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Bun Bo Hue flavour in Ho Chi Minh city
00:15 |Bun Bo Hue Dong Ba is the perfect place for a meal before or after (or during) a concert at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music right next door.
The restaurant has the name of Dong Ba, a famous market in Hue where delicious traditional snacks have been served for decades.
Bun Bo Hue (a beef noodle soup that is one of the most famous of Hue's classic dishes) is the restaurant's specialty.
The soup fills the air with the uplifting fragrance of boiled lemon grass, a natural herb that helps fight colds, fevers, and the flu.
But as this is not Central Vietnam, the Bun Bo Hue served at Dong Ba is not spicy at all. Here, the sliced chilies and lemons are on a condiments tray at the table for the customer to use at their own discretion.
Food from central Vietnam is always spicer than in the south.
A bowl of Bun Bo Hue (a large for VND40,000 and small for VND30,000) includes thin-sliced boiled beef, a small round piece of shrimp pie and long piece of rich and flavorful pork pie.
The ingredients are arranged in a bowl on top of white noodle in delicious brown-red soup made from cow bone and lemon grass. There are also spring onions and sliced onions dashed across the top.
But the most important ingredient is the Mam ruoc, a fermented fish sauce cooked into the broth that gives the soup its pungency.
Each bowl of Bun Bo Hue is served with a dish of herbs and thin sliced morning glory and banana flower. You can have it served freshly to enjoy the crunchy taste or you could ask the waiter to boil the herbs and to have a softer taste.
The restaurant also serves Banh Canh ca loc cha cua (Banh Canh noodles with Loc fish and field crab pie) and different kinds of Hue rice cakes including Banh Beo, Banh Nam, Banh Loc, and Banh It (VND38,000 for a large order and VND28,000 for a small).
Some special drinks such as seaweed juice and Rau Ma (Pennywort, which help to cool down the body), as well as coconut, passion fruit and pineapplejuice are also available.
Sometimes the service is slow, but the restaurant is always crowded because the Bun Bo Hue is so good.
By Tina Pham
The restaurant has the name of Dong Ba, a famous market in Hue where delicious traditional snacks have been served for decades.
Bun Bo Hue (a beef noodle soup that is one of the most famous of Hue's classic dishes) is the restaurant's specialty.
The soup fills the air with the uplifting fragrance of boiled lemon grass, a natural herb that helps fight colds, fevers, and the flu.
But as this is not Central Vietnam, the Bun Bo Hue served at Dong Ba is not spicy at all. Here, the sliced chilies and lemons are on a condiments tray at the table for the customer to use at their own discretion.
Food from central Vietnam is always spicer than in the south.
A bowl of Bun Bo Hue (a large for VND40,000 and small for VND30,000) includes thin-sliced boiled beef, a small round piece of shrimp pie and long piece of rich and flavorful pork pie.
The ingredients are arranged in a bowl on top of white noodle in delicious brown-red soup made from cow bone and lemon grass. There are also spring onions and sliced onions dashed across the top.
But the most important ingredient is the Mam ruoc, a fermented fish sauce cooked into the broth that gives the soup its pungency.
Each bowl of Bun Bo Hue is served with a dish of herbs and thin sliced morning glory and banana flower. You can have it served freshly to enjoy the crunchy taste or you could ask the waiter to boil the herbs and to have a softer taste.
The restaurant also serves Banh Canh ca loc cha cua (Banh Canh noodles with Loc fish and field crab pie) and different kinds of Hue rice cakes including Banh Beo, Banh Nam, Banh Loc, and Banh It (VND38,000 for a large order and VND28,000 for a small).
Some special drinks such as seaweed juice and Rau Ma (Pennywort, which help to cool down the body), as well as coconut, passion fruit and pineapplejuice are also available.
Sometimes the service is slow, but the restaurant is always crowded because the Bun Bo Hue is so good.
By Tina Pham
Source Thanh Nien News
Authentic French cuisine in Saigon
00:13 |French cuisine seems very popular in Ho Chi Minh City judging from the many restaurants that are constantly springing up.
But to enjoy authentic French food in a luxurious setting, gourmets should look no further than L'Olivier Restaurant at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon Hotel, District 1, which deservedly enjoys the reputation of being among the best in town.
L'Olivier has rustic limestone walls, a modern lighting system, and, redolent of southern France and the Mediterranean many trees, some as tall as three meters.
The restaurant is divided into four parts: the main dining area, a terrace for those who enjoy eating outdoors, a spacious and well-lit garden, and two private dining areas for business meetings and family get-togethers.
À la carte menu at L’Olivier
The restaurant has brought together many outstanding chefs from Europe, especially France, including executive chef Tjaco van Eijken, who has been working in the food industry for more than 18 years.
He began as a junior sous chef at the 2-Michelin-star “La Rive” Restaurant in the Netherlands. Then, he joined Sofitel Demeure Hotel Castille in Paris where he became chef de cuisine at its Michelin-star fine dining restaurant Il Cortile.
After that he was executive chef for the Hotel InterContinental in Hongkong and the Sofitel Brussels Le Louise. After discovering an interest in Asian cuisine, he found Vietnam to be the place to undertake his new culinary adventure.
At L'Olivier he has designed a new à la carte menu with a Mediterranean touch featuring a selection of dishes to accommodate both the fast-paced business crowd and relaxed leisure guests.
The menu consists of authentic Mediterranean cuisines such as French, Italian, Spanish, and Moroccan.
It features starters like ravioli of crab and arugula, crispy vegetables, mixed herbs; custard of Parisian mushrooms served with watercress jus; and fried frog legs with snail butter. Then there is the irresistible roasted green asparagus with aged Parmesan cheese and balsamic reduction, supposed to be a delicacy in the new menu.
For the main course, the chef offers many different dishes to please all palates - such as tajine of poultry, green olives and lemon confit with couscous garnish from Morocco and roasted fillet of veal with creamy bacon, porcini, and potato gnocchi from Italy. The slow-cooked beef cheek, Provencal jus, and waffle potatoes comes highly recommended.
Last but not least is the array of mouth-watering desserts like cheeses, fruits, and chocolates. Customers are recommended to try some signature dishes such as exotic fruit with shiso jelly, yoghurt waffle potatoes sorbet, and crispy mango; and caramelized raspberries and strawberries, white chocolate dome, and orange sorbet.
L’Olivier serves the à la carte menu for business set lunch and dinner daily. Lunch is between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and dinner is from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
It has had more than 12 Michelin Star chefs so far, including Jean-Baptiste Natali from Hostellerie de la Montagne Restaurant in Colombey les deux Eglises (Champagne), Ulrich Heimann from Le Ciel in Berchtesgaden (Germany), and, most recently, Gilles Reinhardt from Maison Paul Bocuse in Collonges (Lyon).
By Nguyet Anh,
But to enjoy authentic French food in a luxurious setting, gourmets should look no further than L'Olivier Restaurant at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon Hotel, District 1, which deservedly enjoys the reputation of being among the best in town.
L'Olivier has rustic limestone walls, a modern lighting system, and, redolent of southern France and the Mediterranean many trees, some as tall as three meters.
The restaurant is divided into four parts: the main dining area, a terrace for those who enjoy eating outdoors, a spacious and well-lit garden, and two private dining areas for business meetings and family get-togethers.
À la carte menu at L’Olivier
The restaurant has brought together many outstanding chefs from Europe, especially France, including executive chef Tjaco van Eijken, who has been working in the food industry for more than 18 years.
He began as a junior sous chef at the 2-Michelin-star “La Rive” Restaurant in the Netherlands. Then, he joined Sofitel Demeure Hotel Castille in Paris where he became chef de cuisine at its Michelin-star fine dining restaurant Il Cortile.
After that he was executive chef for the Hotel InterContinental in Hongkong and the Sofitel Brussels Le Louise. After discovering an interest in Asian cuisine, he found Vietnam to be the place to undertake his new culinary adventure.
At L'Olivier he has designed a new à la carte menu with a Mediterranean touch featuring a selection of dishes to accommodate both the fast-paced business crowd and relaxed leisure guests.
The menu consists of authentic Mediterranean cuisines such as French, Italian, Spanish, and Moroccan.
It features starters like ravioli of crab and arugula, crispy vegetables, mixed herbs; custard of Parisian mushrooms served with watercress jus; and fried frog legs with snail butter. Then there is the irresistible roasted green asparagus with aged Parmesan cheese and balsamic reduction, supposed to be a delicacy in the new menu.
For the main course, the chef offers many different dishes to please all palates - such as tajine of poultry, green olives and lemon confit with couscous garnish from Morocco and roasted fillet of veal with creamy bacon, porcini, and potato gnocchi from Italy. The slow-cooked beef cheek, Provencal jus, and waffle potatoes comes highly recommended.
Last but not least is the array of mouth-watering desserts like cheeses, fruits, and chocolates. Customers are recommended to try some signature dishes such as exotic fruit with shiso jelly, yoghurt waffle potatoes sorbet, and crispy mango; and caramelized raspberries and strawberries, white chocolate dome, and orange sorbet.
L’Olivier serves the à la carte menu for business set lunch and dinner daily. Lunch is between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and dinner is from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
It has had more than 12 Michelin Star chefs so far, including Jean-Baptiste Natali from Hostellerie de la Montagne Restaurant in Colombey les deux Eglises (Champagne), Ulrich Heimann from Le Ciel in Berchtesgaden (Germany), and, most recently, Gilles Reinhardt from Maison Paul Bocuse in Collonges (Lyon).
By Nguyet Anh,
Thanh Nien News
Northern chicken in the southern city at Mai Xuan Canh Rest
00:12 |Mai Xuan Canh restaurant is the place for southerners to try northern chicken.
The eatery on Nguyen Du street in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 offers several northern chicken specialties that come in the form of salads, stir-fries, sticky rice and porridge. The grilled chicken hearts are also popular, but most especially and famously, its the Mien Ga, a mean chicken noodle soup, that gives the place its reputation.
Mai Xuan Canh has a view of the city's famous Notre Dame Cathedral across from shady Nguyen Du, which is kept a tad cooler and prettier by the tamarind tress lining the sidewalk.
Nostalgia is not lost here, with old green steel doors leftover by the French serving as the restaurant's main gate.
There are also some tables on the outside, a perfect place to catch the afternoon breeze beneath the trees and watch the city pass by.
Street hawkers sell snacks from baskets hanging from bamboo poles and a little fruit, boiled peanuts or quail eggs do not make bad appetizers.
Besides the restaurant's featured grilled chicken dishes, chicken soups and salads are 10 kinds of different snail dishes.
The most popular dishes in the heat of the summer are Mien Ga, which runs from VND40,000 to VND70,000 depending on which part of the chicken they mix with the broth and thin clear cassava noodles.
Mien Ga always reminds me of Tet (Lunar New Year), when people get fed-up with pork dishes. A bowl of Mien Ga offers something light, fresh and healthy to keep warm during the cold spring days.
The dish has a delicious brown yellow soup with transparent grey Mien noodles. On top, the scents of brown-yellow shredded Mang Kho (young bamboo shoot) and spring onions mix with the unique fragrance of the herb Rau Mui.
As Mien is very fragile and small, the dish is served hot (if you leave it for too long the Mien will become too soft).
Around us people were having chicken legs and roasted chicken.
Mai Xuan Canh also serves grilled chicken skin (VND75,000), duck tongue (140,000-small dish and VND280,000-big dish), grilled chicken neck (VND25,000 for one neck) and chicken heart (VND50,000 for 10 hearts).
By To Van Nga
The eatery on Nguyen Du street in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 offers several northern chicken specialties that come in the form of salads, stir-fries, sticky rice and porridge. The grilled chicken hearts are also popular, but most especially and famously, its the Mien Ga, a mean chicken noodle soup, that gives the place its reputation.
Mai Xuan Canh has a view of the city's famous Notre Dame Cathedral across from shady Nguyen Du, which is kept a tad cooler and prettier by the tamarind tress lining the sidewalk.
Nostalgia is not lost here, with old green steel doors leftover by the French serving as the restaurant's main gate.
There are also some tables on the outside, a perfect place to catch the afternoon breeze beneath the trees and watch the city pass by.
Street hawkers sell snacks from baskets hanging from bamboo poles and a little fruit, boiled peanuts or quail eggs do not make bad appetizers.
Besides the restaurant's featured grilled chicken dishes, chicken soups and salads are 10 kinds of different snail dishes.
The most popular dishes in the heat of the summer are Mien Ga, which runs from VND40,000 to VND70,000 depending on which part of the chicken they mix with the broth and thin clear cassava noodles.
Mien Ga always reminds me of Tet (Lunar New Year), when people get fed-up with pork dishes. A bowl of Mien Ga offers something light, fresh and healthy to keep warm during the cold spring days.
The dish has a delicious brown yellow soup with transparent grey Mien noodles. On top, the scents of brown-yellow shredded Mang Kho (young bamboo shoot) and spring onions mix with the unique fragrance of the herb Rau Mui.
As Mien is very fragile and small, the dish is served hot (if you leave it for too long the Mien will become too soft).
Around us people were having chicken legs and roasted chicken.
Mai Xuan Canh also serves grilled chicken skin (VND75,000), duck tongue (140,000-small dish and VND280,000-big dish), grilled chicken neck (VND25,000 for one neck) and chicken heart (VND50,000 for 10 hearts).
By To Van Nga
Source Thanh Nien News
A glance back to the past in Bich Dong
00:08 | |
| Bich Dong, Ninh Binh - Photo by An Bui |
The temple was built on a limestone mountain that was formed millions of years ago and it was named in the 18th century after the beautiful white limestone which exists only in this area. The whole construction included three small temples with the first at the foot of the mountain, the second at the entrance of Bich Dong cave and the third, also the smallest, on top of the mountain, viewing the whole stunning green valley below. All three temples are made from rare wood, with tiles formed like the tail of a phoenix or the blade of the ancient weapon, seeing the construction come to life. From a distance, the temple looks like a wooden boat floating on the river.
A stone lion guards the second Bich Dong temple
The temple was built in the 18th century by two monks, who admired the peaceful and seductive landscape and decided to stay and build the temple for Buddhists to worship and pray for the prosperity of the country.
The third Bich Dong temple, also the smallest, on the top of the mountain - Photos: Pham Thai
From the foot of the mountain, tourists have to climb dozens of stone stairs to get to the cave’s entrance, as well as the second temple. But in order to get to the third temple, tourists have to cross the cave. Inside the cave is a bronze bell made three centuries ago by the founders as well as the worship place of Buddha and the three gods in ancient belief.
Although going through a lot of reconstruction, the beautiful temples and cave make it a destination that everyone must visit once in a lifetime.
By Pham Thai
Source The Saigon Time.vn
Phong Nha-Ke Bang comes to life off screen
00:06 | |
| Travel by boat to visit Phong Nha Cave - Photo by An Bui |
Before we’d even set foot in the country, my boyfriend and I had very clear expectations about what we would see. Naive as we were, our preconceptions could not have been more wrong …..until we went to Phong Nha-Ke Bang, the national park which borders Laos.
It was there that much of the hand to hand jungle combat made famous in films such as Platoon actually took place. For the first time, the scenery we passed corresponded with all the movies we knew - rivers and jungles and dense vegetation, as well as rice paddies, villages and traditional rural life.
There is much in the area for those that are interested in finding out about the American War and local tour operators run trips to many sites in which key battles took place. Significant sections of the famous Ho Chi Minh trail are located in the park, and it is possible to visit the nearby Vinh Moc tunnels, the Ben Hai River Museum, and the Hien Luong Riverbank where the former demilitarized zone was officially set.
But Phong Nha is more than the sum of its war connections. Due to its biodiversity, unique beauty and geodiversity, the national park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Hidden in the depths of the mountains is the spectacular Son Doong (the world’s largest cave, discovered in 2005). If that doesn’t satisfy your caveman instincts, pop into Phong Nha cave which contains hundreds of beautiful stalactites and stalagmites as well as the world’s longest underground river.
The trickiest thing about the area is getting there. Be warned: it is remote, but worth the journey, and the cheapest option is a six hour haul by local bus from Danang. Our bus ride entailed an ongoing game of musical chairs while passengers and their luggage (including a motorbike) were shuffled around the available space. We slept at the Phong Nha farmstay, a little utopia with a swimming pool at the end of a rice paddy, and spent happy evenings there meeting other travelers and trying local dishes.
My favorite day was actually the least activity packed – I simply went for a walk with some new friends along the local roads. I’ll forever chuckle over the excitement we caused when we walked past a school – all the children burst through the gate and surrounded us, laughing and demanding to have their photos taken. Their enthusiasm and warm welcome, in the midst of the beautiful national park, is one of my happiest memories from our travels in Vietnam.
By Lorraine Simpson
Source The Saigon Times.vn
Go into the wild at Hon Thi Island
00:02 | |
| Landscape of Nha Trang - Photo by An Bui |
The island covers 500 hectares and its pristine beauty is a huge attraction for tourists who are intrigued by the area and are keen to explore the riddles of nature where human hands just touch a part of it.
About three kilometers from the land, Hon Thi is located in Ninh Ich Commune, Ninh Hoa District, Khanh Hoa Province. So to get to the island, you can take a boat from Da Chong Beach or from Ninh Ich Commune.
When you arrive there are flocks of deer and ostrich which you can feed, play with and watch them run around the area. Along the island are also many stunning beaches with many rock beaches. Along the beach are many sea vegetables, wild flowers and many trees you’ve probably never seen before.
Inside the island, tourists will see a number of orchards with many kinds of fruit trees such as guava, orange, dragon fruit, sugar apple and coconut.
The island is also home to fishing boats and many vestiges as it used to be a temporary home for people when storms come. There is a small temple which was built in 1998 and is dedicated to worship the sea god.
It is littered with rock gardens, piling up into caves so tourists can go on an adventure with a flash light. However, the journey is not for the faint-hearted just the brave and the bold. As the island is still primitive, you have to bring your own food and drink.
By Khue Viet Truong
Source The Saigon Times.vn
Sapa adventure had us begging for more
00:00 | |
| Travel to Sapa - Photo by An Bui |
My husband had been nagging me to go to Dalat but I decided to shock him by taking him on a surprise trip to Sapa.
We took a five day tour from Hanoi and it is one I highly recommend. We firstly got the overnight train from the capital to Lao Cai Station where we caught some shut-eye in our cabin.
We arrived a little weary due to the bumpy ride but it was the first day of our trip and we were excited. A bus awaited us at the station and took us to our destination. We dumped our belongings at the hotel and quickly showered and had breakfast before we took a car ride along the gorgeous Muonh Ha Valley to visit the Rattan Bridge, the stunning silver waterfall and then visited in Giang Ta Chai village which is home to the Red Dzao tribe.
It was time to build up a sweat as we trekked through the forests of the Fanxipan range which was daunting but rewarding before we reached the Seo Chong Ho Village. Not many tourists reach this part of the area and we enjoyed a wonderful waterfall which is apparently the nicest in Sapa.
We rested up had food and were put up by a lovely Dzao family, who were so nice and even made us breakfast the next day before it was time to trek up another mountain to Ta Trung Ho village which is located 1450meters above sea level. Which was great news for those who suffer from vertigo like my husband, he barely survived. We had lunch and then headed downhill, thankfully for my hubby’s sake, to Ban Ho village to meet the Tay people and their stilt houses.
We had a little party and stayed the night in a stilt house before seeing yet another waterfall Lavie which was discovered by the French and then Supan village and finally back to the car and Sapa.
At last we got some time to ourselves to explore the town, buy some souvenirs for family, have a nice romantic meal and go for a stroll around. We were hoping to stay the night in Sapa but forgot we had to get a late bus to Lao Cai Station where out night train to Hanoi awaited us.
I wish we could have stayed that extra night as I felt our trip was just beginning. Oh well, maybe next time.
By Nga Phan
Source The Saigon Times .vn
