Our last day in Saigon included lunch at a popular pho restaurant (that’s pronounced fuh, with a rising intonation at the end). Oh yum! A richly flavored broth, with star anise, green onion, chilis, cilantro, meats and I don’t what else, heaped with rice noodles, chicken, onion and a plate of garnishes (lime, more cilantro, thai basil, bean sprouts). If you have a chance to try the real thing, do!
Food is a big deal here. The meals on our little boat are always interesting and include many of the unusual (to me) fruits that are grown in Vietnam. We’ve sampled several colors of dragonfruit, jackfruit, guava, mango – lots of mango, pineapple, custard apple, rose apple. So far no one has offered durian, which smells like rotting garbage, and I’m grateful for that! We are also getting lots of local fish, rice at every meal and interesting vegetables such a morning glory (sort of like spinach). A tour of the galley on our little ship today.
Two traditional local dishes I am also glad to avoid – first, snake. I’ve eaten rattlesnake meat and it’s okay but why bother? Here the snake is often cobra and the heart will be given to the most elderly man present while the blood is drained into some sort of liquor and then the liquor shared by the other men (a reputed aphrodisiac). Uhm, no. Okay, how about barbequed rat, anyone? We saw quite a number of people selling rat in the food market. It’s popular local fare but fortunately the crew on the Toum Teav knows that Americans would probably not be happy with it!
journeys 