Tuesday, October 9, 2007

arrival in Việt Nam and phổ

So, my first day in HCMC or Saigon if you prefer was filled with walking, sweating sleeping and eating. The weather here is hot and sticky and feels much hotter than when I was in Tucson just a few days ago, though the temperatures are the same. Funny how a little humidity can get you all hot, damp and sweaty. Anyway, I ended up eating phổ twice today and not coincidently I think they were two best bowls of phổ I have had in my life. The first was at Phổ 2000, clean and air-conditioned with stainless steel tables near Bến Thành Market, it was nice enough for a president to visit. (Pictures on the wall seemed to indicate that one did, Bill Clinton stopped in for some delicious phổ sometime in the late nineties on his trip through Việt Nam) I ordered a seafood phổ filled with fish, squid, clams and tofu and topped with copped fresh dill. I have to admit, dill is one of my favorite herbs so, although I was surprised that it came with dill rather than basil and sprouts, I absolutely loved it!

I also found this excellent food blog for HCMC called noodlepie and I am using as a launching pad for my food explorations, so I got my next bowl of phổ at Phổ 24 because of noodlepie’s raving review. Again it was really good. The difference between the phổ I have been eating here and in Seattle is mostly two things. First the noodles are fresh, have excellent texture, and even have some flavor! The second is the broth, its just really, really good.

5 comments:

Sarah Heston said...

mmmmmm...I can't wait. See you in Dec!

Emilie said...

I'd like some, please.

Graham Holliday said...

Thanks for the link, I look forward to seeing more of your food finds from that bonkers city. Cheers.

&y said...

Yay! Keep the food posts coming! Glad to hear you are alive, well, and well-fed.

Unknown said...

Good luck in your travels. I also recommend Quan An Ngon as a starting restaurant in HCMC - it's a great place to find the harder to spot street foods from around Saigon and beyond.