First let me introduce you to our mascot for the trip, Bruce Wage. We first find Bruce eating a bowl of shrimp dumpling soup at the Cathay Pacific lounge in San Francisco. A common theme on the trip was noodles for breakfast, one that I welcomed with open arms and mouth.
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We move to Ho Chi Minh City where we find ourselves shuffling through the market, looking at the fresh foods. Sadly I did not take a picture of the best dish I had in Saigon, which was essentially a crab and shrimp pho soup.
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| Refrigeration is for weenies |
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| This guy fell out of his water |
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| It took the lady about 10 seconds to skin and bone one eel |
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| So much amazing fruit, the green ones at the bottom center are actually oranges |
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From Ho Chi Minh we moved on to Hoi An in the middle of the country on the coast. Here we had an amazing time at the
Green Bamboo cooking school with Mrs Van.
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| First we arrive at the Market |
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| Mrs Van picking out snails, she didn't like them, but we insisted |
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| Fresh greens and herbs, yum. |
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| Cau Lau noodles at the market, a Hoi An specialty |
After our morning at the market, we made our way to Mrs. Van's house to prepare our dishes.
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| Not really what you want to see on your honeymoon |
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| Lemongrass, fresh turmeric, garlic, chilies and five spice |
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| Beautiful prawns |
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| Such a nice lady |
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| Pork marinading for Cau Lau noodles |
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| Vietnamese knife skills test |
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| Serious business |
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| Stir fried snails with garlic, lemongrass, turmeric, chilies |
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| Tossing in some fresh vietnamese mint |
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| a delish starter, great on shrimp crackers |
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| Clay pot fish prepared by Pierre who was visiting from Lyon, France |
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| This was the dish I made, stir fried squid |
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| Mike from Portland stir fries some garlic chili shrimp with honey |
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| Time for a gluttonous lunch! |
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| Jill prepared this Cau Lau noodle dish from start to finish and it was amazing. |
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Still in Hoi An, at the market and around town.
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| Nom |
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| Clams in lemongrass broth at a french restaurant, they even had Foie Gras |
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| Vietnamese Turkey |
The best banh mi we had in Vietnam was in Hoi An. So good that we went back the next day for another one.
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| Bruce approves |
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From Hoi An we move on to Ha Long Bay.
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| Our ship, The Dragons Pearl |
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| Sadly the Vietnamese government made all the cruise lines paint their ships white |
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| Hand carved from a pumpkin |
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| The cave where we had a wonderful dinner our last night on the Bay |
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Finally we found ourselves in Bangkok where we found the street food to be more accessible.
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| These ladies only sell sticky rice with mango, so yum |
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| I ate of this pork, it was amazing |
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| Me eating of my pork |
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| Taking a picture of my pork |
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| Bruce and I attack a Red Snapper |
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| Bruce wins |
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