Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Blue Ginger, Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnamese shabu shabu

Completely unrelated to the Blue Ginger back in Singapore, this was a bit of a touristy place (37 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, 8218-546), complete with traditional live music. But apparently this was also an upscale spot for local businessmen to talk shop, and hence our presence here tonight. Our gracious hosts did all of the ordering tonight, so I really don't know the names of the stuff that we ate, but they all tasted fine (and yes, many of them were of the lettuce-wrapped variety).

A couple interesting things did stick out though, the first of which included a sweet vinegar-based broth that one shabu-shabu'ed his raw beef into before throwing it into a rice paper wrapping and dipping into some fermented sauce. Apparently it's one of the famous seven courses of Vietnamese beef that one can order, even though we ordered it a la carte.

One Day SquidThe so-called "one day squid" was an interesting one too, the name of which was derived from the fact that these were hung to dry for only one day, thus still preserving some of the fluids inside the body. I loved its strong smoky aroma, and its saltiness made it great with beer too. Anyway, this was all interesting to learn from, but I have to admit that I'd probably still pick street food if I had the chance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Seeing that you enjoy thoroughly Pho and Vietnamese noodle soup, I would suggest you try Singapore's teochew version of Beef Kway Teow Soup at East Coast Food Centre (formerly called Lagoon Hawker Centre). I liked it very much and hope you do too. Why not drop by there on your way home from the airport eh?