Street Food :: All Things Andy Gavin

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Oxymoron? – Upscale Street Food

Apr25

Location: Hanoi

Date: March 27, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Great Upscale Street Food

Our third city in Vietnam is bustling Hanoi — and I mean bustling. This city has the pounding pulse of a jack rabbit on speed.

Our investigations brought us to Nha Hang Ngon which is a small chain of upscale street food (again!).

The setting is a cool old colonial courtyard house.

If anything, this menu is even bigger than some of the others!

Crispy pork and shrimp spring rolls. These were the best fried rolls I had on the trip. Fabulous.

A fresh spring roll variant, I think with roast pork and crab. Also great.

Fried pork wontons. Delicious, but tasted of fry (big surprise!)

Egg pancake stuffed with shrimp. This was rolled with vegetables in rice paper too.

An accidental order was this duck soup, which was a sort of egg drop.

Beef Pho. A more classic beef pho with noodles, beef, herbs, etc.

Green papaya salad. These fresh Vietnamese salads are incredibly delicious.

Salad with shrimp and fiddler crab.

Green salad. Sort of a western version. No dressing was apparent.

Coconut and shrimp salad. Somehow that shaved stuff is from the coconut tree. I don’t know what part.

Vietnamese BBQ Beef (Nha Trang Style). This apparently is a classic. The beef was tender and tasty. There is an incredibly salty fish salt and optional french bread to put it on.

Steak frites. I thought this was a Banh Mi, but it ended up being a pan fried filet mignon and fries. Not bad though.

And it came with bread, and various dipping sauces. The orange one was hot (and good).

Grilled sea-bass in banana leaf. A nice grilled fish.

Fried squid. What passes for calamari here. Pretty good though.

Shrimp. I don’t remember what kind but they were extremely tasty.

Vermicelli with shrimp. Delicious, as most Vietnamese noodle dishes are.

Wide rice noodles with beef.

Pad Vietnam. I made up the name, but this dish is essentially Pad Thai. It was delicious. You still the ingredients together. We ordered it twice.

Taro Sticky Sweet Soup with coconut milk. The concept is weird, but it was pretty delicious.

Jelly, water chestnut-tapioca pearls and coconut milk. A bit strange, but pleasant enough.

Fresh persimmon? Very interesting complex flavor, like an apple pie.

bundles of noodles

This place was great and we had a fun time. The food wasn’t quite as on point as at the other two upscale street food restaurants we found, but they have a monster menu and it was super tasty.

Apparently the woman is a famous Vietnamese model. Evidently she likes the place too.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: eating-vietnam, hanoi, Street Food, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Adventures in Street Food

Apr18

Restaurant: Morning Glory Street Food Restaurant

Location: Hoi An

Date: March 25, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Super Yum

Everyone always talks about how great the street food is in Vietnam.

Things like crab fritters that have been sitting out for hours in the heat and humidity.

Or miscellaneous stuff waiting to assemble.

Our tasty maggot air dried meats.

Well, those of us who aren’t quite THAT adventurous (or don’t fancy a reasonable chance at several days glued to the toilet) might consider stepping up to $10-15 a person and the glory that is Morning Glory Street Food, a more “upscale” rendering of the classics.

The local beer. They don’t really like to sell you anything else. You can ask, but you’ll earn a snarl.

White Rose Dumplings. Famous soft steamed rice flour dumplings filled with ground shrimp. As promised, these are lighter than the traditional Chinese (Har Gow) variety.

Barbecued Pork with Rice Paper. Marinated BBQ pork with peanut sauce, fresh herbs, star fruit, and green banana.

As usual with these dishes, you roll up a spring roll.

Cao Lau noodles with marinated pork. The “classic” Hoi An dish with Japanese, Chinese, and French influences. Thick, homemade rice noodles with tender marinated pork, fresh herbs, and croutons in a light brother.

Not quite as good as the version we had the night before, but still delicious.

Banh Mi with Hoi An Sausage and marinated pork. A local version of the classic Vietnamese sandwich.

Fresh Mackerel in Banana Leaf. Cubes of marinated fresh mackerel with chopped wood-ear mushrooms, mung bean vermicelli, fresh turmeric and spices wrapped in banana leaves and chargrilled.

Very interesting AND tasty.

Chicken with ginger sauce. Stir fried chicken with ginger, onions and celery. Sort of like a Chinese American dish.

Papaya Salad with Sesame Beef. Shredded green papaya and fresh herbs topped with crispy dried roasted sesame beef. These “salads” the Vietnamese make are amazing.

Roast Duck Leg served with five space and shallot dressing and sticky rice. Yum!

Smoky eggplant with minced pork. I’m not usually a big fan of this kind of “mushy” eggplant, but this was great.

Prawn Curry. Five elements: sweet, sour, hot, bitter, and salty. Prawns, eggplant, poatoes, onions, lime leaves, lemongrass, and coconut milk.

Overall, this might have been the best meal we had in Vietnam, certainly in the top 2-3. While the cuisine isn’t “fancy” the combination of ingredients and fresh flavors came together in a spectacular way.

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.