the things I share with the dude.  

  

Some More Banh Uot

Apparently I am on a banh uot kick - night time snack again, and another futile quest to get some steamed buns.

Steamed buns are sold out of the same sort of steamers as banh uot, so I asked the first vendor that I saw with a metal steamer pyramid.

It came up as banh uot and the rice based dumpling that you see in the foreground. For a lack of a better description, a rice flour shu mai.

The price was about 85% of what I usually pay in the corner restaurant. So perhaps I paid an ignorance tax. But I'm hungry.

Xi Muoi Drink

Here is a Xi Muoi (salted plums) drink. I finally noticed this on the menu and ordered it tonight.

This one is made from the dried red (artifically colored) plums, so it looks kind forboding. It looks less sinister when the brown salt preserved plums are used.

It seems like there are a few salted traditional drinks on offer in Vietnam.  Another favorite of mine is a salt preserved lemon drink, prepared pretty much like this Xi Muoi drink.  With the heat, and the resultant sweat, of tropical weather, I guess it would make sense.  It's Vietnamese Gatorade!