Day 3: Saigon — A Glutton’s Wet Dream

“All of the things I need for happiness: Low plastic stool, check. Tiny little plastic table, check. Something delicious in a bowl, check.” — Anthony Bourdain discussing eating in Vietnam

It doesn’t matter who you are, what your title is, or how much money you make, when you eat on the street in Vietnam, you are part of the collective street food consciousness. Everyone is on the same level here, so pull your little plastic seat up to your miniature table and get cozy, everything is going to be just fine.

After spending the better part of the evening zooming around on a moped and trying different street food areas and markets around the city, I can say the energy of these places is almost indescribable. The streets and alleyways are packed to the brim with hungry patrons (and moto scooters of course), all embarking on the same mission to satisfy their palates. To say the options here are overwhelming would be a massive understatement. Stumbling around, the eyes, ears, and nose are under constant bombardment from the seemingly endless number of street vendors.

It almost feels as if one is under an intoxicating incantation of culinary delight, as seemingly involuntarily, your innate hedonism successfully sieges the mind and leads you to wherever your stomach can attain the gluttonous satisfaction it is pleading for.

I only have around five days here, so it would be utterly impossible to even scratch the surface of the food scene in this city. But you can bet that I’ve been making the most of my time.

For every meal, I’ve tried something different. For such a relatively small country, Vietnam has an impressive amount of food diversity, which varies greatly depending on the region of the country you find yourself in. With that being said, I am writing particularly about the food in Saigon. However, the cool thing about the largest cities in most countries is that many people from different regions move to them for better opportunities and economic mobility, and they often bring their food too. So, this results in Saigon having regional food specialties as well.

Many dishes of Saigon’s cuisine can be found in bowls and are accompanied by a host of additives and sauces. Depending on the dish you order, your server will bring out: fresh herbs and greens, bean sprouts, limes, fish sauce, pickled vegetables, dried crunchy onions, black vinegar, minced or whole garlic, hot sauce, hoisin sauce, fresh chilis, dry chili powder, and chili oil (and I’m sure there are more possibilities). This means that with each broth, for example, flavor profiles can change as you’re eating. You have complete control. Want to make your meal more sweet, spicy, crunchy, salty, savory, tangy, or acidic? No worries, they got you covered.

These options allow you to enjoy many different flavor profiles all while slurping on the same bowl of noodles — it’s remarkable, and one of the things I love most about the experience of eating Vietnamese food.

Other than the obvious phở and bánh mì, the dishes I have enjoyed the most (in no particular order) are as follows:

• Bún chả –  dish of grilled pork meatballs served with a golden broth, rice noodles, and various other additives
• Cơm tấm – typical for breakfast, a dish made from rice with fractured rice grains (broken rice) and topped with a variety of additives
• Bún thịt nướng – a dish with a combination of grilled pork, rice noodles, veggies, and fish sauce
• Chuối Nếp Nướng – a snack with grilled banana wrapped in sticky rice, topped with pure coconut milk
• Bún riêu – rice noodle soup made with pork-based broth and tomatoes. It can contain onions, crab meatballs, snails, various types of meat, and fried tofu

The food here alone is enough to make me want to stay. It’s unpretentious and inexplicitly delicious. No one is trying to dress it up and make it something that it’s not. It is pure and comes from the very soul of the Vietnamese people. And they are more than happy to share. Through it, one can be transported to another realm, where the essence of what makes the people here so amazing can be felt.

It’s going to be difficult to part ways…