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.
Goi xoal kho sac. With dried fish, shrimp chips, and red chilies. 94,000 VND
Vietnamese Kitchen, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
This place sucked! The food was mediocre at best, overpriced, and the service was rude and surly! This green mango salad was slimy and SUPER salty. I’m the last person to complain about saltiness because I love it, but this was TOO much. I really wish we hadn’t eaten here!
War Remnants Museum.
I couldn’t find a description of this dessert on the Starbucks Philippines website, but I would describe it as a soft whipped cheesecake layered with buttery golden graham cracker crusts, topped with mango slices, whipped cream, and decorative white chocolate. Yet another example of how Starbucks shafts their American customers with crappy food options! 140 PHP
Starbucks, Tagaytay PHILIPPINES
This is probably the most beautiful Starbucks location I’ve been to yet. The store is literally built into the side of a cliff overlooking Taal lake and volcano!
Looking from inside the Starbucks down to their fire pit area over looking Taal Lake.
Burrata, chickweed, sorrel, and Hawaiian black sea salt. $14
Park Tavern, San Francisco CA
A new combination for me – fried lemons and burrata cheese! I’ll admit that I really haven’t had fried lemon slices as an actually appetizer before; perhaps as just a garnish in the past. Anyway, this was delicious and the lemons were nice and crispy!
Beautiful San Francisco homes, Castro.
Goi bo bop thau. With vegetables and peanuts in spicy sauce, served with shrimp chips. 130,000 VND
Nha Hang Ngon, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
Wow, this dish was SO delicious! The bright, sour sauce was great and the beef was so tender and flavorful. I’m not sure what all the vegetables were, but they tasted great and had many different textures. Definitely a wonderful choice!
Puppies for sale! While walking down the sidewalk, we notice a guy selling these adorable puppies from the back of his motorcycle. There were probably a dozen of them and I wanted ONE! 🙂
With sauteed onions and bell peppers, served with vinegar sauce. 238 PHP
Chelu Bar and Grill, Manila PHILIPPINES
I was really confused by this dish. When I saw the menu item, I didn’t expect it to come out with a mound of sautéed vegetables on top. Oh well, it still tasted fine. And dipping anything in a vinegar based sauce is fine by me!
Margarita and mai tai. The cocktails here weren’t very good at all! It was definitely better to stick with beer.
Quirino statue and sleeping homeless person, Manila Ocean Park.
Banh lop kem. 10,000 VND
Tous Les Jours, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
This was a nice little sweet treat for our morning walk to the War Remnants Museum. It got SO hot that we had to stop at Tao Dan Park for some much needed shade. The custard pastry was SO tasty and moist. This bakery was really popular since it had branches all over the city.
Gerbera daisies, Tao Dan Park.
I bought this bun because I thought it looked really pretty with the purple rings peeking out from underneath. I loved that it wasn’t super sweet but had a great purple yam flavor. The bread portion was also delicious. 37 PHP
The French Baker, Las Pinas PHILIPPINES
Boats on Taal Lake, Tagaytay.
Lardo-wrapped smoked prawns, remoulade and cucumber. $16
Park Tavern, San Francisco CA
It’d be really easy for me to complain that these cost sixteen bucks, but then it was pretty darn tasty! They had me at lard-wrapped smoked prawns. There was SO much flavor in every bite (even though there were very few bites). 🙂
Alpine Lake, Mt. Tamalpais Watershed.
Served with bread and Vietnamese coffee with milk. 35,000 VND
Pink Tulip Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City VIETNAM
The sweet hotel server asked if I wanted one side or two sides which I figured was regarding how I wanted my eggs fried. I said two sides. What I didn’t know was that the cook literally just flips the egg before plating so it was WAY over easy (too over easy for my taste). I quickly learned for the next time, hehe!
Party boat on the Saigon River.
Deep fried breaded squid rings served with aioli. 198 PHP
Chelu Bar and Grill, Manila PHILIPPINES
Meh, these were ok. At least they weren’t overdone, hard or chewy.
Fountain at the Plaza Nuestra Senora de Guia, Ermita, Manila.
Vittle Monster 