BonVivant

why garlic. always! :)

silken tofu has no skin. it's thick and soft. nice in soup, sauces, deserts, smoothies ect. comes in round plastic tubes, ismost likely imported from Singapore,. specifically spells out 'silken tofu'. it's nice. give it a go :) ---------------- [is it originally Japanese? i am not sure.....have to check that out]

mango salsa is my favourite but sometimes i use them in a nice Indian curry in the cold months.

i think that's where i had most of VN dishes in Paris. the staff is also pleasant so that's a nice bonus [unlike some ppl in VN]. i also went to other VN restaurants next door but me thinks i like Song Huong best. and they have decent coffee too.

i was extremely happy with Vietnamese in the 13th since i stayed in the heart of so-called chinatown during my visit [might as well rename it to VNtown]. hmmm......<dribble>...'banh bot loc'......'bun bo hue'......

too many favourites but i think Samichlaus is still one of my all time favs. 14% . goes down beautifully....like fine cognac in the beer world! but if you like Bavaria and the like i'm afraid you won't appreciate Samich. been drinking quite a few from Alsace lately. me likes!

we [2 of us] drink a couple of nice beers everyday on top of the usual such as Grolsch or Hertog Jan. some of them were Young's Kew Brew, St. Peter's Cream Stout/Golden Ale, Badger Champion.

a very nice report! i have one too but it's photographic. dayum, my mouth is watering again. what i would give to be back in Phu Quoc where the water is clear and warm, fresh seafood 3 meals a day, empty beach, the sound of silence, light goes out at 10pm...sigh...

a kilo of big tentacles and this is how they meet their fate, [the rest]. oh yes, scallops of course. love them fresh with coral intact even though i take a long time to gut them.

'food from the sea' is my favourite! i eat meat once or twice a week. love my seafood too much. steamed and eaten with a simple butter parsley garlic sauce

i once got a bag of frozen basa [farmed in VN]. had to quickly finish the whole bag. too bland! :(

oh mannnnnnnnn.......how i miss street corner hotdogs in YVR! never thought i'd miss something like that. here in netherlands they don't know how to make hotdogs or even burger or hotdog rolls/buns! once i tried to get the ingredients from the supermarket to make me a hotdog snack, but couldn't find any real hotdog buns/rolls. had to walk around the place and put everything back on the shelf :(

foie gras [the real thing from France] sashimi beers/wines

i've had both spanish san miguel and philipino san miguel but forgot if they were any good stephenc, is Cruzcampo that bad? :) used to see it at my local bottle shop but not lately. dunno why i never had the urge to get it.

Trung Nguyen is gooooooood! however i brought back 4kg of superior beans bought from a wholesaler in Ha Noi. thanks be to my guesthouse owner who drove me and my partner on her Honda to the merchant's house the night before we flew home. have been drinking it sparingly for 6 months now using my 2 drippers. everytime we ordered 2 or 3 cups black coffee each they kept coming back to ask if we made a mistake. also because we didn't want any of that revolting condensed milk that made them scratch their heads at the same time

besides those common ones that have been mentioned, which i drink all the time as i can get them by the crate here, there are also Meisel's, Loewen, Erdinger, Andechs ect. but i prefer the dunkels weiss type in most cases. superiorrrrrrr! i'm so grateful it's only a 30 minute journey to either German or Belgian border :)

maybe i had this one with preserved lemon/mandarins. have to check my travel notes. my eyes are still wet when i think about that recent fantastic trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. looks like next time i'm in Paris Khmer food is for breakfast instead of Vietnamese :)

if it has a certain sourness i think it's this soup (the last one on the film strip). the sourness comes from preserved little mandarines. and prohok is NOT optional, it's a must. i remember how much i liked it in Phnom Penh last december, moto drivers said i had to eat it along with rice. i prefer to bring the bowl to my face and slurp! :)

'33' is the most pleasant, 'Saigon' is okay, and the rest is terrible. the most memorable beer is the fresh kind. btw, hello fellow beer fans. and no, it's not 'too blokey'! :) [my very first response and i choose the beer section...heheh]