Once in a while Hai and we get a note from an Eating Saigon! reader that reminds us just how much fun it is to discover Saigon’s hidden eateries for the very first time. Lucile and her mom from France recently became true Saigon food adventurers, as they literally ate their way through our blog! We thought you might enjoy reading about Lucile’s Saigon adventures in her recent email to us.
Lucile and her mom loved Eating Saigon! beginning at Phở Thanh Cảnh
Dear Joe and Hai,
Thank you so much for the excellent eating Saigon blog. I had visited HCMC six years ago with Vietnamese relatives and to be honest didn’t really like the city (or get to know it well because we mostly stayed at home). So, I wasn’t thrilled to come back this time.
But, having to go out of my way to find the best food was a great way to keep myself busy and to discover different neighborhoods.
We (me and my mom whom I was traveling with) had an easy start with phở in District 1 [Phở Thanh Cảnh] and treated ourselves afterward with a huge Swensen’s ice cream.
Swensen’s – The best ice cream in Saigon!
The next day we walked all the way from our hotel on Võ Văn Kiệt Street to Hai’s restaurant. We had exactly the three dishes you recommended and it was sooo good. By the end of the meal we would have followed your restaurant advice to the end if the world! [Eating Saigon! Note: Wow! That’s the ultimate compliment for Hai … thank you Lucile.]
Lucile at Đông Hoa Xuân (Hai’s restaurant) enjoying cá kho tộ, chả, and canh khổ qua
Then for dinner we headed to the ốc place [Quán Ốc Quang Anh].
Snails in a yummy garlic sauce at Ốc Quang Anh
The atmosphere was incredible with so many people eating so many ốc, and without rice which surprised us. I had written your recommendations (in English) on a piece of paper over which they puzzled for a long time before I resorted to pointing at random things. I must admit an update with the Vietnamese name of the dishes would be useful because they also want one to specify the sauce which was impossible. [Eating Saigon! Note: Good idea, Lucile … we’ll plan to add an update on our next visit there.]
For our last day we had bành canh cua [Bánh Canh Cua 87]. It was truly amazing, we would have eaten another bowl each, had we not had dessert plans.
We went to Trop B but found the place shut, but fortunately I remembered there was a banana dessert seller close by [Chè Chuối ]. So we ended up sampling most of the things he had for 22,000 dong total! [Eating Saigon! Note: 22,000 dong = $1.00 US dollar]
YUMMY chè chuối – 6,000vnd (30 cents) per serving
And finally we stopped by the Soymilk Lady before going to the airport.
Lucile visits the Saigon Soymilk Lady
… and her mom enjoys a delicious sữa đậu nành (homemade soymilk)
We had a very good experience every time. It’s fun to find these places and walk around the neighborhoods (despite many locals directing us back to the center). We heard on the way to Hai’s restaurant, “no no, turn around, there is nothing over there, the good restaurants are on the other side of the river.” [Eating Saigon! Note: I am not surprised that the locals would assume you were lost and try to redirect you back to Saigon’s tourist center. Sadly, the majority of foreign travelers are not as adventuresome as you and your mom. That’s such a loss for them since the most authentic and amazing foods in Saigon are at the street food vendors and the small neighborhood restaurants … as you and your mom found out. Congratulations on your travel acumen and on enjoying some true Saigon eating adventures. ]
We were always well received in the restaurants, with people a bit scared to deal with us (in English) at first, but then warming up to us and showing us how to enjoy the foods.
OK, enough of my stories. Thank you for the great recommendations, and the funny stories that go with them on the blog!
Không có gì, em Lucile (you are very welcome.) Thank you Lucile for writing and sharing your eating adventures. We hope you and your mom can come back soon and continue your adventures here in Saigon!