liuzhou

Squid and snow peas with garlic, ginger and chilli. With squid ink noodles.

The signs were in both Vietnamese and English. Why English? Because the vast majority of non-Vietnamese customers speak at least some English. It is the international language! And many younger Vietnamese speak English I have one good friend in Hanoi who speaks, Vietnamese, Chinese, English and French, all fluently.

I didn't taste it, but vegetable shortening would be an improvement on their usual - lard!

Yeah @KennethT. I wouldn't have thought to look for that , either. I just ran into it by accident. I got fairly adept at dancing with motorcycles by the time I left!

I'd already eaten dinner, but felt peckish later, so popped out for more fried Vietnamese spring rolls. I much prefer them to the Chinese variety. The menu. The reality They came with the inevitable noodles, salad and dipping sauce. To get to this place from my hotel, I had to cross a main road. This is what it looks like at night. In the day time, much the same. And they don't stop for anyone! Crazy!

Yeah, but if you are putting in 5 T Sriracha why also put in the chili peppers. I just find the whole recipe a bit weird.

Agreed about the buckwheat noodles. I'm mystified about how Sriracha can be subbed for Sichuan Pepper sauce, though. They are nothing like each other.

One day, I took a wrong turning and stumbled into this fantasy world. Annam Gourmet Market. This is a very international deli and café. I was almost in tears looking around. I couldn't possibly carry back all the shop, even if the customs people and my bank manager let me! The cheese! The charcuterie! The olives! The fish! The everything! I've never seen anything like this in China, even in Shanghai or Beijing. and of course Thinking about it now, I'm glad there no such place like that here in Liuzhou. I'd go bankrupt in a month! But what a way to go! Actually, prices were reasonable considering. Expensive but not insanely, so. They have a few branches in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Hanoi. I was at the flagship store at 16 & 18 Hai Bà Trưng, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh,

Yes, I use paint brushes, too

This post. Third picture

All corn is menacing! It shouldn't ought to be allowed!

Yes, Vietnamese limes are tiny - quail egg size or smaller. There are some in one of my market photos.. Never had a problem squeezing them - I just squeeze them with one hand into the other and use my fingers as a sieve. Might miss one or two, but no big deal to swallow a seed.

Thank goodness there are seeds. My beautiful lime tree on my balcony has grown from a seed from a lime I bought in Hanoi several years ago. Unfortunately, it has never fruited. Its nearest potential mate is hundred of miles away. I don't recall ever seeing seedless limes.

I have few of these scrapers which I bought from a builders' merchant market. I find them much better than the ones in kitchen shops.

Boiled duck eggs in wo wo tou buns (窝窝头 wō wō tóu) as eggcups - again. No good! Needs salt and black pepper! Much better.

One of the few food items I smuggled back from Vietnam last week was these pita breads. I've never seen them here in China and my attempts to make them haven't really worked. Cubed and fried a skinless, boneless chicken bread with cumin coriander and chilli. Stuffed pita with a simple salad of lettuce, scallion and coriander leaf - added the chicken and some real Thai Sriracha sauce. Ate. (Excess salad on the side.)

I've been busy since I got back from my Vietnam trip, but have managed to cook a few dinners. Here are some from the last few days. Pork, Shrimp and Shiitake Meatballs. This combination is a classic Chinese one, often used in wontons or jiaozi. Served with a home made tomato sauce of skinned toms, olive oil, chilli, garlic, ginger and star anise. There was a side of baby bok choy, too. Fish and Chips De-boned chicken thigh meat stir fried with reconstituted dried shiitake, asparagus, scallions, garlic ginger and chilli. Served with rice.

Another day, another lunch. In a small hole-in-the-wall place near my hotel. Bún mọc - Vermicelli Noodles, here with various meatballs. Mint and basil Lime for squeezing into your noodle broth The menu

The same way zillions of people do round here.

Near the supermarket I showed above was a market, from which some of my some of the market pictures came. Between the market and the main road was a motorcycle park. Everyone in Vietnam has a motorcycle. It's the law, I think. But between the market and the motorcycle park was this place. presided over by this woman She handed me her menu. I chose the Mì Quảng, as you do. I sat for a few minutes trying to work out what all the condiments were and why the chopsticks were green, while the boss carefully kept two eyes open for any approaching potential customers and her third eye noted everything her young staff were doing. After a very short wait this arrived. On the left is the mì quảng, which is noodles with chicken and prawns. bean sprouts and rice cakes. There was a quail egg in there, too. And it came with the inevitable salad. It was great. The chicken was deeply flavoured and tender. The shrimp were done to perfection, the noodles had the right amount of bite. The rice cakes added texture and the quail egg was perfectly soft boiled. Vietnam does these simple road side snacks/mini-meals so well.

Yes, I've eaten the same, both in Thailand and China. Never saw them in a supermarket before, though.

I'm not entirely sure, but I guessed a type of deep fried rice paper. It was very crisp. That is the one described as chả giò Ngon or special Ngon style - i.e. something exclusive to that restaurant, Ngon being its name, but also meaning "Tasty", which it was.

Yeas, There isn't much they don't have. It's a very international city. Right opposite the Daiso is a Domino's Pizza place!

Please see my edit!