Could we ever find this street food vendor again? Probably not. Could we tell you how to get here? Sorry to say, “No.”
But, it was such a great experience, we have to share the fun and deliciousness of a random street food encounter in Nhơn Lý, Vietnam!
So there we were, 20 minutes out of town, having left Quy Nhơn after morning coffee and crossed the Thị Nại Bridge on our motorbike for the second day in a row trying to discover the treasures of the greater Quy Nhơn area. Somehow we came upon a small “Chài Village” in the hamlet of Nhơn Lý. At that point, we weren’t sure where we were or where we wanted to go?!? The obvious solution – stop and regroup. And there she was – standing alone behind her small food cart, apparently waiting to give us purpose and direction for the morning … Time to eat!
I took my position on a red plastic stool and asked Hai to talk with the woman and please make all the big decisions about what we would be eating this morning.
First up – a Vietnamese “burrito”! Filled with fresh, crisp veggies & mango, BBQ’d pork, and a crunchy deep-fried rice paper center that had the texture of my favorite Japanese roll with shrimp tempura inside. Major Yum!
Next up, a tin filled with skewered mini pork-filled chả gìo (spring rolls), BBQ’d to perfection – light and crispy. Again, YUM!!
There really wasn’t any need to consume anything more after devouring our “burrito” and chả gìo, but Hai spotted one of his favorite childhood treats. [And, of course, I didn’t want him to eat alone.] So bring on the grand delicious finale – Bánh Tráng Trộn.
And, this was one of the best Bánh Tráng Trộn I’ve encountered in Vietnam! A fun and delicious salad consisting of thin slices of dry rice paper, chili, mango, dried squid, crispy shallots, a quail egg, and more … all with a sweet, salty dressing.
While we were enjoying the various treats of our new found Nhơn Lỷ street food vendor, the nearby grade school let out. A half-dozen children rushed out, frolicking noisily on their bicycles in the street in front of us.
When they noticed the only”white guy” in the neighborhood (me), they greeted me with shouts of “Hello Ông Tây” (Western Grandfather). [How rude of them to bring up my age.] :-/
But, what could I do, but express my gratitude for their “endearing” greeting, by asking our food vendor to offer, as my treat, Bánh Tráng Trộn for everyone. The kids responses with screeching calls of “thank you … thank you” and frenetic leaping in the street was a fun and wonderful way to end our chance street food encounter in Nhơn Lỷ.
But, the day had just begun. Somehow Hai found our way on our motorbike to a nearby and vast hilltop Buddhist temple where he befriended an 88 year old Buddhist monk. While Hai was conversing with the orange-clad older gentleman, I decided to take the opportunity to catch a nap on the temple grounds to the hypnotic trance of Buddhist chants. Hai proceeded to receive free spiritual guidance from the head monk (and is still reading the written words of wisdom that the monk offered.)
As if excellent street food, welcoming local children, and meditative life guidance wasn’t enough for one day, we were able add one more adventure to the day as we watched the evening fall over the Southeast Asia Sea (aka South China Sea) along the stunning Mendocino-like rugged coastline at Eo Gío Beach before we headed back to our hotel. Just another fab day along the central Vietnam coast.
Time for everyone to head home for the night!
Looks like a truly fun adventure, wish i were there. How nice of you to share with the schoolchildren!