Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam

Once again I am dreadfully behind on my blogging, but I have vowed to catch up again so that I am current by the time we head home to Chicago in one month!  We are all getting very excited.

Firstly though I have not yet blogged about my trip to Vietnam at the end of April.  This was definitely a trip that will not be forgotten!

Vietnam was like what I imagined every Asian city to be......extremely crowded, the streets jammed with motorbikes and people peddling everything from food to souvenirs on the streets. In general, I tend to dislike all the crowds, but something about Vietnam made it feel special.  I will never forget arriving and being driven to the hotel and being the only car I could see as far in front, behind or to the sides of me.  There were no cars, only thousands of people on motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic without stopping.  The motorbike is treated like a family SIV there!  I saw small Vespa scooter sized bikes carrying two adults with a small child in front of the driver and a second child nestled between the two adults!  It was an amazing site.

I didn't get a chance to do any site seeing while there but I did find a new love......Vietnamese food!  I did not know that Vietnamese food holds the worldwide distinction of being some of the healthiest foods around.  I can see why.  The food is simple but what makes it so special is the amazing amount of flavor that can come from simple basic ingredients.  My favorite dish has to be Pho (pronounced 'fir'), in English translates to a Noodle soup.  I prefer the Beef Pho, but they also sell another one typically that contains beef, beef balls and other meats.  The broth of the Pho is a delicate broth teaming with basil and lots of other fragrant and tasty spices.  The beef is super thin slices of beef (think similar to what a slice of lamb for gyros looks like) that is tossed raw into the boiling hot Pho broth moments before you eat it so it is perfectly cooked.  The proper way to eat it is to remove the beef as you go and dip it into one of the spicy chili sauces that they serve with it.  Of course, you also enjoy the broth as you would any other noodle soup.  I was first introduced to the dish in Taiwan where it was good, but nothing replaces having it done locally in Vietnam!  A few other must-try's are the fresh spring roll (also known as a summer roll), which is a non fried egg roll containing mint, basil, rice and a few vegies in a delicious rice wonton wrapper and to top it off Vietnamese coffee!  I am not a coffee person but the deliciously sweet (they used sweetened condensed milk) and extremely strong flavors over ice could not be missed! 

I have since found a decent place in Singapore to enjoy the cuisine but look forward to trying it again in Vietnam again!