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namese eat it anytime, anywhere.
We had our share of pho -- which, we discov-
ered, is pronounced something like “phuh.” But
pho, we also discovered, is just the beginning of
Vietnam’s complex, spicy, exotic, seriously yummy
cuisine.
Here’s a seriously yummy example: It was our
first full day in Vietnam. We’d just visited the War
Remnants Museum and the Independence Palace
in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The Propaganda
Bistro is just a couple blocks from both (making its
name tongue-in-cheek). The perfect lunch stop.
The Bistro is a popular spot -- for its mural-dec-
orated walls as well as its food – so it took us a
while to get a table. Once seated, here’s what the
four of us ordered: wild pepper and green mango
salad with baby squid and prawns; pumpkin flow-
ers stuffed with mushroom patties in light batter
with green chili sauce; fresh prawn rolls with palm
hearts and julienne vegetables; crunchy tri-col-
ored rice with shrimp/squid/fish balls; sizzling
beef with caramelized shallots, pork sausage pate,
and fried egg. And for the table: fresh bread and
fried taro-and-sweet-potato shreds.
So much for noodle soup.
The truth is, we never ate in a fancier restau-
rant in Vietnam. We stuck mainly to street food or
casual joints in night markets -- which made eat-
ing as much of an adventure as touring. As we
hop-scotched around the country here were some
of our favorite foods.
Banh mi -- Vietnam’s famous sandwich. Second
only to pho in popularity. Basically, a baguette (in-
troduced by the French in the 19th century) that’s
filled with whatever you want. We loved Banh Mi
362, a busy take-out place in HCMC. One brunch
we had a fried quail egg banh mi with ham and
chicken and a banh mi “omelette” with egg and
ham. Various other ingrediants were available --
like cilantro, cucumbers, chilis, pickles and onion –
we added a bunch of them and dug in.
We also tried banh mi at Banh Mi Phuong, a
place in Hoi An that Anthony Bourdain once said
had “the best bánh mì in Vietnam.” It was jammed.
Long line for takeaway. Sorry, Anthony, it wasn’t
the best. Not by a long shot. Also John walked
through the kitchen to the bathroom. Unfortu-
nately, some things you can’t un-see. Let’s just say

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