Saigon Street Food by Night II 11 Nov 2017

It was almost 7.00pm when we continued our journey walked along the streets of Saigon back to our hotel. This was the first night that we at Saigon, just so eagerly wanted to know how is the night life here!

The streets are always busy with motor vehicles especially motorcycles everywhere! We bought some sugarcane drinks at the road side stall, sating down and rest our tired feet.

Eventually we found our way back to somewhere near our hotel – Bui Vien Street. It was quite an exciting to us that: Yeah! We are in! In the most happening street in Saigon!

At the first sight, we saw a mix of both locals and tourists grabbing a deink on the side of the street, and yet the street seems to never sleep and stores never close. There were few 24 hours convenience stores that operated here.

We came here just in time as since August of 2017, Bui Vien has become a walking street – the second one of the city after Nguyen Hue walking street, which prohibits all vehicles to enter to the city from 7pm to 2am every weekend. I considered as this is lucky to us!

When meandering around the backpacker districts, we can see plenty of coffee shops from premium international brands (Starbucks, Bobby Brew) to huge local favourite brands like Phuc Long or Trung Nguyen.

Other than that, would be a lots of restaurants, bars and pubs such as Ocean and Champion Sports Bar and a lot of affordable accommodations. There was an performing stage featured the traditional Chinese Orchestra but in Vietnamese language.

After a while, we turned into the alleys and looked for something that we were not experiencing before. Alley life is a completely different (and much more pleasant) world to the one we experience on the main streets of Saigon.

Walk a few metres down any alleyway and all city noises disappear, as does all traffic. The rhythm of life is slower, calmer, and on a more human scale. It’s cool and quiet, but there’s no shortage of things to see and do: colourful fruit markets, pagodas, hidden cafes, street food vendors, shrines and even tombs.

Smells are a big part of the alleyways: all sorts of cooking scents the air, especially during early mornings and late afternoons, as does the perfume of washing detergent from laundry hanging out in the sun.

People live in such close proximity that there’s an intimacy to alley life: you get the feeling that life is shared; children play, do homework together; families cook, eat and drink together. All this happens either in the open-air or in ground-floor rooms with the doors wide open, so that you really get to see life happening.

There were many food stalls along the alleys. We found this recommendations from the receptionist of our hotel. We passed by this stall selling Oc. Ốc (oc), as they are known in Vietnamese, can basically refer to any type of snails, usually saltwater, and they are so popular, they could be considered a major part of the Vietnamese culture of Saigon.

There are typically dozens of different snails to choose from, as well as other shells like blood cockles, clams, and often shrimp and crab as well. The seafood selection were proudly displayed at the front of the food stall, and we can choose whatever looks good.

After we choose the type of raw snails we would like to eat, then choose a method for it to be cooked – like grilled, sautéed, coated in salt and chili, steamed, curried, and so on – I think there are often about 5 – 6 different cooking methods.

We just let the chef cooked what he think is best for the types of shells that we choose. The shells came on small plate. We ordered 2 types:

The big ones grilled with spring onions and peanuts

The smaller ones steamed with lemongrass and ginger

Eating oc with family, friends, or co-workers, and enjoying a couple beers, is a favorite Saigon way to socialize.

The culture that goes along with eating in Vietnam, a night of relaxing on small little chairs or stools, sipping beer, and slurping down snails and shells that you have no clue what they might be, is one of the finest ways to enjoy Saigon.

We continue our dinner to the nearest food stall selling the Com Tam just outside the street of our hotel. It seems like a big crowd were eating there as well, thus we joined the crowd!

It looks like our Malaysia style roast pork rice or barbequed pork rice. Well, the pork were definitely nice and juicy. Tonight is only the first night we are here. Expect more to come in the next few days!

Saigon Mariamman Hindu Temple 11 Nov 2017

After our visit to the Ben Thanh Market, we just go along the road and headed to the Mariamman Hindu Temple. The sky seems quite dark as it was around 5.30pm only, it just look like 7.30pm in Malaysia time.

Mariamman Hindu Temple is a sacred Hindu Temple dedicated to the goddess of the Rain ‘Mariamman’. This temple was built in the late 19th century by traders coming from India and has been well preserved.

This complex is the only Hindu temple in Saigon and is believed to have miraculous powers giving luck and wealth to its visitors. Entrance to the temple is free of charge and can be visited from 07:00 – 19:00.

The outer wall of the Temple has a collection of interesting statues of different gods and goddesses like Mariamman, Vishnu, Brahma and Ganesha. The main hall of the complex (The Rajagopuram) stands twelve metres tall and inside you find a well maintained statue of Mariamman flanked by her protectors ‘Maduraiveeran’ and ‘Pechiamman’.

The visitors have to take off the shoes if would like to enter the Mariamman Hindu Temple and dress appropriately. To favour the goddess of the rain, the visitors can also take some offerings such as joss sticks, jasmine, lilies and gladioli. These can be bought in front of the entrance.

I saw something interesting in the temple. Some faithful followers of the goddess of the Rain ‘Mariamman’ would stand still in front of a stone wall with their faces faced into the arch of the decorative opening, with both hands put left and right on the wall, and they were murmuring something.

It was most probably their sincere prayers or the confessions to the goddess. This was new to me, as I never see this type of practice or rituals before.

Well, we left the temple after we walked one round and observed the decorative ornaments features and architecture of the temple. To be honest, I felt kind of awkward as I am the only visitor that was taking the photos.

Anyway we have a group selfie before we left the place.

Ben Thanh Market 11 Nov 2017

Ben Thanh Market is the nearest tourists attraction from the hotel we stayed. It is actually walking distance, but not too near either if by foot. After our lunch at the alley, Alvin decided that we should go to Ben Thanh Market have a look!

There was no way one is going to leave out Ben Thanh Market, if he or she is travelling to Saigon! It is a must visit tourists attraction.

Even as touristy as it may be, it’s a buzzing market, full of history, shopping stalls galore, and being located in the heart of Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1, it is probably the most important central landmark of the city.

You will find just about everything ever created or produced in Vietnam somewhere within the market lanes of Ben Thanh.

When we were there, we saw a frenzy of both foreign tourists from around the world, as well as Vietnamese shoppers.

The front part are mostly made up of clothing, accessories and souvenirs stalls.

We were quite disappointed with the clothing and prices shown compared with the designs and styles of the dress or clothing.

We did buy most of the souvenirs that would like to bring back to friends here. Mostly are for Alvin’s colleagues and Annabelle’s friends.

We walked further in and started spotting all the dried goods, food and coffee/tea stalls.

We were tempted to purchase some of the coffee or tea back for souvenirs, but eventually we did not buy it as we have do our researches on line on the prices here!

Most of these goods are sold per weight basis. If you just want to get a few grams..maybe it might be cheaper to get it from the supermarket. It’s all about bulk purchases here!

Then, we came to the local food stalls within Ben Thanh Market ranging from pho to broken rice, Bahn Mi and other Vietnamese Cuisine.

We saw that there were all kinds of snails and shells that sold in the food stalls, and the Bo La Lot as well!

We were so tempted to eat the snails here, by looking at the various types of cooking they have in, but we did not.

We sat down in front of the counter in one of the stalls, Alvin ordered some Bo La Lot and few Gỏi cuốn – summer rolls.

The rolls were stuffed with a good quantity of lettuce, basil, shrimp, and what I really loved was all of the chives, poking out from the top of the roll, offering a slight mellow onion flavour.

Well… to be frank, I am not a huge fan of the summer rolls, but it does taste good, especially dip with the hoisin sauce or the fish sauce.

This is one of the main markets in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, but we did not really care for it too much – it was too touristy for us, but still a good place to walk around.

Saigon Street Food by Day I 11 Nov 2017

After we have settled down ourselves in the hotel and luggage, we immediately walked into the streets and looked for our late lunch. And, yes! It was almost 3.30pm.

We were so hungry and after we had walked down the streets along Phang Ngu Lao, finally we sat down at a food stall which was near to one of the alley of the hotel we stayed.

It was quite a hidden stall but still you can noticed that lane, as there were motorcycles coming in and out with a big rattan basket at the back carrying a lot of Banh Mi which were just hot made and came from the oven. At the end of the lane was a Banh Mi bakery shop.

We sat down on the plastic low arm chairs and the lower version of stainless steel tables. The lady quickly handed us the menu. There were many Vietnamese food on it.

We ordered Banh Mi Op La (Bread with Omelette), Banh Mi Xao Bo Trung Op La (Bread with Sautéed Beef and Omelette), Pho Bo (Pho Noodles Soup with Beef) and Nui Gio Heo (Nui Noodles Soup with Pork’s Foot).

We did not ordered any drinks, as the menu shown only either coffee or milk coffee only. The kind lady served us Tra Đa which is Vietnamese iced tea, and she told us with her not so fluent English, “Free…Free…”

We were grateful with her hospitality and kindness. We did drink the iced tea, even though our family do observe the Words of Wisdom. We felt that it was not a kind gestures and not a good manner to decline it, as the lady had brought us 4 glasses of iced tea to quench our thirst, and she was smiling all the time.

After which, she brought 2 Banh Mi to us first, while she was preparing our food. It was kind of easy and convenient to her that, she can just hopped into the Banh Mi bakery shop behind her stall. It was indeed hot from oven!

The Vietnamese baguettes or Banh Mi, which we saw all over Vietnam are in a personal sized loaf, and extremely light and fluffy, yet on the other hand, extremely crusty and crunchy on the outside.

When we break into a personal baguette, the crust flakes and the insides kind of collapse. They are very light and not too filling, but go extremely well with eggs or as the holder for a Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich.

I was delighted when our Banh Mi Op La have been served to us. The duo of eggs were cooked on an extremely high fire, like stir frying Chinese food with the breath of the wok, except this time only with a small personal pan, and simply eggs.

The result was that the eggs were flash cooked, seared on the edges, and soft and runny on the inside, including the yolks.

Banh Mi Xao Bo Trung Op La. Along with the eggs, which covered the base of the pan, there were some slices of beefs, which appeared to have been pan fried separately, with the addition of sautéed white onions. The onions were slightly caramelized and smoky, giving the entire pan of eggs and meat an incredibly sweet oniony flavour.

Although there are many variations of op la, to me what really makes it good is if the eggs are sunny side up, so the yolk is extra runny, and what makes it even better is if it’s served topped with caramelized onions and peppers.

Pho Bo was served too later. The noodles were placed at the bottom of the bowl, followed by thin slices of flash cooked beef, which remained half raw, then a handful of green onions and cilantro, and finally a few sprinkles of pepper to top it off.

The noodle soup did not become so famous for nothing – it really is one of the most common dishes in throughout the country, and it makes the Vietnamese food menu at nearly every sit-down restaurant too.

One of the most popular Vietnamese noodle soups is Nui Gio Heo and Banh Canh Gio Heo. The ham hock or pork knuckle or pork feet is a flavourful cut from the pig's lower leg. The broth is very flavourful with hints of lemongrass and a nice spiciness to it. Green onions or chives may be added to the soup. This is using vermicelli.

All of us were so hungry that we finished our meals within 30 minutes. It was around 4.00pm when we left the alley. We were wondering around the area and noticed that there was a big city park just across the Pham Ngu Lao Street.

Just across from Saigon’s buzzing backpacker Pham Ngu Lao area, this park is long and narrow, reflecting the nature of its former incarnation as the final approach to what was once Saigon’s main train terminus.

Alive with activity from the early hours of dawn, September 23^rd Park got its name from a brief but brutal rebellion against the reinstatement of French control in Saigon, just three weeks after Ho Chi Minh had declared independence on September 2^nd 1945.

There’s a kinetic energy to this park: badminton, kung fu, aerobics, yoga, jogging, and đá cầu (like badminton, but played with feet rather than rackets) are all practiced here. And, there was an Ho Chi Minh City – Gyeongju World Culture Expo 2017. Quite an exciting atmosphere we have here!

Meanwhile, young couples, dressed for work, share a quiet moment on the benches under the low hanging branches of copper pod trees, before they must part and go their separate ways to work.

There is more concrete than grass, but there is plenty of shade provided by dozens of palm and tamarind trees.

I was quite amazed that the September 23^rd Park is always keep in clean and neat.