Treasure. Delve under the katsuobushi and steaming layers of udon noodles, beans, carrot, onion and yaki sauce: Prawns.
Prawns awash with the taste of the sea …
Yaki Udon (Prawn) $16, Sushimon Japanese Restaurant, Bentleigh, Melbourne, Australia
A simple but delicious (and big) lunch of stir fry beef, vegies & handmade (not the cheap packet variety that’s conveniently become prevalent) noodles.
VND140k (AUD9) at Quán Quê Huong Vietnamese restaurant, 97 Hùng Vuong Street, Nha Trang, Vietnam.
It’s great to see this part of Nha Trang springing back into life, with new shops, restaurants and bars opening …
South-East Asian food is cheap & plentiful.
Sometimes, though, it’s nice to whip up your own, back in your room – especially when on an extended holiday or journey.
An instant noodles bowl can be washed and often reused (reduce #plastic), buy plain egg/rice noodles (minus the salt sachets) and try the variety of sauces, flavourings, vegies, fish, egg etc.
Most hotel/guesthouse rooms have a hot water kettle.
Ăn ngon miệng nhé!
There is no escaping global inflation.
In Nha Trang, Vietnam, this serving of seafood noodles stir-fry costs VND150,000 (USD6.30, AUD9.20).
I estimate the price has risen about 50% since last year.
It’s still good value, though, in comparison to Australia.
And it is delicious. All of it. Right down to the Asian garlic …
The menu shows 5 items: you must guess which is the only item available? This is more fun than Wordle and with a tasty ending …
Bùn chà pho is a sweet broth with pork balls and pork belly pieces, served with lettuce/herbs and oodles of white noodles (those noodles – so much for the weight loss from my 10km street walk).
To add some kick, I squeezed in a few of those red chilli seeds. I didn’t know that red chilli “nukes” were already hiding at the bottom of the broth – like Russian akula subs lurking under the Arctic ice cap, ready to pounce …
Verdict: delicious, 50k dong (AUD$3)
Those are the cook’s words!
This is Chicken Pho with a Twist: golden, crunchy “bagel twists”, called bán quăy, are dipped in the “soup”.
Being a light snack – made simply of dough and peanut oil, and shallow fried – the bagel twists would also suit stews, casseroles, goulash etc or dipped in chilli-aioli or mayo. Hint: any enterprising Aussie snack producers reading this, I want a slice of the royalties.
However, the REAL STORY here is the chicken pho, at Nguyễn Mai and family’s new, friendly, little eatery in Nha Trang.
Nguyễn Mai best describes it, in full (I don’t know who Huy is but he is one lucky dude!):
“Newly opened ‘Hanoi chicken noodle’ shop at 222 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai (go NTMK road in the direction from the sea, to the section where there is an eel in the middle of the road, start paying attention to the right hand side, about 15m more to arrive. diagonally face Phuong Trang car delivery office). The restaurant cooks in the North style. The plus point of the restaurant is that the broth is cooked from bones rather than using a lot of MSG, so it is sweet and has a very characteristic lemon leaf flavor. Each piece of chicken is torn to taste, the meat is boiled until it is not tough or residue but still retains the crispy, fatty layer of the golden chicken skin. 30k/bowl, too cheap for a weekend breakfast, watching the street have begun to be crowded with tourists; and let your soul fall in a bowl of shredded chicken noodle soup, glimpses of golden skin, white meat under the sparkling golden broth, fragrant chicken fat, and dotted with strands of sliced lemongrass and onions. green flowers and a little bright red Northern chili sauce. Say no more, let everyone come eat and feel the delicious taste of Hanoi in the heart of the coastal city of Nha Trang! Mind: Read the pass “Huy’s girlfriend” Get a discount every time you pay!”
Haxtrax 