Saigon Street Food Reunion

SAIGON STREET FOOD REUNION

Last week I began with “the Pulleys”!

Mmmnnn?” you wonder.  What’s Joe gotten into now?”  Some new kinetic physics experiment?  Hoisting a piano from the street up to his apartment’s fourth-floor balcony?  Or, God save us, some unmentionable new Asian erotic device?

Well, NO.  It’s just the same old song – rotator cuff surgery.  I’m now 9 weeks post-op and the physical therapy schedule says it’s time to begin my arm extension pulley exercises. (I hope I didn’t disappoint anyone :-))

I’ve been back in Saigon for 14 days now.  It’s been a challenging re-entry.  My first impulse was to jump on the back of Hai’s motorbike, race down the main thorough fares of Saigon waving my arm in the air and shouting, “I’m back!  Where’s my Saigon Street Food!”  Well, a nice fantasy, BUT …

Trying to raise my left arm above my shoulder (never mind waive it in the air) is still just a life-goal.  Hopefully that will happen in early summer.  And “jumping” on the motorbike has been temporarily replaced with “slowly and strategically (aka  “pathetically”) maneuvering onto the bike, using my good right arm to support myself while my useless left arm (bound in a sling) simply attracts unwanted attention from passers-by.  And have you ever thought about the heat generated under a black arm sling baking under Saigon’s 95 degree sun?  But of course, I never complain.  🙂

It has been a joy to be back – all challenges aside. It was time to start Eating Saigon! again.

I must admit I wasn’t sure what Saigon foods I missed the most during my two months in California.  The obvious answer was simply not to choose, but to go enjoy all my favorites again.  So my first week back in Ho Chi Minh City was simply my Saigon Street Food Reunion.

My first afternoon was off to enjoy bún thịt nướng at Chị Thông.  The BBQ pork was just as meaty and flavorful as I had dreamed of on the long plane flight back.  A totally delicious lunch.  But I did spot a dish at the next table that I couldn’t identify.  Hai peered over and made the call,

“It’s bánh mì hấp“.  Mmmn? A new dish! Should I try it on my first afternoon back? Why not?

A bánh mì  (French baguette roll) steamed to a very moist softness was delivered to our table.  The bánh mì  was buried under a pile of ground pork, sauteed with chopped onions and topped with chopped peanuts.  It was served with a sweet fish sauce, fresh mint and lettuce leaves and chopped cucumbers.  (Somehow an image of an Arby’s beef sandwich flashed through my mind.  Cleary I had been back in the USA for too long.)  Very yummy!  A simple and delicious addition to Chị Thông’s eating options.

Of course, that first week back,I had to bus over to Dong Hoa Xuan – Hai’s place.

The bus fares seem to have risen to 5000 vnd (25 cents usd) while I was out of the country.  But later, I took another bus and the fare was still 4000 vnd ?? So further investigation is called for.

Hai’s food is still amazing.  What a series of taste sensations – sườn (bbq pork ribs), ground-pork-stuffed tofu, and khổ qua (bitter melon).  Yes, it’s great to be back!

On another evening last week, Hai and I joined scores of locals enjoying the gỏi đu đủ (spicy papaya salad) at Le Van Tam Park .

That sauce on the papaya salad – sweet, spicy, tangy!  Life is still good here in Saigon!

And my Saigon Street Food Reunion mornings were just as welcoming, including the Bún Mộc at Bún Mộc Thanh Mai 

 

and phở gà at Phở Hưu

Hot noodle soups for breakfast.  Complete with potently-flavored herbs, lime juice, chilly peppers, succulent meats and deliciously fermented and sweetened sauces.  YUM!  I was clearly “not in Kansas anymore”.

So, my physical therapist called last week my Post-Op Week #9, featuring introduction to my new pulley exercises.  That’s fine.

But for me it was my wonderful

Saigon Street Food Reunion Week!