Binh Dan literally translates to commoners rice and it is a cheap way to fill yourself up on the streets of Vietnam. Don't let the name fool you though - the dishes at each vendor are anything but common.
As soon as lunch time hits in Ho Chi Minh you see signs for Binh can or Com Tam appear in front of buffet style stands hawking everything from fish to frog to vegetables.
Binh Dan literally translates to commoners rice and it is a cheap way to fill yourself up on the streets of Vietnam. Don't let the name fool you though - the dishes at each vendor are anything but common.
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Being far from home means that we miss out on the fun of being invited to a family or friends house for a great home cooked meal and the kind of hospitality that only comes with being in the home of someone you know really well.
We wanted that feeling and we heard of a place where we could get it. The Vietnamese never cease to amaze me with their ability to set up shop from seemingly nothing and the place we went for lunch today took it to a new level - the "restaurant" was literally in someone's lounge I'm on the second floor of an unassuming apartment block on Thai Van Lung street in District 1 close to the Business Area (number 9). We had been told by travellers and locals along the way that stopping in Da Nang on the way to Hoi An was a waste of time and that there was nothing to do there.
However I had read that there was some amazing food to be had that was local to Da Nang that I was dying to try. So the lure of the food brought us to Da Nang for one night of eating. One of the dishes I had heard about that we were hungry for is called Mi Quang. The dish is basically half noodle soup, half noodle salad - it comes with a bowl of thick, hand cut noodles partially covered in a rich broth. The place we apparently needed to go to try this dish was Ba Vi and a quick google maps search showed us it was in the street right next to where we are staying. (Ba Vi - 166 Le Dinh Duong Street) On arrival we were greeted warmly and sat down outside. We were shown the menu - basically all you need to chose is the meat you want with your Mi Quang. I went chicken and Jeff went pork. After eating our share of delicious Pho in the North we were excited to try the Southern version of the soup - Bun Bo Hue.
As soon as we arrived in Hue we were accosted with signs shouting that they were selling the dish that Hie is famous for. It wasn't until the second day that we stumbled across a road side restaurant, starving after a morning of sight seeing, and were excited to see they served it. So apparently the laksa obsession hasnt ended as on our last lunch in Borneo we still found ourselves wanting more.
We decided to try somewhere different to compare our dinner from a few evenings ago. Walking along Gaya Street in Kota Kinabalu we stumbled across a heaving restaurant that specialised in laksa - Yee Fung Laksa. Luckily we managed to snag the last table in the place but by the looks of things we wouldn't have waited long as turn over was so high. A our time in Borneo, Malaysia, comes to an end we have decided to try and eat the local meals again that we loved the most.
One of these was definitely laksa! Right around the corner from our hostel in Kota Kinabalu was a great little local "kopi shop" that looked like it did a great laksa. As soon as the store owners see you loitering around their stalls they are on you - you are sat down and a menu placed in front of you before you have the chance to say anything. As the clock neared 2:30am we were shook awake by another of Mount Kinabalu’s furious earthquakes.
Clutching to each other we couldn't believe we were experiencing our second earthquake in one week. When the sun came up and we realised no one had been hurt this time we decided to still head up to the Park to do one of the treks that surrounds the mountain. Thankfully no more tremors followed but we worked up a mighty appetite to match the mighty mountain. On our walk up to the entrance of the park we noticed a road side diner that looked like it could make some authentic food. |
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About MeWelcome to Food Fuelled Travels where my partner Jeff and I will attempt to eat our way across SEA! The month by month journey |