Vietnam is renowned for its good food. It really is good and you will hear a lot more about it soon. At the end of my first day and after eating a whole lot of good food and drinking a couple of good Saigon’s, tour leader, Tyler, decided to take me to one of his favourite restaurants in the city.
Bo Toung Xeo’s signature dish is BBQ beef which is why it’s called what it is – it means the same thing. However, this is not the only thing on the menu.
Tyler heartily recommended the scorpion, but unfortunately they had sold out for the night. This is where I thought I was going to get away with it and that I could continue on happily with BBQ beef and garlic…..until our waiter, Son, suggested I eat the worm/grub in batter. Not wanting to disappoint, I decided to order myself a worm. It didn’t look too bad, apart from the little black head. It didn’t taste too bad, although was a little squidgy in the mouth. Not my favourite dish, but an experience.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRMufp-0iSc&feature=youtu.be]
Not to miss out, Tyler ordered some frogs legs. Neither of us had eaten frog’s legs in France and it seemed like a good opportunity to try them. The little legs came to the table and we put them on the BBQ as instructed. I had heard the rumour that Frogs legs taste like chicken, along with any other non-descript meat type, but frog’s legs did taste like chicken. They were tasty.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWMPO-nBAOE]
After a fantastic experimental meal, we headed off to the night market for a beer and bumped into a friendly local called Lum who was keen to fit all three of us on his scooter and whisk us to a little bar and practice his English…and that’s really all he wanted to do – a very nice guy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0ndB2MIE4k]
I have tried many interesting dishes in Japan such as Bee’s lavae in Honey as well as roasted crickets along with the whole array of sushi, sashimi and Michelin star food. To be honest there is a mountain of things I would choose to eat before worm and frogs, but it has added something different to my Saigon experience. Saigon had some great food and I am keen to find out what else I will discover in Vietnam. Hoi An, here I come!
