While on a brilliant afternoon stroll yesterday, we exhausted ourselves by tramping up and down the hilly terrain of Da Lat, a former French colonial hill-station set dramatically in the Central Highlands . As we rounded the bend of another tortuously vertical street, Gavin let out an exasperated cry that he was ready to eat. Divine providence set in and directly in front of our weary eyes, bathed in a pool of golden sunlight, was a ramshackle sign for Bun Rieu Cua.
Some of you may remember this delightful paddy-crab soup from our Hanoi trip (read about it here). Seeing as it isn't a common soup served in Saigon and is the perfect complement to a brisk afternoon spent in the elements, Gavin hopped at the opportunity to slurp it down again.
This time the soup was bigger, richer, and even better. Loaded with viscous islands of delectable crab fat, a heaping pile of vermicelli noodles, and freshly sliced ruby red tomatoes. Just look at those Da Lat tomatoes!
Served with limes, chilli peppers, and plenty of greens on the side; including shredded lettuce and bean sprouts.
While Gavin wolfed down his treat, I gazed upon three modern day propaganda posters situated into the hillside at a busy intersection. The first implored drivers to stop at red lights or at least be aware of traffic signals.
The next, a stern warning from the government about the surging AIDS epidemic.
The final one was a plea for drug addicts to seek help and quit their insidious addictions.
More from this temperate clime as we progress on our mini-trip.
3 comments:
Hey, what's the weather like there? Stinking hot is Saigon today. We haven't been to Dalat yet, but wanted to go because we love everything kitsch. The Lonely Planet talked about guys with ponies wearing cowboy costumes. Are they still there?
We only spent two days there before heading off by motorbike into the central highlands. The weather was fantastic in Dalat. I would recommend going!
I hope you had a fine Holiday last weekend as well!
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