Vit cuon sa nuong. Served on lemongrass stalks. 135,000 VND
Hoang Yen, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
Mmm, these were really tasty especially when dipped into the different sauce they provide. The duck was tender and juicy and packed with flavor. Noms!
Tiger chai beer. 21,000 VND
Place setting.
Typical lunch cart on the street.
Mussels, crab, squid, and carrots in a sweet garlicky sauce. 449 PHP
Leslie’s Restaurant, Tagaytay PHILIPPINES
This wasn’t my favorite. There was too much sauce for it to be served in such a shallow dish, and the crab was really hard to eat and break apart when it was slick with sauce. The mussels were also on the dry, overcooked side. I wouldn’t order this again.
Taal Lake and Volcano.
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.
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, Villa Escudero.
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. This is where Vietnamese Kitchen is so you’ve been fairly warned. Eat at any other restaurant, there are plenty to choose from!
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!
Another beautiful sunrise from my balcony!
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!
Assorted greens, sprouts, limes, and chilies for the soup.
Food preparation tables along the side of the restaurant.
This chicken was pretty good, nothing special. It’s really about the salty calamansi fish sauce with chilies anyway. 550 PHP
Leslie’s Restaurant, Tagaytay PHILIPPINES
Fresh buko juice. 99 PHP
Skinny cows on Taal Volcano Island.
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.
Parts of the city were still splashed with Chinese New Year decorations, but they were slowly removed as the week progressed.
Crispy puff pastry, spicy pork sausage, caramelized onions, broccoli rabe, and bagna cauda vinaigrette. $14
Park Tavern, San Francisco CA
Do I need to reiterate my love for burrata? Lol. Mmm, this was so good! I sometimes wish that I could afford a personal chef who would make me beautiful snacks like this all day long. 🙂
Winecup clarkia (Clarkia purpurea, Onagraceae), Bon Tempe Lake.
Bun gao xao hai san. With shrimp, calamari, carrot, cabbage, onion, sprouts, cilantro, and scallions. 120,000 VND
Nha Hang Ngon, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
Mmm, another delicious dish from Nha Hang Ngon. This had SO much flavor and a variety of textures – it was perfect! The seafood was prepared properly and the sauce was amazing. I could eat two plates of this!
Place setting.
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica.
Beef shank stew with bone marrow, napa cabbage, corn, long bean, bok choy, and onion. 599 PHP
Leslie’s Restaurant, Tagaytay PHILIPPINES
I guess Leslie’s is famous for their bulalo and now I know why! This beef soup was SO delicious. It had SO much flavor with just the right amount of bitterness. The restaurant is super popular so be prepared to wait. The views behind the restaurant are also spectacular!
Raised hut overlooking Taal Volcano behind Leslie’s.
Vittle Monster 