Travel: Ho Chi Minh Lunch at Quan An Ngon

While doing research on places to eat in Saigon, Quan An Ngon kept  popping  up on google.  It was highly recommended on Lonely Planet guide.  This was our choice for place to eat our lunch. From the Notre Dame Cathedral and Post Office visit, we walked following our map, stopping occasionally to ask locals for directions and taking photos.  It was a long walk. The weather was hot.

After what seemed like an eternity and uncertain if we were walking on the right direction, and endless asking for directions, we found 138 Quan An Ngon Restaurant.

Ngon means delicious. And from what I read, this is a must visit place in Saigon.

I asked to be seated outside the main dining area not only because it’s cooler, but more because of the bright, airy ambiance and available light for my photos.  

We ordered first on my list Cha Tom (105,000 dong), a shrimp meat patty wrapped around sugarcane sticks and grilled. It comes with vermicelli noodles, rice paper and an assortment of veggies and herbs.  It’s dipped in nuoc nam pla, a dipping sauce of fish sauce, vinegar, lime, sugar, and chilies.

Cha Gio (45,000 dong),  fried spring rolls eaten by wrapping lettuce and betel nut leaves and dipped in nuoc nam pla. Similar to our lumpia, this one is not strange to me as I usually make this at home using ground pork, minced carrots, vermicelli and black ear fungus.

Snails Steamed in Lemongrass.  I love snails, cooked our own way – spicy with gata and kangkong leaves.  But this is my first time to try snails steamed with lemongrass to remove the “lansa”, no  gata or any other ingredients to mask the taste of snail’s meat. It’s bland though, I was kind of looking out for a bit of ‘maputik’ aftertaste, but there’s none of that, just a hint of lemongrass. You have to dip it, again in nuoc nam pla to enjoy it.

Ban Xeo (46,000 dong), ia a Vietnamese rice pancake with pork (which looks like bacon), shrimps and bean sprouts. Again, this is served with veggies (lettuce, basil, mint) and dipped in nuoc nam pla.

To wash all these down, I had guava juice.  I was expecting the pink-guava-in-tetra-or-bottled-juice kind.  When it was served to me, it was green, slightly watery with some separation of pulp from liquid. It came with a stirrer though. But when I had my first taste, I was transported to guava heaven. Memories of my childhood days picking and munching on guavas every summer,  of my Mom-in-law giving me guapples as pasalubong from Cebu, all came rushing in. It was so refreshing after hours of walking in hot weather.  I had two glasses.

Total bill for this food trip was 367,000 dong  (17.50 US dollars or 750 pesos)


If you only have a day or two in Saigon, this is a must-go-to place.  And try everything on the menu.  I didn't order the Cha Ca La Vong, vegetable and tumeric infused grilled fish dish, because I wanted to have that for dinner at Cha Ca La Vong, the restaurant.

Quan An Ngon

138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia
District One
Ho chi Minh City
Telephone: (848) 825 7179

Travel: Ho Chi Minh on a Cyclo

After a breakfast of French baguette, sunny side up eggs and bacon and a cup of strong Vietnamese brew (I wanted to eat my first street pho for breakfast, but Lenz wanted to eat breakfast at the hotel), we’re set to explore the city. 

The hotel gave us a map with famous  tourist sites.  But I had my eyes (and tummy) set on Vietnamese food.  I did my homework.  Three pages of  list of restaurants, places to eat, food to try, wishing we could get to try everything in one day.   We didn’t have a guide, there’s that language barrier to think about. I just hope we could find English speaking kind souls to direct us to where we wish to go. 

As we rounded the corner from our hotel,  a man on cyclo waved and offered to drive us around.  I told him we wanted to go to Notre Dame Cathedral.  After a few minutes of haggling, we decided, “sige, try na nga natin.” The cyclo ride costs 40,000 dong (roughly 80 pesos) per person.

Cyclos (pronounced as “see-clo”) are cycle rickshaws much like our local pedicabs. The difference is the rider is in front.  A good way to see the city amidst the crazy morning traffic of motorbikes. 

I’m gonna let these photos tell you the story. 

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Travel: Ho Chi Minh day 1

Feb 20, 2012

I arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 several hours early than check in time.  I was tired as I waited for Lenz to arrive, yet, excited for this trip. The last trip abroad I had was in 2005 when I visited my brother Marc in Singapore. I wasn’t  into photography then, but I was already dabbling in writing my food experiences in friendster.

The trip took 2 hours. There was a time difference of one hour between Vietnam and Philippines that’s why we gained an hour when we arrived.

Tan So Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City is the largest airport in Vietnam. 

We went out to see the rep from Beautiful Saigon Hotel bearing a sign with my name on it.  We waited for a while for our transport to arrive,making small talk with the rep inspite of being lost in translation. I was feeling more tired and sleepy.  It was already 2AM  Manila time.

Our hotel is small, but clean.  It’s located in an area somewhat like Ermita. But it was safe.

With clean bathroom, clean towels, hot & cold water, TV, a strong wifi connection. Too bad there was no FB, as it was banned in Vietnam. I just tweeted teasers of my HCMC experience every now and then.

This was what greeted me when we woke up a few hours later.  We may not have a breathtaking view, but hey, the place is safe and alive and bustling with activity as we would discover later on.  It's a walking distance to Ben Tanh market and other tourist spots. 

Beautiful Saigon Hotel

62 Bui Vien St., Dist 1 

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

www.beautifulsaigonhotel.com

Vietnam: on a culinary & gastronomic adventure.

It’s been a long while since my last entry. I know I have been negligent in keeping this food blog updated and active.  I have a lot of materials, stories and food reviews to write, but my work kept me from writing.  This year, I vowed to write at least one entry a week (keeping my fingers crossed). 

Next week,  I will be off  from work for five days  for a much needed R & R and break from the hectic schedules that started November  till  January, and before the onslaught of another killer month of March.

I will be going on a trip that revolves around my two passions – photography & food. 

My love affair with Vietnamese cuisine dates back to the early 90’s when  M & I would feast on dishes of a Vietnamese restaurant in Megamall.  A cookbook on Vietnamese cooking was a constant presence in my little kitchen.  And going to Vietnam is a dream come true.  And I’m excited.  

Lunch at Florabel's Podium

For our regular weekly lunch date, I met up again with Lenz at the Podium. We chose to have lunch at Florabel's. She has been here with her siblings and she wanted me to try their food.

Florabel's is owned by chef  Florabel Co Yatco. The casual dining restaurant is located at the side of the Podium. Being a Monday, there weren't much people dining in.  When I arrived, Lenz was already there. The wait staff were courteous and accomodating when I asked if it's okay if I can take photos. 

 

 

The ambience is cozy and has that bright,clean, sophisticated look with high ceiling, floor to ceiling glass windows in front, black furniture and minimal table decors. 

The menu is a listing of Asian Continental and Filipino dishes . I had a heavy snack mid morning and wasn't craving for anything special. I preferred something light, less carbo. For those on a diet and into healthy eating, would be glad to know that Florabel’s has South Beach dishes to chose from. 

 

Complimentary bread comes with a dipping sauce made of olive oil, peppers, garlic and herbs.

 

For starters, we had soups. Lenz chose the Vegetable Barley Soup with Fresh Herbs (P160), which Lenz seemed to enjoy.

While I got the Tomato Soup topped with Ricotta Cheese and Baby Arugula (P200).  I find my soup a bit on the salty side and the baby arugula (what I was looking forward to) is missing. I would have loved it so much had they toned down on the salt. the ricotta cheese gave a creamy taste to complement the acidity of tomatoes. 

For the main course, we settled for the JT Wagyu burger (P475), listed on their ultimate burgers selection.  Wagyu beef patty  on sesame bun with mushrooms and bacon. We requested to cut it in half. The burger came in two separate plates. The staff was so generous to give each plate a bowl of salad greens with parmesan cheese shavings, and potato chips, making it almost two servings instead of one.  We requested the burger to be cooked medium well.  We should have asked for medium rare. Wagyu meat when cooked well done, tends to go dry and our Wagyu burgers were a bit dry and bland.  

Lenz ordered a glass of red wine to go with our meal.  It was too early for me to have wine and opted for the cantaloupe juice, which is sweet and refreshing. 

We didn’t try their desserts.  A sweet excuse to come back and try their Pinoy fare and bring home the Yema filled Chocolate Cake, the signature dessert of Chef Florabel.   

Next on my list would be a visit to Felix in Greenbelt 5, another one of Chef Florabel’s numerous restaurants, soon.