Vietnam Observations

Vietnamese food is always good, and glad we were able to sample the real thing in Saigon and Hoi An. The whole family enjoyed, especially Ms Ly's in Hoi An.

• Hoa Tuc (Saigon): former opium refinery churning out simple, home-cooked fare with the occasional inventive streak.
• Quan An Ngon (Saigon): busy old colonial villa converted into a restaurant; the theme here is street / hawker food brought under a single roof, with various prep stations circling a tropical eating terrace.
• Trois Gourmands (Saigon): Gils the mustached chef has many stories to tell at this cozy villa in expat hood Tong Huu Dinh. His absolute stand-out home-made cheeses were an inspiration: fromage frais with truffles, fromage frais with herbs and some mimolette-type cheese marinated in a olive oil for 3-, 6- and 9 months. The beef cheeks and foie gras was hardly 90 degree weather dish, but the subsequent air con ride to the airport, along with the excellent St Nicolas de Bourgeuil, helped ease it along the digestive tract.
• Miss Ly's Cafeteria (Hoi An): we had endless sumptuous dishes here, but standouts were the white roses (open face wontons), fried wontons & crab salad, cold rice noodles & grilled pork, and the ubiquitous shredded chicken & papaya salad.
• Morning Glory (Hoi An): a cooking school and restaurant; fun in that the owner/chef clearly cares about food, but a tad too big and touristy.