Touring Vietnam with Phong Part 3: Looking for the Perfect Bowl of Noodles in Hue

Growing up, my dad would always take me to a Vietnamese restaurant called Thanh Vi, right across the street from his grocery store. I pretty much grew up in the restaurant's corner booth. While most people's first experience with Vietnamese noodle soup is pho, my dad introduced me to Vietnamese cuisine with a hot bowl of bun bo hue - thick, rice noodles and beef in a spicy broth. Bun bo hue literally translates to "noodle beef Hue" with Hue being the location that invented it. I was a picky eater growing up, but I instantly loved bun bo hue when I first had it (except for the giant pig's foot) and would order nothing else whenever we ate Vietnamese food.

So when planning my trip to Vietnam, I knew I HAD TO stop by Hue to get an authentic bowl from the source. After a couple of days in Hoi An, Dong took the four of us to Hue to do a little sight seeing. Hue is known for their historical monuments (such as palaces and tombs) as well as a beautiful river walk with lit up bridge, so we did some sight seeing to soak in the city. The sights were all beautiful, but to my crazily focused mind, it was just time filler between bowls of bun bo hue.

Stopping for some views on our way to Hue.

More beautiful views.

Giant Buddha in Danang.

 

Some temples in Hue.

River walk with a beautiful view of the bridge.

To mess with me, Dong took us to eat our first meal at a restaurant that didn't serve bun bo hue. It was okay though because it was a delicious meal, and I thought that the anticipation would only add flavor to my noodle soup. Our first meal was called ba do, which consisted of a bunch of small, light dishes. It was really tasty, and a great chance to sample a lot of different  dishes in one meal. (Side note because I'm mainly focusing on bun bo hue: Dong also took us to a restaurant near the end of our time in Hue that served a famous omelette type dish, that was really delicious. Think of a really crispy omelette, filled with vegetables, pork and shrimp.)

Rice noodles with crispy shrimp.

Deep fried dough with rice noodles and crispy shrimp.

Rice noodles with shrimp wrapped in banana leaves.

Roasted pork on sugar cane.

Vietnamese omelette.

Alas, after more palace hopping, it was dinner time. My heart was racing at the thought of seeing that (now) beautful pig's food floating in spicy broth surrounded by noodles and beef. We finally found a restaurant to our liking (there are literally hundreds of bun bo hue shops around the city, so picking on was tough). We sat down and I was like a puppy on Christmas morning about to get his braces off. When the noodles got placed in front of me, I was in a feverish sweat and I couldn't wait to take my first bite. I spooned up a big helping of broth, some beef, chopsticked up some noodles, took one ginormous bite and...it was pretty good.

Can't wait to dig in!

Soooooo pretty good.

Disappointed is probably too strong a word, but I'm guessing my expectations were too high for any earthly bowl of noodles to meet (think of the episode of "How I met your Mother" where Marshall looks for the perfect burger). The noodles were tasty, but I think I might've been asking too much from a pig's foot in broth.

There's probably some sort of life lesson in here about re-capturing one's youth through mimicking past nostalgic moments, but really it's just a blog post about my favorite noodle soup. It wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be, but it was still a tasty bowl of noodles eaten with good friends while discovering a beautiful city. What more could I really ask for?

Touring Vietnam with Phong Part Deux: Hoi An

After a few days in Nha Trang, our group mosied on up to Hoi An, known for their cheap, custom suits. With Phong's Vietnam VIP pass, we were able to get a family friend, Dong, to take us around and show us Hoi An's sights. (If Phong was my VIP pass, Dong was like our AmEx black card - he both lived in Hoi An AND is a professional tour guide).

Dong is my kind of guy - the first stop he took us to was a local noodle shop that served a specialty called mi quang - a thick noodle with pork, peanuts and veggies served with a very small amount of soup. Super fresh, light and delicious - one of my favorite dishes in Vietnam. After lunch, Dong took us to a local pottery maker consisting of two older ladies that have been making potter for 60+ years. We watched them work their magic and they were even kind enough to let us try making our own pottery (pretty horrific looking until they helped :)).

Mi quang - thick noodles with roast pork, shrimp, peanuts, and a bit of soup. Delicious.

Phong getting a little help with his pot. 60 years of experience should do the job. 

 The final product.

Before arriving in Hoi An, the only thing I thought they were famous for was suits, but I was happily proven wrong. Hoi An is a gorgeous city to walk around with it's old, French architecture and beautiful river walk. It was a very quaint and relaxing place to walk (or bike) around and might have been my favorite place in Vietnam. Not too big or crowded. After walking around town a bit (and drinking some cafe sua da), we took a relaxing river cruise, armed with rambutan and mangosteen (what could be better?).

After enjoying the town, it was finally time to suit up! Every other shop in Hoi An makes custom fitted clothing, so we had a hard time deciding where to go. We kind of picked one at random, but really lucked at as the owner was really nice, spoke great english, and gave great recommendations. We went in wanting to get a suit or two, but the prices were so good, we all went a little crazy. All of us either got a suit, jacket, jeans or dress made. And they were super fast - we got fitted one day, and they were ready by the next morning! The day I get back to the states, Phong and I are putting on our suits and going to Applebees. You are more than welcome to join.

Getting ready for boneless chicken wings at Applebee's.

After our fitting, we all rented bikes and took a beautiful ride down to the beach. We got there right in time to see the sunset and to enjoy some Vietnamese donuts, more escargot, and one of my favorite things growing up - nam (think ceviche pork with peppers).

The girls enjoying some escargot.

 Nam - many nights of stomach aches due to this, but so worth it.

For dinner, Dong took us to a place that served sliced cold beef (Phong's favorite meal of the trip). There were legs of beef hanging in front of the restaurant and what they did was thin-slice it and serve it with rice paper and veggies, to be eaten as rolls. And obviously when eating thin-sliced beef rolls, you must drink a lot of 333 beer (a local Vietnamese beer). They drink beer with ice in Vietnam! Every 10 minutes or so, they'll fill your glass with a giant block of ice to ensure you beer is cold and watered-down to perfection.

To cap off the night (and to continue drinking beer-water), we obviously had to karaoke. We rented out a room and proceeded to offend the likes of Lionel Richie, All-4-One, and Janet Jackson. Although we didn't do half bad with Gangsta's Paradise, fool!

"I'm a loc'ed out gangsta, set-trippin banger
And my homies is down, so don't arouse my anger, fool!"

Get a suit, walk a beautiful town and have a killer bowl of noodles. All in Hoi An.

Touring Vietnam with Phong Part 1: Nha Trang

When planning my trip, I was lucky enough to be able to schedule it at the same time as Phong's and Lindsay's return to Vietnam. We met up in Saigon and Phong invited me to meet his family and friends and I even got to see the house he grew up in. I've known Phong for about eight years now, but have never heard a lot of his story of moving from Vietnam to Seattle. Being able to see his childhood home and interact with his friends and family gave me a much greater understanding for how difficult it was for him to adapt to Seattle (he said it took ten years to fully feel comfortable) and ultimately a greater appreciation for how far he's come to make Seattle his home. Phong won't admit it (everyone knows how humble he is...), but everyone in his neighborhood looks up to him as a great example to follow.

Eating dinner with Phong's childhood friends Tai and Dream On. Yup, Dream On.

After Saigon, Phong, Lindsay, Carolyn, Tina (she joined us from Korea) and I headed up to beautiful, beautiful Nha Trang. For those who don't know much about Nha Trang, all you need to know is that they have amazing beaches and really good (and insanely cheap - everything's under a $1!) street food everywhere (We also took mud baths and sat in mineral springs. Nothing like cooling off from the humid heat like sitting in giant hot tubs!).

The first night we arrived, Phong and I scoured the streets for food and were not disappointed. We even discovered foods that Phong never even heard of. We had soup noodles, rice, flan, squid, baked egg, pork chop, escargot, fresh smoothies at almost every meal, and much more. We were able to eat so much in so little time because Phong and I repeatedly ignored our stomach's signals and ate at least two dinners plus dessert each night - we paid for it, but it was worth it. Again, it's such a better experience when you get to tour a country with someone who knows their way around. Hanging around Phong was like having access to a VIP pass to all of the back alleys and hole-in-the-walls that I'd never think of going to. (On a side note, watching Phong work his Vietnamese charisma with the food vendords was like watching Kristi Yamaguchi in the '92 Olympics (hey, I love her). He was in his element and it was a thing of beauty to witness).

Best bun bo hue ever (and it wasn't even in Hue).

Vietnamese - family style.

Baked egg/flour mixture with fish sauce and green onions.

Many. many, many smoothies were had.

Durian. Popcorn. DURIAN POPCORN!

Sticky rice with banana and coconut milk.

Now to the beaches. The main beach in Nha Trang was beautiful,  but a little touristy an full of people selling you stuff (I bought three pairs of sunglasses). The real beauties were the surrounding islands. We took a boat one day to island hop and beach after beach we were blown away. At the first beach, we got to snorkel in the clearest water I've ever seen (or not seen - get it? anyways...). The other amazing beach we went to was a private resort that was pretty much empty besides us on the boat. It had some of the finest sand you'll ever feel and the water was beautiful too.

The main beach in Nha Trang.

The super clear water we snorkeled in.

Lunch on the boat.

The private resort beach - all to ourselves.

Even though the beaches were great, the best part about the boat tour was meeting a Parisian named Delphine. We got to talking and found out she'd been traveling for about 15 months around southeast Asia and Australia/New Zealand. Luckily for us, she was moving up Vietnam's coast as well, so she joined us for another five days all the way up to Halong Bay (more on these cities in the coming posts). She taught me some French (croissant is pronounced kwussou) and I showed off my beard (both equally enlightened, I say). And lucky for me, She'll be showing me around Paris when I visit at the end of July.

Delphine!

If you ever go to Vietnam, you must, must, must stop by Nha Trang for the amazing food and beaches. Just don't forget to bring your own charismatic, Vietnamese dude to help you navigate the food stands. Your stomach will love and hate you for it - but it'll be worth it.

"Roughing it" in Saigon with Uncle Tom

So, I'm supposed to be backpacking my way through Asia and Europe, implying that I'm roughing it in some way, shape, or form. Supposed to be. But while in Saigon, I took my backpack, dirty beard, and flip flops into the Sheraton Hotel. Let me explain.

My dad mentioned to his friend, Uncle Tom, that I'd be staying in Saigon for a few days and that I'd be finding a hostel to stay at. Uncle Tom (being one of my dad's many generous friends) insisted that Carolyn and I stay at the Sheraton because he was a super preferred member of some sort and pulled some weight. Not wanting to disrespect Uncle Tom's offer (and being the spoiled, pampered baby that I am), I graciously accepted and proceeded to "rough it" in Saigon...all while in a bathrobe.

A little roomier than the hostels I'm used to.

Carolyn and I decided to explore some famous/historical sights Saigon area as well as look for food! We first headed to the Ben Thanh market to check out some local meats, produce and knick knacks. It was definitely a lively atmosphere with rows and rows and rows of vendors. We then followed that by going to the Reunification Palace that used to serve as the presidential palace before being taken over by communists. We also went to the Cu Chi tunnels that were used during the Vietnam War.

Ben Thanh market.

The Reunification Palace.

Cu Chi tunnels.

For food, we discovered a little corner that sold a lot of my favorite Vietnamese dishes, so we had more than a handful of meals there over our few days in Saigon. We also ate a ton of fruit (mangosteen!).

We ate here about a million times.

Everyone's favorite - banh mi!

Bo kho - Vietnamese beef stew eaten with french bread. One of my favorites.

Cafe sua da - delicious iced coffee and fun to say.

Bun rieu - seafood/crab soup with noodles.

Can't come to Vietnam without some pho.

Roast pork, Vietnamese style.

I could eat mangosteen and durian all day. And I did.

Back to Uncle Tom. He and my dad met 30 years ago when my dad sold him chinese sausages for his grocery store. My dad opened his own grocery store a few years later and they stayed connected ever since. Uncle Tom mentioned that my dad is one of his only friends in Seattle and really helped him out when he first moved to the states. My dad even flew down to San Jose to help Uncle Tom open up his grocery store way back when. It was really cool listening to Uncle Tom talk about my dad, because it re-confirmed that my dad is one cool dude (at one time he mentioned my dad was "better than a brother" to him).

(On a side note, hearing all of these family members talk about my dad makes me realize that he's awesome in more ways than just being my dad. Everyone loves him because he's loyal, genuine, and gracious. They all talk about how they really wish they could see him more, and it just reminds me that I'm lucky I get to be his son - even though I take him for granted all the time.)

Enough with the mushy stuff, let's get to more food! Not unlike Uncle Oscar, Uncle Tom was overly generous with me. Not only did he arrange for me to stay in a really nice hotel, he also took my friends and I out to dinner each of the nights we were in Saigon (luckily for me, there's something about my dad's friends and their love of fine dining).

Day 1: Amazing Sheraton buffet

Cooked to order meats.They even had crocodile!

Day 2: Vietnamese food traditionally cooked for the king

Day 3: Cantonese food

Whole deep fried fish.

"Yes, these are egg tarts."

Day 4: Peking duck

Amazing meal. They carved it table side and even made the little wraps for us.

You've heard this broken record a lot, but spending time with Uncle Tom showed me again just how lucky I am. I had never met Uncle Tom before this trip, and yet he put me up and took me around and refused any thanks I tried to give him. Also reminded me that my dad's cooler than cool, he's ice cold. So ice cold in fact that I got to walk around in a bathrobe for four days in Vietnam just because I'm his son.

Uncle Tom and me.