FoodTrippin: Cha Ca La Vong

First I want to say I really love food and I have no problem changing my eating habits on a whim to be able to savor a specific type or kind of food now or some other time hence.  I am not quite sure why I had to say that but it felt like I had to, but as a follow up so far on this trip every meal we have had has been a FULL meal in on itself, add to that the street fare we (me and I) have to try and well I'm pretty sure I am going to have to get those extra hours of cardio come January. 

So anyway Foodtrippin Episode 2, Cha Ca La Vong, Ho Chi Minh.  This was the second restaurant on my mom's gotta-try-list.  Suggested to us by my ninang (aunt) as one of the best meals you can get in the city and as a restaurant where no matter what you order you will get blown away, more on that later.

I would like to add that our journey to this restaurant was kind of cool for me because it was the first restaurant that I was able to track down and get to with the use of my phones GPS mapping.  So okay I may be geeking out a bit here and maybe I am overusing my new toy a bit, but hey if it is helping me find good food I do not really care what others will think.

Okay so lets start with some back information on Cha Ca La Vong, word is this is the oldest restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, well oldest that served the public for money is what I am guessing.  As for what I said earlier with regard to getting blown away with whatever you order that is because in this restaurant you are actually given no choice in what you are going to order because the truth is there is only one thing on the menu and it is the house specialty and wouldn't you know it, it has the same name as the restaurant Cha Ca La Vong.

Literally one dish on the menu, not counting drinks of course.

So as I said it kinda makes it hard to go wrong in this place, that is of course unless you do not eat fish or hate vegetables where in your fate would be to eat nothing but THE fish.  Though for all those doubters out there let me reassure you that if you are one or the other you will have no problem eating this dish, unless you are my sister.  That is because even I myself am very particular with the fish I eat.  This one though just blew me away and easily cracks my top 2 if not 3 fish dishes I have ever had.  To be honest, now that I am thinking about it, if I have a second round at this restaurant I am pretty sure it will jump to number one on my fish dish list.

There definitely is a small snag to this and that is by eating this fish I am going against who I am with regard to being a ecological conservationist.  That is because to my understanding they use catfish from the Mekong river delta, from what I know there are several species of catfish that live in the Mekong.  That should be pretty obvious given that the river spans several countries but it is worrying to think that I may have been helping cause the extinction of Mekong river catfish by eating here.  I just hope and pray that it was not the endangered giant Mekong River Catfish.  The photo of Granny with an above average sized catfish is a thinker though.  (But if it was, again I'm sorry, it was so good! Though if i do find out that it was, I will honestly have to never eat in this place again, so I am praying extremely that it is some kind of cultivated species or something like that.)

Anyhow back to the eating, when it came down to it, again there was no problem ordering, we basically just got two orders and split it between the three of us. It is very interesting how this goes, because it seems that you can get as much trimmings as you want. Trimmings being, pho or noodles, lime, peanuts, dill, green onions, fish sauce, chilis, coriander, and rice crackers as you want so from my stand point it is an all you can eat buffet, or sit down rather. Now to describe the dish in of itself is something mind boggling because by looking at it is incredibly simple yet when you're eating you get hit by one of the most complexing mouthfuls of your life, each and everytime.

All the trimmings you can eat if you can stomach it without the fish becase each and everyone is a strong taste or flavor of itself.

To try and explain that, when the dish is unassembled as it is dispatched to your table it looks bold yet simple.  The first thing you notice is that everything is unique and contrasting, in both flavor and texture.  You have your crunchy peanuts, you have your soft rice noodles, you have the hot chilis and then you have the cool coriander, then you have shrimp sauce, lime and green onions all of which are incredibly over powering when not properly proportioned.  So it gets you wondering what the hell am I about to eat that will make this discombobulated mix of ingredients actually work, then the star attraction arrives.

Never believed the simple catfish could be this good.

Okay so all of a sudden this secret recipe cat fish lands on your table like mana from the food Gods. It gets served to you on a hot plate that is kept hot by a gas stove they leave on your table.  Now this thing is just AWESOME!  This recipe or whatever seasoning or mix of shiznit they throw on to this fish is just something you feel you want to jump into yourself.  Put it this way, catfish is plain dull white meat, normally we have it with citrus, anything acidic or even just salt so we can actually taste the darn thing but oh my God!  This is the first dish that I have tasted that I can actually say that is catfish, I can TASTE catfish, which is weird because before this day it was like I had no idea what catfish really tasted like, though I did but I mean like after eating this dish only then did I really know what catfish is supposed to taste like.  It is one of the closest dishes to heaven that I have tasted in recent memory.  It was THAT AMAZING! 

Also that was when you try the catfish on its own, the fun part of is is mixing in all the other stuff they served with it.  At this point it is supposedly build to your own taste sort of but I have to say it did not really matter at all what combination you had whether you had little or a lot of whatever ingredient they gave you because no matter my combination once it got mixed in and as long as you had a bite of catfish or even just the catfish jus, it was over.  Done deal, each bite is just war with your understanding of what is actually good in the world because before that bite you just did not know something as odd as this mix could be that good.

Oh so simple looking but OMG! Officially the best seafood (technically riverfood) Pho of my life!
powered by INSTAGRAM (just saying)

So my verdict on Cha Ca La Vong, MUST ADD TO ANY FOODIE BUCKET LIST!  I will bet my integrity as food lover on it!  It may not become the best meal you have ever had but I can assure you it will crack your top 10.  Not bad for a dish that has not been changed in close to a century, so it gets 4.5 out of 5 La Vongs.  I cant give it a 5 out of 5 because even though I got mind blown it just wasn't THE dish of my life just yet. 

Lucky Guy

FoodTrippin: Nha Hang Ngon

Hey folks, welcome and salutations.  This is going to be my first foodtrippin entry on my blog and well I kinda want to get it over with.  First off I am apologizing in advance because for the longest time I have known that food will be a part of this blog one way or the other, whether it be my tales of eating out, a munchie craving I may be having or merely me going all mad scientist in the kitchen. So I want to post this, get some feedback and work on number two and onwards with gusto.

Another fact of the matter is that I am quite nervous cause I have not really decided on how this section of my universe is supposed to go.  There are so many ways to choose, I could keep things simple and concise or I can tell a story on how boy met food, then again I can post nothing but photos and make you drool or maybe I'll let my sister type something out and see how that goes (not so good I would have to think, so far she loves to eat BUT she has not developed appreciation for it yet).  Whichever way I go again I apologize for this first attempt at being a food blogger, I hope you enjoy it one way or the other.

Okay, lets get cracking!  Welcome to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, a city that is a far cry from the perception of lands of rice paddies, lotus blossoms, and (thank God!) provinces that still have the philosophy that if it moves on its own power its edible.

Though to embrace the inner chef in me I may actually consider trying stuff like bats, lizards, insects, or even man's best friend. . . or not but only the last one.  Even as enticing as these proteins are to some distinct locals, the food scene in Ho Chi Minh has definitely embraced the international fare especially with the amount of tourists and investors coming into not just the city but the country as a whole.

I could go on and on about the stuff I have heard regarding the food scene of the city so far but that is not what this is about and it is about time I get down to it and talk about this place we had dinner at.  The place is called Nha Hang Ngon and it was a ten minute walk or 5 minute cab ride from our hotel (we taxied going and then walked back).

Technically it is a restaurant but if you caught it, I meant to really just call it a place that coming from the way you order and get served here.  Strange as it seems I think mom best described it and so I'm running with it, this place is a "high end hawkers" cooperative, sort of.  Well first of they did not come together by themselves it seems that some time back a foreigner who moved to Ho Chi Minh came up with this crazy idea to pull together all his favorite side street stand vendors under one roof, bank them up, and give them what I suspect to be a better life for it.  Then again the thought did cross my mind that he may have just gotten tired of going all over the city to mix and match his favorites.

By my count there were at least 16 different vendors, most of them had similar offerings but obviously not EXACTLY the same and so if you liked the noodle soup in one stand wanted the spring rolls in another you could have em both and at the end you just pay once rather than pay each and everyone individually so easier for you, one less load of and look you're happy.

To order there are two ways really, the touristy way and the local way.  The touristy way is of course what we did we called a waiter to help us though I suspect they already knew we needed help just by looking at us.  Anyhow this way involves going around all the different concession tables pointing at something and waiting to try and get a half decent description of something that looks and smells amazing but could have been pork toes for all we knew.  This of course is quite time consuming and I am sure we missed out on a lot of best sellers because we could not understand them but hey it was an experience, and a delicious one at that. 

We got to try our hand at the local way of ordering later on once we sat down, mainly cause thats how we ordered our drinks and well the local way is simply by menu (exciting right?).  The only main difference being that each page belonged to a different concession or hawker and guess what the menu was in fudging ENGLISH, and we get this after we already ordered!?  Dear waiters, ehem, don't you think it would have been nice and not to mention easier if you at least thought of bringing a menu with you for tourists to browse through while we walk around?  Just a thought, anyway moving on here is what we ordered, I hope I did not get the names mixed up.

Banh Xeo - Basically its make your own fresh spring role with
mashed up prawn that is steamed around a sugar cane.

Banh Hoi Tom - It looks like a pork and shrimps omelet but tasted more like a pastry,

I suspect French influence in this one.

Com Suon Non - Sweet pork on rice barely got to try it
cause it literally flew into my sister's tummy the verdict
is still out if it was that good or she was just starving.

Oc Buou Nhoi - This one was a surprise for me because I actually liked it

its chopped up snail mixed with minced pork and stuffed back into its shell

this was REALLY good and something I would actually order again. 

Also this was my first snail dish, EVER!

Ca Ri w/ Pho - 1 guess as to what it is, oh and this was my dish, kind of on the
sweet side which I did not expect but it could have been from the amount of sweet
potato I found at the bottom of my bowl when I finished it.

Duo of Pho (L-R) Seafood & Chicken - Both with similar clean tastes but the red one
thought it looks spicy was actually quite savory because it was tomato based broth.

Close up of Chicken Pho

Close up of Seafood Pho - a pork stuffed pepper surprise in the soup and my second noodle bowl
of the night, the pepper was amazing and I actually wanted just more of it, the squid balls were
above average but the fish had no taste but the broth more than made up for it.

Che Lanh (L) and Ca Phe Sua Da (R).
When I saw it I knew I was ordering it, kind of like love at first sight with
the one on the left, the iced coffee tasted like my canned nestle mocha at home.   

All in all the food was great, we had a lot of it, and well if I used some form or rating one way or the other I would give it 3.5 out of 5 Bowls of Pho.  I know I'm taking away from it because of the language barrier and maybe a little more because it was our first real Vietnamese meal but they are viable claims.

Commentary: The Fate of Vietnam as I See It

I have not even been in Vietnam for over 24 hours yet already I have learned so much about the history of this country.  On the surface it is a country on its feet and moving into the 21st century but underneath it all is a country trying to forget a past it may never have deserved.

Everyone has heard at least some tid bit about the Vietnam War at one point or the other. That goes for me too, before this trip i had a certain perception and idea about the war and it was definitely not like this.  After visiting the War Remnants Museum and after getting the gist behind what really happened, with all due respect to the Americans for everything they've done right in the world, the war in Vietnam is not just a blot on them but a total desecration in our world and on mankind.

I always thought the Americans were the good guys in all those Nam movies I watched growing up but that's all they really were, movies. Dramatized blockbuster hits to bring in large pay days for studios. Well they did a good job I guess cause it did what it did, it made studios rich and for the US government they lucked out because it masked a lot of the truth, especially to the eyes of their own people.

Photo by Larry Burrows

Photo by Larry Burrows

To begin with this is a war with a lot of mist about it because no one is going to just man up after 50 years and admit a WAR was their fault, on either side. As the timeline goes, the ship that was supposedly blown up by the Vietnamese was fictitious in some way and could more than likely be just another tall tale cover up. So in a sense the war in itself had very little basis for going as far as it did.  Which was pretty darn far.

Photo by Larry Burrows

Photo by Larry Burrows

It seems that as the US was waging this war, the rest of the world was protesting it.  It is hard to think that they did all that to just save face and win a war they merely jumped and escalated on fabricated information but it sure could seem that way now.  From what started as protecting the country from the Northern communists under a "puppet government" when the French left, to combating southern guerillas who opposed the government and turning it into an all out massacre of any locals in their way because any local young or old could be a Viet Cong spy is just down right crazy by my say.

Nam War Tiger Cages - the small one would have 3 prisoners; the big one would have 5

Holding Cell Replica

Holding Cell Replica from doorway

This was no mere war, this was a war in which they went all out and at some point lost control of.  It was the first war to use laser guided missiles (this was the 60s), and to the first use of chemical warfare on a massive scale.  The worst of which was a chemical called Agent Orange which with 85 grams could kill a city of 8 million.  Then those who do survive are changed adversely forever.  

Authentic Chemical Container 

The chemicals used were not only detrimental to anyone that came into proximity of it but it also destroyed entire ecosystems.  Choking the locals into submission even more due to lack of crops and livestock that have died of. 

Lists of Chemicals used by the US Troops

Till this day descendants of these war survivors are afflicted with bodily disfigurations that has become genetically coded into them over the decades, those who are afflicted have more than a 90% percent chance of passing it on themselves.  This puts them in a position to live out their lives alone of fear of having to not only deal with what they have to put up with on a daily basis but the possibility that their children may have to put up with it as well.

Born without Arms

Caged for Life due to no sense of understanding but hunger

Child of an American GI who was exposed to Agent Orange

It has truly been an eye opening day, I learned a lot and none of which I really expected to.  At least times are changing, well at least I hope they are.  For me it is quite ironic that there are so many American tourists here in Vietnam.  Citizens of the country that did so much harm and possibly pushed Vietnam back a good century just under 50 years ago is today are in a way invading in a different way.  I am sure the tourist boom they bring in for being a historical country from their past is the major factor but I also hope that they learn something even just barely close to what I did today.  It may take time but if they begin to realize what really happened here, even if it takes one person at a time, that's still a start.

Mother carrying her disformed son

Disfigured face of an unborn fetus

Hello Ho Chi Minh

1 Family - 5 Countries - 13 Days

One incredible task that we're sure will make for incredible memories.  Me and my family are hitting the holidays quick and hard this year, making this one of the better christmas seasons for us in recent memory.  Our small ratpack is taking on Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, or at least we're going to do our best to try.  The hardest part I am foreseeing is keeping it all lighthearted through out the trip.  Especially when the heroes for this adventure are Old Faithful, Little Bigfoot, and The Beast of Burden.

Anyway first stop on the trip, Ho Chi Minh City, this leg of the trip was my mom's kind of bakers dozen thing, the "pakapin" or throw in to the whole trip.  Basically it is the jump of to get to Siem Reap and Cambodia which this whole side trip is centered upon.  Side trip really because the main purpose is for us to attend my aunt's wedding in Bangkok in a weeks time.  Also by flying into Vietnam instead of straight to Cambodia for the same price we pretty much get a two day extension on our trip for pretty much the same dough we would have had to cough up if we flew in straight.

Not Everything Needs to Change 

The first day of our trip was relatively straight forward by holiday standards, mom planned well for this trip just as she always does and so we made the best of our day by making the next two even easier.  We just booked our Cyclotour, planned our foot routes, and reserved our bus transfer to Cambodia.  The three of us have never been to Vietnam but after one day we are in agreement that we feel like we are in an turn of the century Asian movie filmed by a French director with a forbidden love story between two adolescents from the families Mo Ped and Ves Pa.

Cycles

Corny? Though seriously we have never seen this many cycles in one place, EVER!  Add to that the whole organized chaos that anyone would notice during the first five minutes you spend on the road and I am sure you would be dumb struck too.  One its not something most people would be used to, two how come the local law enforcement allows them to do what they do (like taxis swerve in to the opposite side of the road to pick up a fare), and three there aren't more accidents that occur. (knock on wood)

Another aspect that comes to mind when walking around is the amount of influence the French really had on the local flare.  The most of obvious of which is definitely mode of transportation but for me the more important one and the one I'm looking forward to trying is the food.  Truth be told, I have a list of eats that I HAVE to have while I'm here in Vietnam, on the short list are local dishes like the Banh Mi, a french baguette stuffed with local shiznit and of course being the noodle freak that I am a whole lot of Pho!  Wherever I can get it!

Ben Thanh Market at night

Haha, so I'm definitely looking forward to more food tomorrow especially after the dinner we just had which mom says was high end hawker food (say what?!) and of course the touring we'll be doing.  So this was definitely a good start to the trip, cheers on you guys, Bonne Nuit!

333 - Good & Light

Last School Holiday (I hope)

Finally vacation sort of, my preliminary exam week just wrapped up though I owe one of my instructors an exam that I'm gonna take when I get back next year. That and I have 2 projects to work on whenever I can find the time for it.

That's all out the window right now though I may plan on picking some of it up during the break. The point is it's my break, it's the holidays, and it's my last extended free time as a student if I graduate this coming march.

So the way I see it, I have to have a blast this last time out. I know I have been neglecting my blog cause I had to focus on school for a while but now that it's over I intend on having a few more entries, they may come out shorter but I don't see much harm in that cause I foresee quite a few of them in the next 3 weeks.

So okay 3 days into the break I find myself in Manila in the midst of a 5 day lay over before we start hopping southeast Asia. So far I've gotten 6 Christmas gifts, already opened them, sorry but I couldn't resist! So the count is 2 pairs of shoes, one new toy, 2 shirts, and green that I hope to flip for a bag insert either later or tomorrow. With that I would like to say MANY THANKS TO MY THREE NINANGS (godmothers) and MY MOM for all the presents! I love you guys to bits and you've made this an awesome start to the holidays!!!

Now as for the social aspect of my life so far of this trip I've started it off with two spectrum parties. The first being the birthday of my one year old godson, who I still owe a present too. The second being a house party with a few of my old Manila dorm mates.

I love my godson and he is totally the most adorable kid that I do feel guilty that I have not gotten him a birthday or Christmas gift so I hope to fulfil my godfather duties as soon as I get back and who knows maybe I'll fulfil it while out on this adventure.

With the second party I got the sense of great friendship and timeless brotherhood. NO HOMO guys but I love you guys no matter how little time I did or do get to spend with you all. More so with two of my bestest friends I mean we turned a one night chill out session in to a two day total blast from the past. I know all we did was play computer, eat Mexican food and sleep but it totally felt like we were back at the dorm. Not that that was all we did during our dorm tenure of course, ehe.

So anyway that was just the start of this 3 week roller coaster, today and maybe tomorrow we're going to make the last of our preparations before flying out. I honestly can't wait to get this next adventure on! I know it's going to be something amazing!

Two Happy Feet ends with a Lunar Eclipse

Tonight I took my sister to see Happy Feet 2 for reasons like I was finally feeling better after a two day sinus thing that makes my head hurt, and cause though I was sick I was home working on one of my final requirements for school and was feeling the cabin fever.

All in all the verdict is that I liked the movie and I would give it 4 out of 5 mumbles (happyfeet), may it be my invigorated fondness for the gifted and dextrous flightless birds, the company I had for the night, or the great memories that tie in with its prequel.  It was a fun movie to watch and has me scouring the internet for a soundtrack to download.

Getting home half passed 10 the night threw me and my sister one last thing and that was the Lunar Ecilpse, the last I believe of 2011.  So as me and my sister got to viewing the spectacle my friend tweet-suggested I attempt to get a shot and here is what I have to show for it.

So to my mother who made me a lunatic way back when I hope you and your friends are having a blast up north under the eclipse.

All in all it was a productive, well balanced and good day.

The World As I See It - Jason Mraz

It has been a slow week in the world so I just figured I would share the first single from Jason Mraz's coming soon album.  The world as I see it, is a great track and has been in my morning playlist for the last month.

Personally I would like to say that Mr. A-Z has been at the top of my playlist for the better part of the past decade.  Ever since the days of The Remedy and summer soccer camps.

I definitely regret missing out on his concert 7 years ago at the Fort Bonifacio Tent but in hindsight that was more out of wearing adolescent blinders.  

I was lucky enough though to catch the last one and it was awesome!  I did not have my camera with me but at least one of my friends did so here are a few out takes she had of something that was totally stellar.

Oh and one last thing, he opened the concert with "The World As I See It".  I guess you can see where that went.