It was after our tour of the Mekong Delta that we had a chance to do what we love when we're on holidays - explore on foot. You seem to get a feel for a place this way. Saigon city was buzzing in, what I expect was its usual way, but with added excitement of the impending Christmas and New Year festivities.
In Saigon's District 1 we headed south east from the Opera House towards Saigon's main river crossing our first major road. The river was wide, tourist ferries lined the shores although we appeared to be the only Western tourists walking along the river and perhaps the only ones who noticed the dead dog floating in a pile of debris near where a young boy was desperately trying to catch fish with a hand line.
With a great deal of bravery we crossed the two-way main road, Tôn Đức Thắng, to head up Hàm Nghi - a spectacular street lined with the world's most expensive (think Chanel) shops and expensive hotels. The street was to be the focus of Saigon's New Year celebrations.
A few blocks away we passed Reunification Palace which is the site that marks the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975.
As the sun set our stomachs began to grumble and we were all getting hungry but there was plenty to see and the sights were a good distraction from our hunger. Our aim was to find the famed Bánh Xèo Mười Xiềm in time for dinner however we were so distracted by the scantily-clad ladies serving at Tokyo Town next door that we had to back-track a block away!
As the name suggests Bánh Xèo (in all its forms) is the star dish at the restaurant. Bánh Xèo is essentially a rice flour (and turmeric) pancake almost deep fried in its own specially designed pan. A combination of meat and vegetables is thrown in while the pancake cooks. Bánh Xèo is served in half so that you place your chopsticks straight in and then, with a manoeuvre that involves separating the chopsticks, you break the pancake apart before lifting it into a fresh lettuce leaf. There you garnish it lavishly with fresh herbs - Vietnamese mint, coriander, Thai basil, saw tooth herb etc,. It is delicious and washed down with a beer - the perfect meal to end a long day!
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Here's a youtube clip that shows how to make Bánh Xèo.
In Saigon's District 1 we headed south east from the Opera House towards Saigon's main river crossing our first major road. The river was wide, tourist ferries lined the shores although we appeared to be the only Western tourists walking along the river and perhaps the only ones who noticed the dead dog floating in a pile of debris near where a young boy was desperately trying to catch fish with a hand line.
With a great deal of bravery we crossed the two-way main road, Tôn Đức Thắng, to head up Hàm Nghi - a spectacular street lined with the world's most expensive (think Chanel) shops and expensive hotels. The street was to be the focus of Saigon's New Year celebrations.
A few blocks away we passed Reunification Palace which is the site that marks the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975.
As the sun set our stomachs began to grumble and we were all getting hungry but there was plenty to see and the sights were a good distraction from our hunger. Our aim was to find the famed Bánh Xèo Mười Xiềm in time for dinner however we were so distracted by the scantily-clad ladies serving at Tokyo Town next door that we had to back-track a block away!
As the name suggests Bánh Xèo (in all its forms) is the star dish at the restaurant. Bánh Xèo is essentially a rice flour (and turmeric) pancake almost deep fried in its own specially designed pan. A combination of meat and vegetables is thrown in while the pancake cooks. Bánh Xèo is served in half so that you place your chopsticks straight in and then, with a manoeuvre that involves separating the chopsticks, you break the pancake apart before lifting it into a fresh lettuce leaf. There you garnish it lavishly with fresh herbs - Vietnamese mint, coriander, Thai basil, saw tooth herb etc,. It is delicious and washed down with a beer - the perfect meal to end a long day!
I suspect these little mung bean and prawn fried pastries (unsure of their name) find their roots in France.
They were creamy and tasty but pretty oily especially after feasting on Bánh Xèo.
Bánh Xèo Mười Xiềm
190 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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