VIETNAMESE FINE-DINING EXPERIENCE

When we went to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, my daughter was in charge of planning our itinerary and boy did she pack a full schedule! We were not brave enough to see the city’s sights riding on a motorbike so we walked (a lot!).

We wanted to experience Vietnamese fine-dining and sought out Hoa Tuc. It was lunch time and we had been walking quite a distance (we had been to a park, a museum, a lacquerware factory) so when we got to the restaurant, we were ready get out of the heat and humidity. Though the outdoor seating was very nice, we chose to go into the restaurant’s cool interior. It was a good decision because as soon as we had taken our seats, the rain started pouring.

Everything we ordered looked delicious; we had passion fruit juice, shrimp chips, barbeque filet of snapper and a vegetarian omelet which was served with a plate of greens and dipping sauce. 

As we started to eat, we noticed that the head waiter watching us; he soon approached our table. He politely asked if I was familiar with the omelet dish. I thought to myself, it’s an omelet, of course I’ve had omelet before. He then asked (politely, of course) if I wanted to be shown how the omelet dish was to be eaten. (I thought, how else do you eat an omelet?) Aloud I said “yes, please”. He then showed me how I was to take a piece of the omelet, put it in the center of a leaf, wrap the leaf around it then dip the whole thing in the sauce before popping it into my mouth. Oh, okay; that way was much more exciting.

For dessert, we had passion fruit custard and sticky rice balls soup; coconut milk was poured over the rice balls. The meal was simply delicious!

By the time we had finished, the rain had stopped and the sun was out again. We headed out for more walking and sightseeing.

(Note: Hoa Tuc also offers Vietnamese-cooking classes.)
- M


Food Photo Details: Auto, Baby! NEW Olympus E-PL2 - This is my point and shoot. :)
- D