Here is Part 2 of my eating in Vietnam photo-log. This covers from Hoi An up to Hanoi, via Halong Bay.
I was awoken at 4am in Hoi An to go on a sunrise bike ride. I was initially a bit shakey and nearly rode a woman off a bridge into the river. Oops! I managed to make it to the fish market in one piece, and there is nothing better than starting your day off with the stench of fish :)
My bike riding skillz were rewarded with a delicious Vietnamese coffee – hot and strong espresso with a generous layer of sweetened condensed milk at the bottom. Heaven!
A home cooked breakfast by a local consisting of a spring roll, spicy noodles, sliced pork, peanuts, coriander and a wee quail’s egg.
More bike riding in the heat had me running for cover mid-morning and in need of a refreshing and caffeinated drink. This is iced Vietnamese coffee and I drank it at least once every day in Vietnam. It’s delicious and refreshing and my go-to drink this summer (although I fear having a tube of condensed milk in the fridge will be very dangerous).
This coconut tart from The Cargo Club was so delicious I actually ate it for morning tea everyday I was in Hoi An. Oops!
Bánh xèo, a crispy pancake which is a speciality of Hoi An.
Bánh mì!! I swear I could live on these. This one consisted of crunchy pork, pickled veges, coriander and lots of chili!
A visit to the Central Market in Hoi An was a whirlwind of colour and smell.
Beautiful eggplants
Ummm “green things”. Any ideas??
Fish fish everywhere!
Seafood anybody?
On our overnight junk boat trip on Halong Bay we had the most beautifully presented dishes – I almost felt bad eating each work of art!
Freshly caught crabs
Look at the beautiful border of vegetables on this calamari dish! Gorgeous.
The prawns came out adorning the most beautifully hand carved vegetable centrepiece. We were given a demonstration the next morning and I took step-by-step photos – will post them soon.
The bird was carved from a radish, and the flowers from a chili and cucumber.
This beautiful flower was carved from a carrot.
This fishnet was also carved from a carrot!
A lady selling fruit in Hanoi
Fried dough! This is served everywhere on the streets of Hanoi in a variety of flavours and textures.
And a final meal in Vietnam of caramelised pork and veges – delicious!
I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of what I ate on my Vietnam trip, I’m hungry!
16 Comments
Duuuuuuude. Everything is just so beautiful. Those carved veggies are an unbelievable work of art. I can’t get over those bird carvings and the carrots!! Also condensed milk = makes everything taste good mmm.
Ps I think those green things are bitter melon/bitter gourds. My mum uses them for stir fries, although I’m not a fan.
Oh yes they are bitter melon! Thank you, will edit :)
Condensed milk is just beyond amazing and should be added to most things ;)
The vegies are gorgeous! I love the look of that coconut tart, I would have had one every day too!
I need to try and replicate this coconut tart, amaaaazing!!!
Everything looks amazing! I agree with Christine the green things are bitter melons. They are fantastic when you take the centre out fill it with marinated meat and noodles then boil. yum
Oh yum that sounds tasty Flick! Might have to give it a go :)
How intricate and amazing are those carved veggies! Glad you had a good trip :)
Thanks JJ! The trip was amazing. Don’t think I’ll try to be carving veges like that anytime soon, I’d lose a finger ;)
They are indeed Bitter Gourds! My mum makes magic with them.
Also, the lady up there asking “Seafood anyone?” looks like Gollum!
x
I have never tried to cook with bitter gourds! I’ll have to get some tips off your mum :) And the lady indeed does look like Gollum! Haha
What camera did you use for the fish market pictures? They’re beautiful!
Thank you Christine! I used my old DSLR, a Canon 400D with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
[…] I hope you enjoyed some of these Vietnamese foodie highlights, stay tuned for part 2 ! […]
Dom and I LOVED Hoi An when we were there on our honeymoon – best food ever! Your pics are so lovely, brings it all back :)
Hoi An is wonderful and definitely the best food of my Vietnam trip
Vietnam rivals -equals – no Vietnam beats even Singapore for variety of food! Probably because it’s always so fresh. The Bitter Gourd is called Ampalaya here in the Philippines. It is a local favorite, but this long-term expat can never take it no matter how long it’s soaked, or how it cooked. My rule is to try every dish on offer no matter what and until I had Ampalaya things were good. Probably the only food in Asia in the past 25 years I can’t handle the tast of.