Assorted salumi served with roasted garlic, pickled radishes and onions, and coarse mustard.
Incanto, San Francisco CA
I LOVE SALUMI! Boccalone (Chris Cosentino’s salumeria) makes some fine cured meats. They have a storefront in the SF Ferry Building, and Incanto also sold some of their products at the restaurant. The meats were SO tender and flavorful. I loved everything on the plate!
California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Cha gio tom. Served with sweet fish sauce, carrots and lettuce. 65,000 VND
Pho 2000, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
These crispy spring rolls were really tasty, but I’ve always loved Vietnamese style spring rolls. They had a lot of flavor and were filled with plenty of delicious noodles and vegetables.
Moist towelettes.
Drivers and families wait at international arrivals, SGN.
Siopao with sweet pulled pork filling. 60 PHP
Deli Kiosk, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL)
Mmm, I really needed this pork bun during our long layover in Manila on our way to Vietnam. It was quite large and decently priced even for airport food.
Young musician statue, Villa Escudero.
Planter’s Punch: Bacardi light rhum, triple sec, lemon juice, pineapple juice, soda. 220,000 VND
Rex Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
So this was probably the most we spent for cocktails while in Vietnam. We really wanted to check out the rooftop bar though (and get out of the scorching heat). The Rex hotel is historic and it was quite relaxing up on the roof so I really didn’t mind too much about spending a little more for drinks here. My Planter’s Punch tasted pretty weak and not as sweet and vibrantly colored as those you would find on a Caribbean island.
Gin and tonic. 240,000 VND
Salted peanuts.
Table centerpiece.
View from the Rex Hotel rooftop.
With bacon, hash browns, sauteed mushrooms, tomato, fruit, sweet roll, dinner roll. Complimentary
San Francisco (SFO) to Manila (MNL), Philippine Airlines
Ugh, I was NOT liking this breakfast. The bacon was OK because it’s really hard to mess up bacon, but everything else was a little off. I’ve never been a fan of Asian sausages because of their soft squishy texture so that was already a point off. The eggs weren’t very good either, even by airplane food standards. The sweet rolls was pretty tasty though.
Taal Volcano Island, Tagaytay.
With Sardinian cured tuna heart shavings, egg yolk, and parsley.
Incanto, San Francisco CA
Wow, this pasta was SO good! I’ve never had shaved tuna hearts before, but they tasted mighty fine. For me, they were more a textural component than flavorful. It was fun to mix the egg yolk into the pasta ourselves then portion the dish out.
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2012
Bay Bridge lights!
Served with bread. 35,000 VND
Pink Tulip Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
So this is what Vietnam considers an omelet. OK, I can live with it. The omelet tasted pretty good, but I’m not quite sure what kind of cheese this was. It looked and tasted like Kraft American cheese singles.
Amazing crusty bread. Ugh, the bread here was SO good. The exterior was flaky and crunchy, and the interior was light and airy. I didn’t want to eat SO many carbs during the trip, but I HAD to eat an entire loaf every morning. 🙂
Butter and strawberry jam.
Street view from our hotel.
Pho ga. Sliced chicken breast with flat rice noodles, onions, and chives. Served with basil, greens, limes, and habanero peppers. Regular 65,000 VND
Pho 2000, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
This was the first real meal we had in Vietnam and it was pretty good. The broth was delicious and it was SUPER cheap! The place was packed with tourists and locals alike. This is when I realized that we would be served lots of random greens that we wouldn’t recognize, and also that restaurants charge for wet naps. 🙂
Basil, leaf stalks that I’ve never seen before, limes, and habanero peppers.
Ben Thanh Night Market. Watch out for the crazy scooters zipping by while the market is setting up!
I’m not a big beer drinker, but beer was much cheaper than cocktails in Vietnam. It was also VERY hot while we were there so the beers were a great way to cool down. It was fun trying all the local brews. Each 50,000 VND
Go2 Bar, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
This was a pretty common sight – people just relaxing or even sleeping on their motorcycles parked on the sidewalks or streets. This guy was just chillin’, lol!
With rice, steamed vegetables, macaroni salad, chocolate chip bread, and pound cake. Complimentary
San Francisco (SFO) to Manila (MNL), Philippine Airlines
This was the first time I’d flown Philippine Airlines and I was pretty impressed. I was way back in Economy, but the seats were still comfortable and there was a surprising amount of leg room for the back of the plane. The food was decent too. I don’t eat much Filipino food, but I definitely crave it now and then. I enjoyed that the PAL food was distinctly Filipino. 🙂
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL), Terminal 2.
Served with warm baby leeks and truffle vinaigrette, broccoli rabe, pork stuffing, and pork jus.
Incanto, San Francisco CA
I’m back! OK, I know I’ve been MIA and I apologize. Life has been hectic and I haven’t been able to adjust as quickly as I wanted to.
Anyway, it took the closing of Incanto to get me to blog today. Over the weekend, we celebrated a friend’s bday with the FINAL whole roasted pig dinner ever to be served at Incanto. It was a wonderful dinner and the food was delicious.
They brought out the whole roasted pork and it looked beautiful! I thought the gold leafed snout was a nice touch.
Our server carved the pig tableside. I was surprised that the body had actually been deboned prior to cooking so only skin and meat remained.
The meat was SO tasty, especially smothered in the pork jus.
I made sure to go back for plenty of the crispy skin.
The sides were also very good. The baby leeks were beautifully presented.
The broccoli rabe had a nice bitterness to them.
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011
Vittle Monster 