I am again in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) this week and yesterday noon was a particularly rainy day so I wanted some comfort food. From where I stood at the Rex Hotel lobby, I had two options -- to take a cab to Pho Hoa on Pasteur St. or walk to Nam Giao on Le Thanh Ton St. I opted to go to Nam Giao, one of the three places I frequent in HCMC for pho. Nam Giao specializes in Hue food. It is a small, unassuming food shop tucked away in a small courtyard with unbelievably cheap prices. It is within walking distance from Rex Hotel and one would pass by a Pho24 shop before hitting the alley.
Among the house specialties are: banh beo (steamed rice flour cake with ground shrimps), bahn beo tom tuoi (steamed rice flour cake with ground fresh shrimps), bahn bot loc (ground shrimp steamed with rice wrapped in banana leaves), bahn bot loc (shrimp, porkand tropical starch flour wrapped in banana leaves), bun bo Hue (spicy beef noodle), bun cha cua (crab paste noodle soup), bahn canh cua (shrimp, crab meat, sliced pork with special rice noodle soup), and com hen (special clam with rice), among others.
I ordered bun bo Hue (spicy beef noodle) and I squeezed a thin slice of lime and added chili paste and shrimp paste. I also added some mint and blanched bean sprouts to make it a truly healthy meal. It was excellent and the Hue taste sets it apart from other pho concoctions in HCMC. The big bowl of beef noodle soup cost only VND17,000 (USD 1.06 or about 48 pesos) and four pieces of Hue fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce were only VND14,000 (USD0.88 or about 40 pesos). I left Nam Giao truly satisfied and I had to quickly weave through the motorbike traffic to seek refuge in Ben Thanh market before the downpour.
If you find yourself somewhere near Ben Thanh market in HCMC, try Nam Giao for a taste of Hue food. Nam Giao Restaurant is on 136/15 Le Thanh Ton District 1, telephone: 08-8250261.
No comments:
Post a Comment