Savoring Saigon: Lemongrass Vietnamese Cuisine

When: November 24, 2010

Prior to our HCMC getaway, I've been browsing travel guides for gastronomic adventures in the city. I was totally hooked to the travellers-slash-foodies' recommendations that I almost suffered from Vietnamese cuisine info overload. We made sure that we sampled authentic Vietnamese food since it's predominantly vegetarian owing to the Buddhist values. And since my family are certified veggie lovers, we definitely made the most logical choice to go food tripping. 

 

On our last day in HCMC, we had our lunch at Lemongrass, a seemingly hip but homey resto that serves Vietnamese cuisine. We were seated comfortably at the 2nd floor and the crew were all friendly and polite. We noticed that we were the only Asians dining in the resto. Most of them are Europeans who are trying out the ubiquitous phở.

The menu

Wacky folks

Papa & his guava juice (49,000 VND or Php 110.20)

In Vietnam, one will never get disappointed with fruit juices. One little sip and you can immediately tell it was made from fresh fruit hence very refreshing.

Dragon fruit juice (49, 000 VND or Php 110.20) and iced tea (10,000 VND or Php 22.50)

Their iced tea was more of cold herbal tea. If you're used to sweet iced tea, then this one's not for you.

Complimentary prawn crackers

In less than ten minutes, our orders arrived piping hot! Just looking at the pictures now made me oh-so hungry.

BF's pick: Grilled skewer seafood with satay (99,000 VND or Php 222.65)

 

Steamed rice in a big bowl (19,000 VND or Php 42.75)

My order: rice-vermicelli with sauteed beef and onion (89,000 VND or Php 200.16)

This was the best Vietnamese meal I've had! This dish is to die for! The beef strips were very tender and flavorful and the vegetables on the side are so fresh and crunchy. The sauce is similar to our fish sauce (patis) with sugar and chili bits. Try sprinkling some sauce to the noodles to fully enjoy the complete burst of flavors in your mouth.

Mama's order: rice-vermicelli soup with fish (69,000 VND or Php 155.18)

Note that this dish has the same garnishes as phở: cilantro, basil, lime, bean sprouts, onions and peppers.

Papa's order: fried rice with seafood in clay pot (119,000 VND or Php 267.63)

One hungry tummy indeed

 

Post-lunch pics

After settling our bill, BF and I stayed for a while for some camwhoring. My folks went out to buy some Communist T-shirts as souvenirs just outside the resto. Ho Chi Minh is a city that surely tantalizes one's taste buds. You'll never run out of choices whether you love Chinese, Italian or French cuisine because the city is filled with bustling restos ranging from budget to splurge categories. Lemongrass, for instance, is classified by Wikitravel as mid-range.

Lemongrass

4 Nguyen Thiep Street

Ho Chi Minh City

(near Saigon Opera House in Dong Khoi)

A Taste of Phở at Phở Hoa

After work a while ago, BF and I trooped to Phở Hoa to have a steaming bowl of phở. I'm tad curious to taste the authentic phở in, where else, but Vietnam. Okay, my birthday first, then our trip to HCMC. Mustering enough patience not to get excited about Vietnamese cuisine is quite a hard task for a foodie like me. I had to tweak our itinerary a bit to accomodate my taste buds in November. After all, Vietnam is known for its delicious, fresh and healthy foods.

Vietnamese spring rolls occupy a special place in my foodie memory. In fact, we celebrated our first anniversary in Zao, a Vietnamese resto in Serendra.

Gỏi cuốn or fresh spring rolls (Php 127)

I love the peanut sauce. But I like Zao's version of gỏi cuốn more and, of course, its presentation.

Phở do vien or seafood noodle soup (Php 295; large)

I dumped all the basil leaves and bean sprouts to the bowl and squeezed the lemon afterwards to complete the phở experience. It's actually comforting to know that we ate something healthy.

Good for sharing

For dessert, we bought a box of  miniature Korean cakes from a food stall called Oishi Manju. The box contains 12 pieces of pastillas and choco-filled Korean cakes. I had this feeling that these are miniature versions of Japanese cakes, not Korean. Mind you, I consumed 10 pieces of these goodies since the aromatic sweetness was so addicting! Holy Moly!

12 pieces of pastillas and choco-filled Korean(?) cakes (Php 52.50)

Shoo Mosquitoes!

People close to me can attest to the fact that I really hate mosquitoes. In fact, I'm willing to sweat off by wearing jogging pants or jammies or jackets just to prevent those pesky mosquitoes from landing in my skin for a second or even a nanosecond at that. Plus, applying that seemingly famous brand of anti-mosquito lotion always gave me the feeling that I'm applying poisonous chemicals to my skin because of the smell. Yes, it may say soft and scented but, heck, it reeks like gasoline up to my nostrils.

Aside from leaving my skin so swollen red and very itchy after a successful bite (damn it), mosquitoes are also top contenders for carrying disease-causing germs. Just think of dengue. Think of how many times you've heard how dengue could pester the parents of a grade school kid or a toddler or even an adult who succumbed to the disease. Thus, prevention is really better than cure.

With neem and citronella extracts

I recently found an anti-mosquito lotion which smells like Perla laundry bar soap. Not bad at all. It's the most comforting smell I had after years of using anti-mosquito lotions. So, now that the whole metro has been experiencing rainshowers almost everyday and mosquitoes always seek refuge in dark, watery and murky places, it's always best to keep yourself protected. Shoo mosquitoes!

What I Cooked: Fettuccine alla Marinara & Bacon!

Date of kitchen adventure: August 22, 2010

First off, the belly bacon and the diced tomatoes in can made a huge difference to my recipe. I owe it to my endless browsing of food blogs. When I went to the supermarket to complete the ingredients, I was damn serious of how to make my pasta dish tastes like real Italian - meaning, very tomatoey and not sweet at all - and a bit vegan as well.

Chopping off onions, bell peppers, carrots and belly bacon

I've learned that having a very sharp knife is a big help in the kitchen.

 

Diced tomatoes, mushrooms and spaghetti sauce (beef & mushroom and tomato & cheese variants)

Mind you, it's quite a big leap on my part to use the gourmet variants of Del Monte spaghetti sauce. Before, I always stick to the sweet or Pinoy style sauces which are child-friendly and very Jollibee.

I used San Remo fettucine noodles. Needless to say, make sure that the pasta is cooked al dente.

There's fire on the stove so let's cook.

Sweat off 500 grams of belly bacon in extra virgin olive oil. Hurray to healthy living!

After removing some bacon oil, I dumped the onions, carrots and bell peppers. The mushrooms were also added after a few minutes.

Lovin' marinara

I poured the spaghetti sauce and the diced tomatoes to the bacon-veggie mix. Nice tomatoey smell at this point. Too bad I wasn't able to add some herbs to complete my version of marinara sauce. I added a bit of salt and fresh ground pepper to balance everything. I also added McCormick's minced garlic for some flavor kick. The result: very, very tasty and could compete Sbarro's style! Love your own, you know! LOL!

Sprinkle cheddar cheese. Serve at once. Perfect with ice-cold Coke. More perfect when shared with loved ones and, of course, Coke! :)

Recent Find: Malunggay Juice

While at the Kultura Megamall branch last Sunday, I found the most healthiest juice I've tried in my whole life. Well, malunggay or moringa oleifera has been considered as one of the most nutritious vegetables in the land. I was tad curious as to how it tastes, so I didn't hesitate when a saleslady convinced BF and I to have a free taste.

Fruit-flavored juices with malunggay leaves: apple, guyabano, mango and dalandan

Colorful display of malunggay drinks (tea or juice) boxes

 

Free taste, anyone?

Although I was expecting that the dalandan malunggay juice would somehow taste bitter or weird, the juice tastes so much better. I can easily compare it with the Zagu natural dalandan shake or the dalandan juice I bought in Salcedo Market twice. No weird aftertaste, I guarantee you that. By drinking the dalandan malunggay juice, you actually do your health a favor.

When I got home, I immediately tried one sachet* of malunggay goodness with my fettucini pasta. With all the carbo-loading I have these past few days, I really need to strike a balance between healthy living and guilty indulgences. :)

*One box contains eight (8) sachets for Php 149.50 only. 

Go Greek!

Thanks to OAP (go click!) for featuring Go Greek! food stall last week! That awesome food blog piqued my interest in Greek food. Once upon a time, my friends and I were disappointed with Cyma-Trinoma branch and that unfortunate experience led me to boycott Greek food for almost a year. So there.

                                     

Greek Kebab chicken combo (Php 135) -grilled meat skewers served with side salad, yogurt dip, hot sauce and pita bread

My first Go Greek! experience was last Friday the 13th (August 13) with my officemates and I was impressed with the Greek salad. Two things lingered on my mind: the Greek vinaigrette was really superb on the veggie salad and the grilled tomatoes on the chicken kebab was yummy with the yogurt garlic dip. The downside however prevails: I forgot to take a pic. LOL! So, yesterday, I prodded dear mother to try Go Greek! after our Salcedo Market food trip. 

Mama a.k.a. Ruby

Since I was still full from our market food trip, I only ordered eggplant lasagna or moussaka. It was quite heavy on the tummy but I gobbled it all up. Let's forget about diet here.

Greek gggplant lasagna or mousakka (Php 115) -served hot from the oven and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and herbs

Nomnomnom, I can proudly declare I had a change of heart.. I now love Greek food! :)

Go Greek!
Glorietta 4 Food Choices

Yogurt Lovin' Part 2

Still on my quest to eat healthy, I chose this tasty yogurt as my dinner last night. Can you imagine it? A small cup of fruity, creamy and lightly tart yogurt was my sole tummy filler for dinner. Nope, I'm not on a diet. I'd say it straight-faced to anybody that I'm so, so, so not on a diet! Hey, I love to eat! On top of that, I learned that I gained 17 lbs. after a year of gobbling here, there and everywhere! 

Raspberry apple flavor (Php 25)

Okay, back to the yogurt. This was my futile attempt to detox so I could poop - for heaven's sake - and comply therefore with the annual physical examination (APE). Till next yogurt lovin'!

Strawberry Fruity Cereal for Breakfast

My constant quest for a quick and healthy breakfast led me to strawberry fruity cereal this morning! I have never imagined myself eating something crunchy or fruity for breakfast. In my almost three decades of existence, I always associate breakfast with something fried (such as hotdog, longganisa, luncheon meat or eggplant omelette a.k.a. tortang talong) paired with sunny side-up or scrambled egg and rice. I am as Pinoy as a tapsilog or any silog for breakfast, until I learned that I can veer away from my folks' tradition or, yes, Pinoy tradition.

 Fruit rings swimming in low-fat strawberry milk

 A quick Google search tells us that a breakfast cereal (or just cereal) is a food made from more or less processed grains often but not always eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk (e.g. cow's milk, soy milk, almond milk, etc.) water or yogurt, but sometimes eaten dry. See? If Mama will get the chance to randomly read this, I'm sure she'd be enlightened perhaps.

Perfect with fruit rings: Hacienda Macalauan Pure & Best Low Fat Strawberry Milk for only Php 80/liter at Rustan's Supermarket

With this, I'm looking forward for more quick and healthy breakfast ideas!

Yogurt Lovin' Part 1

I recently vowed to become more health-conscious. Baby steps, baby steps. I keep on reminding myself with that. So when my unusual habit of browsing the grocery shelves kicks in, my vow seems to surface somewhere in my subconscious mind. I skipped the junk food area and off to the dairy area I went. And there I saw the newest yogurts in the Nestle Fruit Selection, or so I think. It's yogurt + jelly! Images of creamy yogurt and the jiggly thing called jelly enticed me to grab these two cups.

 

Buco pandan and strawberry (Php 20 each)

It's good to know that Nestle Fruit Selection Yogurt + Jelly has 1.2 billion live microorganisms.  Plus, with all the health benefits of yogurt, there's really no reason not to eat these healthy treats. I felt I had a yogurt info overdose lately after learning this and that. Blah-blah. 

Yogurt + jelly lovin'

Needless to say, they taste good. I managed to eat the two yogurts and I was very happy. Enough for baby steps. I think I love eating healthy after all.