Monthly Archives: April 2014

Breakfast pastries – Tous Les Jours

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Breakfast pastries - Tous Les Jours
Banh lop choco. Chocolate chip pastry. 13,000 VND
Banh lop man. Mi ham cheese pastry. Each 9,000 VND
Tous Les Jours, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM

I don’t think we really needed these pastries, but it was hot walking outside and we needed to use a bathroom so we ducked into Tous Les Jours for air conditioning, cold drinks and a potty break. Lol! The pastries were unplanned, delicious treats! I did get scolded for taking pics of their products inside the store though. I’m still not completely sure why but I assumed it was competitor/ownership issue.

Iced espresso drinks - Tous Les Jours
Iced Vietnamese milk coffee. 40,000 VND
Iced Americano. 35,000 VND

Huyen Sy Church
Huyen Sy Church, District 1.

Breakfast #2 – Best Western Hotel La Corona

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Breakfast #2 - Best Western Hotel La Corona
Pan fried fish with onions, sautéed vegetables, kielbasa, garlic fried rice, scramble eggs with tomato, and berry cheese pastry. Complimentary
Best Western Hotel La Corona, Manila PHILIPPINES

Another random collection of food at the breakfast buffet. I didn’t like the fish very much especially since everything tended to be pretty cold. I love garlic fried rice though! I should have ordered another plate of the bacon but I think I was pacing myself for the day. Hehe!

Complimentary truffles - Best Western Hotel La Corona
Complimentary truffles in our room.

Sunset on Manila Bay
Sunset on Manila Bay.

“Marlowe” burger – Park Tavern

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Marlowe burger - Park Tavern
Caramelized onion, cheddar, bacon, horseradish aioli and fries. $15
Park Tavern, San Francisco CA

Their sister restaurant Marlowe has a very popular burger that’s supposed to be amazing so I think Park Tavern adopted it too. The burger was very juicy and flavorful and the fries were crispy and delicious! The meal overall was very tasty, but I wish our server had brought out ALL the food we ordered. They didn’t forget to charge us for everything though! Kinda unprofessional to forget a dish even when asked multiple times about it.

Bon Tempe Lake
Bon Tempe Lake.

Cocktails – S.i. Pub

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Cocktails - S.i. Pub
Long Island iced tea and gin and tonic.
S.i. Pub, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM

After full days of walking around in the sweltering heat, cold drinks were very much needed to relax and unwind at night. S.i. Pub is actually where we witnessed a street fight break out between two motorcyclists because they got into an accident. It was kinda exciting – I’m not gonna lie, lol!

Adult badminton game
Adult badminton game, Cong Vien 23 Thang 9 Park.

Pork sisig – Leslie’s Restaurant

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Pork sisig - Leslie's Restaurant
Boiled, grilled, then sauteed pork meat with various spices, onions, ginger and calamansi. 299 PHP
Leslie’s Restaurant, Tagaytay PHILIPPINES

Mmm, pork sisig is SO tasty! Yeah, it’s not the healthiest thing to eat, but I was on vacation. I deserved to splurged a little (maybe a whole lot really).

Filipino dance performance
Filipino dance performance, Villa Escudero.

Caramelized fish clay pot – Vietnamese Kitchen

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Caramelized fish clay pot - Vietnamese Kitchen
Ca kho to. With chilies and scallions, served with steamed rice. 114,000 VND
Vietnamese Kitchen, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM

And this was the final straw! This sad clay pot with a single tiny slice of fish came out super salty and dry. Don’t be fooled with the illustrated menu depicting a lush clay pot with multiple pieces of fish. It’ll come to your table as sad as this picture looks! I love Vietnamese food but this restaurant gave a horrible representation of their delicious cuisine. Vietnamese Kitchen is getting away with highway robbery charging this much for crap food! Ugh, I guess you have to eat shitty food to appreciate the good meals. Lame…

Nightlife in the backpacker's district
Nightlife in the backpacker’s district. This is where Vietnamese Kitchen is so you’ve been fairly warned. Eat at any other restaurant, there are plenty to choose from!

Venison carpaccio – Park Tavern

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Venison carpaccio - Park Tavern
Classic angus beef tartare, capers and crispy bone marrow, arugula. $15
Park Tavern, San Francisco CA

Surprisingly, I don’t remember this dish very well. It really wasn’t too memorable or maybe I got overwhelmed with venison carpaccio AND beef tartare on the same plate. I DO remember that the crispy bone marrow were amazing!

View from my balcony
Another beautiful sunrise from my balcony!

Cassava vermicelli soup with crab meat – Nha Hang Ngon

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Cassava vermicelli soup with crab meat - Nha Hang Ngon
Mien cua. With onions and cilantro, served with assorted greens. 60,000 VND
Nha Hang Ngon, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM

This soup was really good! The crab meat was actually dried crab meat which was a letdown for me. I don’t mind the flavor and texture of dried crab meat, but I was looking forward to fresh tender crab instead. Again, the amount and variety of greens they give you for your soups is SO awesome in Vietnam!

Soup additions - Nha Hang Ngon
Assorted greens, sprouts, limes, and chilies for the soup.

Food preparation tables - Nha Hang Ngon
Food preparation tables along the side of the restaurant.

Stir fried chicken with lemongrass – Vietnamese Kitchen

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Stir fried chicken with lemongrass - Vietnamese Kitchen
Ga xao xa ot. With chilies and onions, served with steamed rice. 114,000 VND
Vietnamese Kitchen, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM

Omg, this chicken was SO horrible! It was probably the driest chicken I’ve eaten in a really long time and it tasted old. Ugh, I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. This restaurant is ridiculous for charging so much for really disgusting food.

Chinese New Year decorations
Parts of the city were still splashed with Chinese New Year decorations, but they were slowly removed as the week progressed.