Saigon Street Food Mini Tour

One of this week’s highlights for Hai and I was taking a group of new friends on a mini street food tour here in Saigon.

We did have some concerns about the tolerance levels of the relative newcomers to the Saigon street food scene.

• Was “dining” in a small dark alley ok?
• Just how much spicy red chili pepper was too much?
• Would they mind if an occasional con chuột (rat) scurried by the table??
• Would they be comfortable squatting on a tiny plastic stool? (Could they even get up again after sitting down?)

Well, there’s one way to find out. Let’s go!

After some hand-wringing, a bit of squabbling about the definition of “street food”, and running some test food-tolerance questions by all the participants, we all headed out.

[SIDENOTE: It is my opinion that any true Saigon street food tour should be conducted on the back of a motorbike to truly appreciate what Saigon streets have to offer (see XO Tours). Or, equally as rewarding, the tour could be done on foot, strolling through markets and passing the intriguing smells of each street food vendor. Tonight, however, would be different. One of our touring friends, Mary, arranged for a car and driver to shuttle us from site to site … A “high end” street food tour for sure!]

Hai and I decided to go as “street” as one can get. We wanted to share the ultimate essence of Saigon street food. So, our first tour stop – our appetizer – would be bánh tráng nướng (Vietnamese Pizza) in a dark alley. And a very narrow alley at that.

No seven-seat luxury vehicle was going to squeeze through to this location. Our driver dropped us off and all six of us wound our way through dark alleys past tiny homes and circumspect locals who certainly wondered how six tourists managed to get lost in their alley!

In a great stroke of luck, a large group of local teenagers were just leaving as we arrived and all six of us were able to sit semi-comfortably around two small tables. Hai took over as translator and street food ambassador. Each of us indicated our acceptable level of cháy (spiciness sensitivity) and Hai placed the order.

I loved our appetizer. Most of the others at least enjoyed.

Perhaps a small miscommunication in spiciness levels, but all agreed it was a unique, fun, and insightful street food experience. Caroline even stretched the culinary envelope and ordered hột vịt lộn much to the horror of Mary who tried her best to physically distance herself from the “repulsive” half-egg-half-chicken entree’.

Photo shoots followed – gathered around the small charcoal grill to document our street food expedition. I’m sure the owner, cook, and regular patrons were slightly amazed at the scene we caused. I think I heard them exclaim as we strolled out of sight down the alley – What the hell was that?

Now, back to the luxury shuttle car, and on to the main event – one of Hai and my all time street food favorites – Cơm Tấm 390.

We climbed out of the car, had near-death experiences crossing Cách Mạng Tháng Tám street, and entered our next alley. Immediately, the Saigon Cơm Tấm Lady recognized Hai and I and quickly announced that there were only 5 chicken legs left (she knew it was our favorite) … and offered to put them aside for us. Cám ơn nhiều! (Thank you, thank you!)

Again, Hai took orders in English and placed them in Vietnamese. “Gà … pork … chả … bì … gà … broken rice … bitter mellon soup … trà đá”. YUM!

All went well. All was delicious. (In spite of Lisa’s trepidation, no vermin were noticed near our table.) More photo shoots followed.

Surprisingly, most everyone was already no quá (really full). However, in group dynamics, it only takes one vote to trigger a trip for dessert.

Off to Trop B – again, one of Hai and my favorite alley dessert stops for xôi kem (sticky rice topped with ice cream) and a very special berry sauce!

Sadly, it was 22:01 as we arrived and Trop B closes at 22:00. Most were relieved as “tomorrow is a school night”. (Sadly, I was the only one in the group who is retired and never worries about such things).

The luxury vehicle took us all back to District 1 where our final photo shoot occurred and plans were made for this weekend’s feast … where Hai agreed to cook some of his (my) favorite dishes for Mary, Lisa, and a few others. Really looking forward to that!

A truly fun Saigon street food mini-tour with wonderful new friends!