Influenced by the Chinese and the French, Vietnamese cuisine is known for the freshness of its ingredients -- and those ingredients can include just about anything. In fact, there is a saying in Vietnam, "If you can catch it, you can eat it."
Andrew dove right in with a visit to Le Mat Village, also known as Snake Village, where he visited several snake restaurants. Once he decided upon a location, he chose his reptile, watched the chef butcher it, and then sampled seven courses of snake.
Later on, Andrew roamed around one of the many neighborhood markets lining the streets of Hanoi with Sarah Clarke, owner of Hanoi Street Food, Sarah's food tour company. She leads people on tours around Hanoi trying food from various stalls and vendors. They sampled shredded pig's-ear spring rolls, civet-cat coffee and Hanoi's most famous food -- pho (beef noodle soup).
Even the most intrepid traveler longs for a home-cooked meal now and then. On this trip, Andrew satisfied that need with a visit to the home of Mrs. Nguyen. She took Andrew to the market to pick out ingredients for their meal and then fixed a traditional favorite: fried silkworms and green bananas with snails.
Andrew wrapped up his trip by visiting one of the most beautiful spots on the planet, Ha Long Bay, where he tried some of the local seafood.
See where else Andrew visited and ate while in Vietnam.
LeMat Village (aka Snake Village): Andrew attended the snake festival and later went to a snake restaurant, where he selected a snake for the chef to prepare for him. He then ate the beating heart of a cobra, fried ground snake bones served with crackers, sautéed snake with lemongrass, snake spring rolls and deep-fried snake skin.
Hanoi Street Market: Andrew explored a local market, Cho Hom, and the streets of Hanoi with Sarah Clarke, owner of Hanoi Street Food. They ate (and drank) green papaya salad with dried beef, rice-flour dumplings filled with minced pork, dried prawn flavored with black-wood ear fungus, pho (beef noodle soup) and civet-cat coffee (coffee made from beans that have been eaten by a civet cat, then pooped out, gathered, dried and roasted).
Cha Ca La Vong: Andrew visited this historic restaurant (reputed to be 200 years) and dined on the only item on the menu -- "cha ca" (a fried fish dish).
Highway 4 Restaurant and Bar: Andrew visited this popular restaurant and bar, which is home to Hanoi's Minsk Motorcycle Club (you don't have to be a biker to drop by). He ate whole roasted sparrow, scorpions, and bull's penis and testicles.
Cat Hai Fish Sauce Factory: Andrew traveled to the island of Cat Hai (outside of Hai phong) to tour the factory and learn about the making of fish sauce. He then taste-tested fish sauce with the assistant manager of the Harbour View Hotel.
Jumbo Floating Restaurant (Ha Long Bay): At this eatery, Andrew ate snails in lemongrass, horseshoe crab in sweet chili, sliced breast of "ca say" (a long-necked duck hybrid) served over greens, ship worms and mantis prawns.
RSS Feeds