Egg cream coffee done right. The raw egg yolk is whisked into the cream then "cooked" into the hot coffee. This way there's extra heat to ensure a lower risk of salmonella. We've had this multiple times, often without the burner at the bottom of the cup, and thankfully have had no adverse reactions. My suggestion if you're in Vietnam and want to try egg coffee is go to a proper coffee house, and best stay away from the streetside stalls.
The offerings at Marou. BIKSS bought some mini chunky chocolate cookies for taking home, and got 2 for me and my caregiver too. We also bought a bunch of chocolate bars to give to friends and family. Thankfully, not as much as we did on our Hanoi trip.
This is the reason we stayed a night in HCMC. Pizza 4P's. AKA our favourite pizza restaurant.
Spicy Grilled Shrimp Pizza (my new favourite) and Hokkaido Scallop Pizza
Camambert and Truffle Mascarpone
Burrata with tropical fruit salad
In house Kombucha - which was really smooth and had just the right balance of sweet and sour
We also had their home made meatballs in tomato soup. Which BIKSS couldn't stop raving about.
All this while we've only ever ordered a pizza + salad or side and maybe once we tried a cheese-type dessert, cos we were reluctant to order too much. But this time we were a bit more daring. That was a lot of food for just the two of us so by the end of dinner I had resorted to eating just the toppings on my pizza slices and leaving the crust behind. Which was a pity cos they do good crust too!
A ring I picked up at a thrift shop. BIKSS got a pair of multi-coloured striped socks!
More pizza (this was lunch, what you saw up there was dinner) - 1/2 and 1/2 - a 5-cheese pizza and salami + spicy chorizo pizza. BIKSS wasn't thrilled about the 5-cheese cos it had gorgonzola in it. This is a new addition to their menu - when we were at 4P's last they only had a 3-cheese and a 4-cheese. This is what happens when you get greedy LOL. I didn't mind it one bit tho. I love me my cheeses. They make their own cheeses in Da Lat then ship 'em off to the various restaurants within 24 hours. So fresh. So good. So much carbon saved. You can read about them HERE.
Our last dinner in Hue. Assortment of Hue specialities - lemongrass chicken, fried pancake, fresh spring rolls, a ton of veggie and rice paper, and peanut sauce. Grilled chicken in a bamboo boat. Fried vegetable spring rolls.
More Hue specialities. This very local lunch was had inside Dong Ba market. Bun Nghe is a turmeric glass noodle dish served with crispy rice paper crackers and mushrooms and veggies- it's usually served with pig intestines and liver, but the version we had was meatless, thank goodness. BIKSS isn't a fan of pig insides. Banh Nam is a 'cake' or steamed dumpling made with tapioca flour and seasoned prawns and/or minced meat, and Bún Bò Huế Chay is the vegetarian version of their traditional beef noodle soup or Bún bò Huế. (Hint : chay anything means vegetarian in most parts of Asia.)
Wandering across the Trang Tien Bridge, white and purple mini brinjals at the market, and the Dong Ba market signboard. (Hint: Cho in Vietnamese is market / shopping centre)
BIKSS and I each picked up a The North Face puffer jacket at one of the shops in Hue. For about 1/10 the original price (in where-I-live anyway) thanks to factory overruns.
The hotel in HCMC - complimentary beverage and tea time snacks while we get checked in. I was annoyed that even tho I used my name to book the hotel, when they registered us they used BIKSS' name instead. And then gave ME the form (cos I was the one who presented the confirmation email and did all the talking) to fill up my fone number and email. And sign at the bottom please. The bluddy cheek.
I made sure she knew that I was NOT *BIKSS' name* but that my name was in fact *Fondles' name* and promptly scratched out his name at the top of the form before filling in my own before putting in my details and signing the blasted thing.
Last night's attempt at Thịt luộc tôm chua - Boiled Pork with Sour Shrimp Sauce
I boiled some pork and veggies, (spinach, beansprouts, mushrooms) and stuck some tofu in the air fryer. Then diluted the fermented shrimp sauce I bought from Dong Ba market (see previous post) with some lime juice and a generous helping of fried shallots, garlic and sesame seeds. It was a hit with my gal pals who have now declared that whenever I come back from vacation I need to cook up something for them so they can also experience a "taste" of my adventures! While the shrimp sauce is pungent and very salty, the unseasoned pork and veggies made for a great canvas to set it against! I also had rice paper and vermicelli so we'd have noodle and roll options.
The verdict - delicious. And pretty healthy, considering the lean-ness of the meat and the fact that everything was basically boiled / raw / air-fried with very little oil.
Today I opened a packet of Sesame Candy or Kẹo Mè Xửng Huế after hosting my ex-colleagues for lunch at home. I've seen two versions, this is the thinner one. It's too sweet for my tastes, but it's so interesting to see the reactions of the different ladies. One said, yes, it IS sweet, but it's candy innit? I took one bite then gave the rest to my tenant. Who had finished her half and was reaching for another piece, which is why I offered her mine. And another one who took that first half said yes, she was right to only break off half a piece because she deemed it too sweet for her liking as well.
And this is the thicker version which me and BIKSS tried while in Hue. I think this version is slightly less sweet and perhaps a little easier to chew. While he's not a fan of sweet treats, I'm certain he liked it because it's got two of his favourite ingredients - sesame seeds and peanuts! Incidentally, these are 2 things I could live without ever eating again.
And that was our trip.
BIKSS is off to Thailand in about 10 days' time, and if not for the fact that my colleague is on vacation and won't be back before he flies off, I would totally be there too. Ah well, that and I'm going to be on my period... ugh. I'll just sit this one out. I WILL however be ordering some stuff from my favorite Chiang Mai store (see that post for pics of the candles and perfume balms) to have them deliver more goodies to his hotel. And he can mule them back for me Muahahha!
