Chinatown Revisited: A March Through District 5

With a notable pack of local lights, we ambled out on a muggy, overcast day in early February to wander the streets of Cholon...

A partially consumed, discarded cake. Encountered on a street corner.

Lunch @ My Thuc Tai Tai - 706 Nguyen Trai, District 5, HCMC.

Fried Rice with Duck

Fried rice with Chicken and Pork

Fried Eggplant with Chili and Black Beans

Dalat: Food

While our time in Da Lat was relatively short, we managed to cram in as many meals as humanly possible.  Bowing to the God of Brevity, here's a small smattering of food-related photographs and blurbs.

I was extremely impressed with the amount of Vegetarian restaurants around the town.  My favorite was a Banh Mi Chay (vegetarian baguette) stand I found attached to the aptly-titled Hoa Sen (Lotus Flower) at 62 Phan Dinh Phung.

Their distinctive Banh Mi's were magical.  They came complete with a spicy tofu 'pate' spread, soy-based imitation meats perfectly resembling the regular mystery products in both taste and texture, and the usual suspects (stalks of coriander, translucent daikon radish strips, carrots, and cucumber slices).  It was the first time in six months that I have actually been pleasantly full after a street sandwich.

Gavin's quick and dirty highlight was a Chinese-style Wonton Soup spot called Khu Hung he found on the same block at 129 Phan Dinh Phung.

The soup was meaty and flavorful with delicate nebular dumplings floating in an inviting broth.  Paper-thin slices of barbecued pork and stalks of greenery joined in the revelry. Truly difficult to not break a sweat after throwing in liberal quantities of hot chili paste and washing it all down with hot green tea.

On our first afternoon in town, we enjoyed two slices of fresh, piping-hot carrot cake at expat-owned and operated V Cafe (1/1 Bu Thi Xuan).  I paired my cake with a few glasses of Da Lat wine, while Gavin stuck to La Rue beer.  We enjoyed the friendly atmosphere so much that afternoon that we returned to V Cafe later that night for more drinks and live music.

Bo La Lot (tender, rare beef wrapped in wild betel leaf) was a definite highlight of our dinner at local favorite Long Hoa (3 Thang 2 quite near the central market).  While Gavin attacked his current favorite finger-food, I stuck with my simple stand-by in Vietnam - stir fried veggies and fried garlic rice.  White linens, a fanciful bar, and dirty French cartoons adorning the hallways made this place feel distinctly Occidental, but all of our dishes were prepared well and the staff was friendly and informed.

We also enjoyed a couple of great meals at family-owned Da Quy (Wild Sunflower) on 49 Truong Cong Dinh.  Fresh vegetarian spring rolls stuffed with fried tofu and veggies, something I make often at home but have never actually seen on a menu, whetted my appetite on both occasions.  Their stir-fried vegetables with tofu and Chinese-style sweet & sour catfish were excellent as well.

A complete list of Da Lat restaurants we recommend can be found in The Directory.

Our Return to Cholon

Saigonese aphorism #643: sleep in District 3, drink in District 1, and eat in District 5 (Cholon).  After our whirlwind, rain-drenched excursion there a few months ago, we realized it was time to make our return, this time with a strategic battle plan.  I picked a Chinese restaurant called Tiem An Nam Long, located at 47 Pham Dinh Ho, just one block from the expansive Binh Tay Market.  Our drive down through the distinctively dingy and cramped by-ways of District 5 was fairly exhilarating, especially once we finally turned down Pham Dinh Ho street.  Lining the sullen block before the restaurant are animal shops - displaying stacks of puppies and chickens in rudimentary cages.  Call me skeptical, but I don't think these sad specimens are destined to become Spot the beloved family pet as thit cho restaurants abound in this country.

Never turn an upmarket foot away from dreary restaurants, they often serve the best food in the city.  After looking over the menu, we ordered a rice vermicelli with vegetables (on the menu), a chow fun noodle with beef, and wonton soup (off the menu). 

I observed as the cook freshly made the delectable wontons before tossing them into the steaming sweet broth and serving them.  Hands down the best wonton soup I have ever had in my life.  Next time we go, I will order an entire vat of these fluffy, floating clouds to eat by myself. 

Our noodle dishes were also tasty and left us full.  The Chinese influence was apparent as heavier, more gelatinous sauces ruled the day.  Corpulent and ruddy, we were ready to take a stroll though the hood to visit the market.

Unfortunately, the Binh Tay Market is a tourist trap.  As we arrived, a bus was unloading dozens of elderly Europeans onto the littered pavement.  Eyes wide as they plodded through the vast milieu, hands springing towards their purses as they parted with their dong for cheap ornamental porcelain, dried goods, and useless crap.  Gavin and I managed to avoid the herds, escaping into the bowels of the market on a mission to find some pistachios to replenish our stash at home.

For a heavily trafficked tourist destination, we were put off by the unabashedly cold salespeople and wide-open gawking.  One would think that most of the folks in the market would be quite used to the foreign hordes.  I guess Gav and I just look a little goofy.

After trading some dirty, colorful paper for some pistachios, a tea pot and rice paper, I started to feel a bit claustrophobic and needed some air.  In order to do so we had to twist though narrow, cramped walkways overflowing with kitchen supplies, stacks of hats, reams of cloth and piles of take away containers.

Once outside I took a deep breath.  I think next time I will go home after lunch.