HCM

September 3-5

The ship dropped us and the rest of the passengers off at the Sofitel in Ho Chi Minh City. We gathered our bags and checked in. Just kidding. Haha Sofitel is a bit more expensive than what we’re interested in paying in Southeast Asia. So Michael walked to an ATM in a torrential downpour to grab cash and then we took a cab to a different part of town to check into our 20 buck a night hotel room. For the record – although it is definitely not as fancy as the Sofitel, the place was great. It was clean, decent sized room, nice bathroom, free breakfast, and great location. You just can’t beat value like that.

We left the hotel and wandered around the market before heading to Pasteur Street Brewing. Who does this surprise?

We grabbed some beers and the first of many bahn mi sandwiches.

Then it was off to eat more food. We had heard about Vietnamese Cajun fusion cuisine on the show Ugly Delicious on Netflix. Check out the episode on shrimp and crawfish. David Chang visits this restaurant which is owned by a woman who learned about Cajun cuisine while living in Houston:

The restaurant is called Kau Ba or Cau Ba Quan, depending on what source you’re looking at, and the food was delicious with some great Cajun flavors. Plus look at the size of those prawns! They basically just do an adaptation on a crawfish boil.

The next day we continued eating our way through the city with a food tour provided by XO tours. Two women, Vy and Muay, came to pick us up on their motor bikes to take us around the city. The tour was a lot of fun and we had massive amounts of food.

We started with soup – a bit different than pho because of the noodle size and… slightly different broth? I definitely can’t remember what it’s called.

Then off to barbecue: okra, goat, beef, and lettuce wraps with fried mushrooms inside.

Plus frog! Both with the skin and without.

But beyond the great barbecue, there was an incredible battle of chopstick skills with Michael and Muay beating me and Vy in a battle to the death. This was the precise moment of victory for Michael.

I think the picture says it all.

On to the seafood district.

Next stop had us enjoying some clams, crab claws, quail, and this gem:

Balut! That is a fertilized duck egg. So they cook the egg after the baby duck has started growing. Completely grossed out? I would not be surprised. We had heard about this several times, but this was our first time trying it.

It tasted fine. Like hard boiled egg or soft chicken. It was really just working on our mental game and getting the courage to take a few bites. Michael needed a bit extra help getting that bite down.

Thankfully there was some dessert to finish on with these delicious cream puffs and a flan like dish.

Besides the great food, one of the benefits of the food tour was the chance to get on a motor bike – the first time for both of us – and we got to explore districts in the city that we otherwise wouldn’t have seen.

Totally staged photo. We definitely didn’t drive. That would have been insane.

Many tourists only see district 1 (old town area where we were staying). But the tour let us explore districts 5,8,6,7,4 by bike. So we were able to see the Chinatown market, the trendy neighborhood with expensive high rises and million dollar cars, in addition to being able to eat in and explore a few working class neighborhoods. And, yes, you heard that right: million dollar cars. The tax on foreign cars is over 300% and the uber rich in Vietnam are diving the fanciest of expensive cars and paying a pretty penny to own them.

Riding on the crazy busy streets like a local was a great way to get a feel for the vibe of the city.

On our way out of town the next morning we grabbed some breakfast pho before heading to the airport.

We really enjoyed our short time in Ho Chi Minh City, which a ton of people still call Saigon. We’d love to come back and spend some more time, but with colds looming large, we were pumped to head up to Hoi An and relax on their beaches.