Tag Archives: vietnamese food

Bun Thit Nuong

Freshness in Every Bite – Bún Thịt Nướng

Written by: March 25, 2011   Living, Vietnam

If there is one dish that defines Vietnamese food, this is it. Generally speaking, Vietnamese food is as fresh as it gets. They’ve perfected the use of all of their fresh ingredients and herbs. This is true even when we’re talking about any of the delicious noodle soups, like phở or hữu tiểu, or any of the rice dishes.

However, bún thịt nướng has freshness written all over it. It’s neither too hot nor too cold. It’s made of vermicelli noodles, strips of lettuce, cucumbers, bean sprouts, fried spring rolls, grilled pork, green onions, peanuts and drenched in spicy fish sauce, well that’s how I like it anyway. It’s a dish that I always ordered at the local Vietnamese restaurant in Fort Smith, Arkansas (Phở Hoang, 2111 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901). And it’s the dish that my mom has put her own twist on, with her homemade egg rolls.

Luckily, we live on a street bustling with street food all day long. Just a few hems down from ours, is a sweet lady who sells bún thịt nướng for just 15,000 VND! Ambiance is not the reason to come to this food stall. The food is definitely the reason. She cooks the fried spring rolls (chả giò) while a gentleman cooks the grilled pork (thịt nướng). You can get this dish at most chain restaurants and you can find food stalls around Saigon, but hers is by far the best. She’s open for lunch only or until she runs out of food, which is usually between 11:30am and 2:30pm. Check it out!

61B Trần Văn Đang
Ward 9, District 3

She serves everyone individually with a smile.

You can also buy individual pieces of Cha Gio (Fried Spring Rolls)

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foodie-crossing-close-up

Making a List and Checking it Twice

Written by: January 18, 2011   Living, Vietnam

I have always been a fan of good food. My passion for food comes from my parents and the different spices that we used when preparing dishes from the Caribbean. Sammy Pulayya (my dad) would always tell my brothers and I about stories about going to different places and he would always say “That’s good eating” I guess it was his way of saying the food was amazing.

I was always a picky eater growing up. I mainly ate a lot of chicken and turkey. I had a bad experience when I was younger that made me not eat fish for a few years (thanks mom). I might tell you more about that funny story in a future post.  Since I started going out with Shauna I was more open to try new things and that window from being a picky eater began to close.

Living in Asia for the past year has really opened my eyes to a different taste and love for food. Coming from New York City, which is home to more than 170 languages and is the most diverse city in the world, I was exposed to a lot of different smells and tastes of food.

I guess I have noticed that I was a foodie a few years ago.  While living in New York City I was always on the hunt for the “hole in the wall places to eat.” My motto has been that food is everywhere, but you really need to put in some time to find the amazing places.

Since moving to Vietnam I have compiled a list of different places to eat, which include restaurants, food stalls in alleyways and markets. I have received different suggestions from friends on where to go to find what I want. I will be sharing my findings with you soon.

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