Food for Thought

There are, of course, many ways in which Vietnam differed from India but none so much as the cuisine. Here we have a nation of meat-lovers and no animal is sacred. No land-dwelling, sea-dwelling or sky-dwelling creature is safe from the butchers' knife or a guest-appearance (often un-named) in a bowl, on a plate or on a skewer. But the French have left their mark too and (thank you French invasion!) freshly baked baguettes and delicious pastries are also readily available - if often stuffed with the afore mentioned mystery meat stuffs.

With restaurants, cafes and streeet stalls open on every inch of pavement it is impossible to go hungry in Vietnam, so here is our Vietnamese all-star menus.

Rob's Menu

BREAKFAST

Baguette with omlette & cheese (from Hoi An)

ELEVENSES

Dragon Fruit

LUNCH

Veg & egg fried rice with aubergine fry (from Ninh Binh & Hue)

AFTERNOON SNACK

Duck Skewer (from Ninh Binh)

DINNER

Cao Lau (pork with noodle and veg) with veg spring roll (from Hoi An & Cat Ba Island)

Dessert

Vitamilk frozen yoghurt

Drink

4000 dong Bia Hoi

Kat's Menu

BREAKFAST

Pho en chay (noodle soup with tofu, tomato, spinach topped with peanuts served with fresh lime and chilis - from Hoi An)

ELEVENSES

Ca Phe (Vietnamese-style super strong coffee filtered into super sweet condensed milk)

LUNCH

Fried tofu in tomato sauce, spinach, green salad (boat lunch in Halong Bay)

AFTERNOON SNACK

Blueberry & Almond pastry (from Saigon - better than any I've had in France)

DINNER

Veg fried noodle with roast pumpkin topped with peanuts
Dessert

Same yoghurt as Rob, because it tastes like a dutch dessert; fla
Drink

Saigon Green (Saigon's own Bia Hoi)