Pho-tastic From Central Highlands

Right in the middle of Ho Chi Minh city you can enjoy a bowl of Pho carrying the flavor of a wild and special Central Highlands. It is different from the usual Pho you have tasted at your Saigon hotel or in any Pho restaurant in Hanoi. It is neither the North nor the South flavor, it is the Highlands’ flavor – Pho kho from Gia Lai.

“I spent a long time trying to bring this dish to Saigon and still make sure it would retain the flavor of my hometown,” said Quang Huy, owner of pho kho Gia Lai in Binh Thanh District.

Pho kho Gia Lai is a variety of the staple Vietnamese dish from the central region

The term Gia Lai refers to a Central Highlands province of Vietnam and, while the endless battle rages between acolytes of northern pho (clear broth, no added extras) and southern pho (greens galore, clouded broth), pho kho Gia Lai offers an intriguing alternative.

It shares a number of common characteristics with its southern and northern neighbors.

Pho kho Gia Lai also primarily consists of meat, rice noodles and savory broth. Gia Lai noodles are somewhat chewier than the polar varieties.

It is a dish with both pork meat and beef.

Unlike northern pho, both pork and beef bones are simmered over a small flame for five to seven hours to create the broth. The dish itself is typically accompanied by tender beef, thinly sliced and briefly cooked in the broth.

The pork meat is minced or chopped, and placed on top of a bowl of steaming noodles, and sprinkled with fried shallots.

Like southern pho, pho kho Gia Lai comes with fresh greens and bean sprouts.

But the dish is served a bit differently.

Central diners receive a bowl of chopped meat over noodles and a separate dish of meat swimming in broth.

Here in Ho Chi Minh City, a squeeze-bottle of hoisin sauce (a savory, dark, ketchupy condiment derived from soy beans, sweet potatoes and wheat) is usually within hands reach and is typically used to dip the beef in.

In the Central Highlands, the hoisin sauce is indispensable.

It’s usually tossed directly in with the noodles along with a spritz of chili oil and lemon juice. If you’re feeling like a true

Highlander, add some thin chili slices to give the meal a real kick.

A bowl of pho kho Gia Lai is VND25,000 to 30,000.

Pho kho Gia Lai is available at the following places in Ho Chi Minh City:

* 288 No Trang Long Street, Binh Thanh District

* 194 Dang Van Ngu Street, Phu Nhuan District

 

Source: thanhniennews

Bun mam – rustic food in modern city

Bun mam or noodle sauce is special for its soup made from fermented fish. But the flavors do not win people over at first.

Bun is one of the most popular dishes of traditional Vietnam food. Almost every area has a separate domain with its own characteristics. If North Vietnam has bun cha (fried fish paste noodle)and bun oc (shellfish noodle), Hue has bun bo (beef noodle) and bun thang (noodle served with mixture of pork, chicken, and pork paste) then the south has bun ca (fish noodle) and bun mam (fermented fish noodle).

Bun mam or noodle sauce is special for its soup made from fermented fish. But the flavors do not win people over at first. In fact, most people do not like it the first time they try it. But eventually these same people come back again and again for more. Soups made from noodle sauce are cooked with coconut milk which sweetens the taste.

Noodle sauce is served with vegetables such as water lily together with aromic vegetables and seafood hot pot dishes of fish, shrimp and squid and beef. Eaten with a little lemon and a little pepper, the flavor is sour, sweet and spicy in your tongue. After a nice bowl of noodle sauce, a cup of lotus tea is the perfect chaser.

Noodle sauce is a southern dish and in Ho Chi Minh City there is a little restaurant specializing in noodle sauce and hot pot sauce called Vy Restaurant at 190/19 Su Van Hanh Street, District 5.

(Collected by Vietnamtravelinfo.)

Indugle in the authentic taste of Ha Noi

Tourists visiting Hanoi often find Hanoi traditional food a thrill experience. You can try Hanoi food at most Hanoi hotel, however, it would be much more appealing to do this at a Hanoian setup restaurant where you can get a glimpse at the old Hanoi as well as tasting it. Dining with my family at the small Hanoian restaurant 1946 was a memorable experience and one I look forward to enjoying again soon.

Vintage hospitality

Upon telling everyone a story about the upcoming celebratory events to take place as the city turns 1000 years old, my grandfather said: “You think Ha Noi is beautiful now, you should have seen it in 1946.” I asked him what 1946 had been like and he offered his personal opinion: “You should have seen the wild lotus on Hoan Kiem Lake, or the Red River flowing right through the city, or storks flying over the sky in the afternoon. And most importantly, you should have seen the people.” He spoke about how much more elegant and classy the old Hanoians were, how everything was an art, and how delicious the food was. My grandfather told his story while we waited for our food to arrive, which I’ve waited with much anticipation as I was very hungry by that point. After 15 minutes of conversation, our food was ready.

Piping hot: The grilled pipefish is served hot with a savoury sauce. The meat is juicy and tasty.

We ordered a variety of a la carte dishes and were most impressed with the roasted field crab. The presentation was so brilliant that I felt it should just be looked at and not eaten. It was enough food for 5 people. After admiring the dish, we decided to dig in. It tasted extraordinary. The crab itself was very small. The legs were brittle and they dissolved as soon as we bit into them. I was surprised that the body of the crab was not very crispy. In fact, it was firm, juicy and delicious. I’ve tried that particular dish many times at other restaurants and the crab bodies have always been crunchy and tasty but nothing like the ones at 1946. I asked the staff if I could sneak a peek at the recipe but, of course, it was a secret. The manager was, however, intrigued by my interest in the dish and came over to talk with us.

It turned out that every dish in the restaurant was a signature dish, each with its own story. Take the very simple roasted peanuts for example: these are not normal peanuts. They are transported from the central province of Nghe An and they have a distinctively red hued peel. Each nut was small and sweet. The peanuts are roasted with a bit of fish sauce and salt and are perfect to nibble on if you just want to have a snack while enjoying some beers.

“Why doesn’t everything come from the city of Ha Noi? I thought this was a Hanoian restaurant,” my younger brother asked the manager. The manager replied that Ha Noi’s culture has always been one that reflects many cultures. Once upon a time, when the city consisted of only the Hanoi Old Quarter, Ha Noi was technically a big market, with each street acting as a specialized spot for certain types of goods. People from all over the country came to Ha Noi to do business, bringing with them the culture and the food from their homeland, which created the diversification of the gourmet culture.

“We are just trying to create a glimpse of the old Ha Noi, but an authentic one, since we love this city so much,” the manager said, “We spent months developing the menu and practically years to make the recipes right.”

Then he told us about the weeks they spent working on the supposedly simple dua muoi (pickle), how they couldn’t feel their teeth after many hours of tasting. At the moment, we all had a bite of the dish and found it very tasty, light, aromatic, crunchy and amazingly sweet.

“We are not trying to make complicated dishes, which is typical of many restaurants these days. Staying authentic is much more difficult, yet more fun, I think”, the wise manager said. “You can find the exact same dishes as Old Hanoians had on their tables here”.

Our family found the manager’s stories delightful and were then even more thrilled to finish our meal. Every dish was a common Hanoian dish but tasted very different and much better than usual. In the middle of the dining table we had a simmering pot of doc mung (Indian taro) and pork ribs soup. It came with a portion of vermicelli that was too small for our table of five. The sweet and sour soup was rich in flavors and aroma, and it was funny to see my little brother slurping it with great joy.

We also ordered a dish of grilled ca chia voi (pipefish), a species that can only be found in the deep sea of Nghe An. The fish was lean and its meat was firm and tasty. It came with a special sauce made with lime juice, salt, sugar, chilli and prawn powder. The combination was fantastic.

I grabbed the menu and was instantly amused. The menu comes both Vietnamese and English. However, the Vietnamese version is much more detailed than the latter since the person who wrote the menu added a little story about the dishes. The stories are interesting but I did not love reading such a wordy menu.

I also saw that many dishes on the menu require ingredients from provinces very far away, most of which I’d never heard of. I was amazed that they used such ingredients and still had reasonable prices.

The room was small but the chairs were comfortable, and there was a hint of lemongrass and lime in the air, which brought an amazing freshness to the atmosphere. I could see that the owner thought about the decor, but maybe not hard enough because the walls were a bit too dingy for my taste.

I noticed that a lot of the customers were Japanese, who are known for their scrutiny and pickiness. They all seemed satisfied with their orders, though, which was enough validation for me.

A four-course dinner for five cost only VND600,000, which is very reasonable because we were all very full at the end of the meal.

“Everyone can go to an art gallery but not everyone can enjoy the art,” my grandfather said. “This place offers the art of gourmet, not a quick bite, so it might not satisfy everybody. But I think that if you are visiting Ha Noi, you should definitely check out 1946 and I suggest bringing a local friend because very few staff members speak English. Bon appetit!

Source: VNS