pieman

Looks like Thai or Khmer to me.

Totally Special K. It's for special people. Moving into hybrid territory it's Granola with all the trimmings. Ditching cereals for a heart attack, only the British know how to please me.

Phu Quoc Fish Sauce is now a registered trademark. It was registered fairly recently to protect the industry on the island and to fight Thai producers nicking the island's name for their bottle labels. The Unilever owned Knorr brand started producing their own Phu Quoc fish sauce on the island a year ago. 17 local producers sell a proportion of their sauce to Unilever who bottle it on the island. Some local brand names, maybe all these 17 producers??, will no doubt have fallen by the wayside since Knorr arrived, but I could be wrong on that. I still buy a non-Knorr brand of Phu Quoc nuoc mam here in Saigon. Unilever were planning to build a decent fish sauce museum, visitor's centre or something. Not sure if they have as yet, but I'll be back there soon and will check it out if it exists. In the long term I'm not convinced that the snazzy local TV marketing campaigns of a company like Unilever is an altogether good thing for fish sauce variety on Phu Quoc. I imagine the smaller producers who are still around will eventually be priced out of the business. I'm no expert, but I reckon, even on Phu Quoc, there's a discernible taste difference between different producers. A difference I might not be able to notice, but something a lifelong user would know about and it's a difference that could be lost with any future Knorr monopoly. pieman Noodlepie

No substitute for goat, goats are everywhere here. It's just a speciality lamb place apparently. The only reason I noticed it is because I saw the picture of a sheep next the restaurant sign. Same goes for the Kangaroos (not reared locally...) which (I am sure you're right) the local toughs believe will do all sorts of intriguing things to help with feelings of inadequacy.

One point about lamb dishes in Vietnam. Although it is quite common in Indian and other 'international' restaurants, I've only seen one Vietnamese restaurant in Vietnam (a grill at the table alleyway place in Saigon, District 1) that serves lamb. Unfortunately, I've never tried it. But after reading this short debate, I think I should drop by and blog it up at noodlepie. Interestingly, there's quite a number of Kangaroo meat restaurants in Saigon. And you can buy Skippymeat in supermarkets quite easily. I only know one place where you can buy lamb to cook at home, Veggies on Thai Van Lung Street in District 1. And that caters almost exclusively to non-Vietnamese customers.

I've seen people at Banh Cuon stalls in Saigon ordering extra dishes of just the plain gloppy rice flour pancake chopped up sometimes with a bit of mortadella on the side. Sounds similar to what you describe. Banh Cuon itself comes stuffed. I think folk order the extra dish because Banh Cuon is so light some diners need a bit extra. Or perhaps they just love the pancake texture and taste. What you describe is not a 'hamburger', Vietnamese or otherwise. You can buy Vietnamese hamburgers in Vietnam that aren't all that dissimilar to the American original. BTW, I just posted a short film of Banh cuon being made here on Ben Thanh market in Saigon at noodlepie. pieman noodlepie

This recipe might help you. Steamed buns with pork filling pieman noodlepie

But, one difference with your NJ version - no noodles - at least not in Vietnam. pieman noodlepie

Think you mean Canh Chua Ca. Wonderful sweet/sour fish soup: okra, beansprouts and pineapple heavy with stacks of tamarind pods. Absolutely bindin' broth. pieman noodlepie

I would say there is more mediocre or bad pho in Vietnam than good pho. But, I would have to say there's more good pho in Saigon than in Hanoi - that's even with a personal Hanoi bias for flavour. When it comes to pho this country is most definitely still at war. Sure - the Hanoians can cook a fabulous beef heavy stock, but there's zero imagination when it comes to flavouring it. I would say the southerners are way more skilled in that department. I'm no food expert, and I'm not Vietnamese, but even I can 'sense' there's a sophistication down here that doesn't exist up north. Having said that, I can appreciate the both versions - unlike most Vietnamese folk;). Two of my fave all time pho bowls can be found in Hanoi - 13 Lo Duc & 2 Le Van Huu. Lo Duc probably pips the number one spot as it was so reliable for all 4 years I scoffed it (always with a raw egg added). It's a massively popular, basic, filthy restaurant I never fail to visit whenever I am in Hanoi. About the breadsticks, Yes - a lot of folk eat them. I don't think they are a poor man's thing - maybe that's a bit of Grandma Viet Kieu story telling of how hard life is in Vietnam, blah blah blah;) - and it's not a recent trend as far as I know. In Hanoi the sticks are shorter and crustier. In the south they are longer and softer. (Do men cook these things? Are there more 'inadequate' men in the south?) I always have them in the north when available. In the south I usually skip them as they smell faintly of coconut. pieman noodlepie

Andrea - Interesting article and very detailed cooking instructions - Thanks. One minor gripe about the price of pho in Hanoi. A bowl of Pho on the street in a 'popular-with-locals' place in Hanoi is always 5,000VD or maybe 7,000VD with a raw egg added. Not sure if you mixed up the pricing with the south, where it is generally double the price. In Saigon pho commonly goes for 10,000VD, or the 11,000VD you mention. It can cost more in the newer, posher pho restaurants in town. I am still hunting down my ideal pho at noodlepie. There's an interesting pho article in The Observer which concentrates on the Hanoi take. pieman noodlepie

There is excellent Thai food in Siem Reap, but in general food is disappointing in Cambodia compared to neighbouring countries. On a recent visit I had these dishes/URL]. pieman noodlepie

A good way to approach your trip would be to find out the names of the Korean dishes you want to try, get them written down in Hangul and ask for directions to the nearest/best joints serving them once you arrive at your hotel. That said, you really should make time to have a late nighter down at Noryangjin Fish Market for sashimi and seafood soups of every shade. I especially recommend trying Mon-gae, an orange thing the Koreans think looks like its covered in acne, and Sea Cucumber which I think is called hae-sam, but I could be wrong on that. This article tells you more about dining at Noryangjin. Lastly, read Fat Man Seoul for inspiration. His blog is great fun and he knows his Korean food. Enjoy your trip. pieman noodlepie

Quite like this, even though I have never been to NYC NYCeats Fat man keeps pilin' it in over in Seoul Fat Man Seoul This lady can cook I was just really hungry And I am still on the hunt for all things edible in Saigon noodle pie pieman

One of my fave 'comfort foods' in Korea whenever I had gone one kimchee chigae too far was fried chicken. Never been a KFC fan or fried chicken come to that bere, but the Koreans know how to fry their chickens, necks an' all and it all tasted good to me. Unfortunately the lovely proprietors should have sought advice on the naming of their restaurant. Donkey Chicken doesn't work for me... still I dared to enter and went back (repeatedly). A few blocks down the road was Pelican Chicken. This was in '99. pieman noodle pie

Agree with Andrea, the soup is the most important thing. In an ideal world no additives would be needed at any pho restaurant. However, there's a lot of bad pho around that needs a helping hand. Just because somehting cooked for 3 hrs doesn't mean it's any good. In Hanoi & Saigon, dolloping is defintely de rigeur - specially the lousy chili sauce served in Vietnam and, in Hanoi at least, the (better) garlic and chili vinegar. I mentioned this in another discussion but, after a lot of hunting in Hanoi, I would recommend 2 Le Van Huu street and 13 Lo Duc street for a pucker pho. pieman noodle pie