VIETNAM FOOD TOUR; A day eating in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City.

A year ago, I packed up my life and moved to Saigon. If I could say one thing to my younger self, it'd be this. Don't worry so much about having everything figured out. Just stay curious. Because after living here for a year, I still feel like I've only scratched the surface of this city. The thing about Saigon is that it isn't just one city's cuisine. It's a place where people and flavors from every corner of Vietnam come together. So today, I'm taking you with me as we explore places I've never been before, try dishes I've never had, and experience a side of the city that's completely new to me. Right now, I'm sitting in an alley and you can hear the motorbikes beeping, honking, and also just seeing the uncles, the grandpas, just sitting, catching up over a cup of coffee. That, to me, is Vietnam. Red plastic stool, a cup of black coffee, an extra cup of coffee, and iced tea. But right now, I'm sitting at one of the last few standing cafe places in Saigon. This place has been open since way before 1975. And I think that it's really cool to see Vietnamese coffee made this way. Because for me, Vietnamese coffee is usually made with a fin filter. So to see that it's made this way, it was very unique. Very cool to see how busy it is too. Okay, the difference for me immediately is the body, the coffee body. It's almost like a tea-like body with a nice roasted, roasty aroma. And the caffeine punch, that immediate taste is not as harsh as coffee brew in a fin. But I like that a lot. Fire. It is so cool to taste a piece of history, a piece of Vietnamese culture. But right now, I am hungry. This is my first time having bánh đúc nóng in Saigon. But quickly, what is bánh đúc? Bánh đúc is a northern-style dish, rice flour that's been cooked. It's paired with minced pork, wood ear mushroom, quail eggs, crispy tofu, and fried shallot. So, oh wow. Okay, it is, it's nóng for real. The bottom is pretty... Wow, that's super comforting. The dressing itself is also warm. Not only is rice pudding warm, the nước mắm itself is also warm. The flavor that I'm getting most is flavors from the minced pork and the wood ear mushroom, and also the textural contrast from the fried shallot. Look at how warm and the texture of the rice pudding. You can still see the steam coming off it. Let me see if I can get a piece of a dracontomelon. Really? So there's no meaning, huh? Yes. Oh. It is firm, crunchy, with a really big seed inside. With a lychee finish. It is similar to gái chùm rượu, like a pickled chùm rượu. But gái sấu, very refreshing. I get it. Wow. This costed $35,000, $20,000. All in all, $55,000. That comes out to be almost $2, about $2. Oh my gosh. I don't know if you can hear that. Can you hear that? I can't believe that I've been here for an entire year, and this is my first time having bánh mì chấm. When my producer told me about bánh mì chấm, I thought it was bánh mì chảo. But bánh mì chấm, it is completely different. What it looks to me like, it is deconstructed bánh mì with steamed pork roll, braised pork belly. There's egg in there. There's also pâté with a little bit of mayo, douse with sauce reminiscent of Vietnamese braised pork belly. Ah, it looks so good. And on the side, the second bowl, I have a bowl of just fried egg, fried shallot, mayo as well. This entire thing is garnished with chili jam, a little bit of liver pâté, and fried shallot for crisp. The baguette is so crispy. The reason why this is called bánh mì chấm is the action, the movement. So you have your bánh mì, and chấm basically means to dip. So dip, get it all drenched in there. First time having bánh mì chấm, my mouth is salivating. I can't even talk right now. Okay, that was really good, and I can see why that it is popular here with the locals. The sweetness from the chili jam is really nice. This has a different type of comforting sensation, but if it was up to me, I would ask for extra pâté because I'm more of a pâté guy. I could just eat that entire thing with just bread, pâté, the mayo, and the dipping sauce. But wow, bánh mì chấm. Cheers. Welcome to Independence Palace. This historic place was also the venue for key events in the post-war reunification of Vietnam after 1975. Also on the left, you can see two tanks numbered 843 and 390. Honestly, I didn't even know this tour was available, but it's so nice to take a break and just sit back and listen to history. The construction of the new palace cost the equivalent of about $2.3 million when it was built in the 1960s. A whole year in Saigon and that's the first time going on a tour like that. I'm a local now. I'm just kidding. One thing I just learned is that the facade of the Independence Palace was inspired by bamboo blinds, a familiar feature in traditional Vietnamese homes. The palace has four main floors and even a rooftop helicopter landing pad. Every room was designed for a different purpose, from official state meetings to private living quarters for the country's leaders. What stood out to me the most wasn't how grand everything looked. It was how intentional it felt. Every room had its own purpose, its own personality. Every detail felt like it belonged there. Maybe that's something I'm still learning for myself, that the best things are built with intention. One decision, one choice at a time. So the specialty of this restaurant is the rice cooked in the clay pot where the bottom of the pot will scorch the rice where it gives the rice a nice crispy texture. That rice is then cracked in front of you, tossed across the room. That was pretty nice. This right here is home-style Vietnamese cooking. Now, I know this episode is about trying new things and new places. Yes, this place is new. Hence, govnew. Get it? Just kidding. I specifically ordered a couple of dishes that are familiar and that is close to my heart, starting with canh chua, caramelized fish, fried spring roll, morning glory sauteed with garlic, and something that isn't Vietnamese, which is Thai-style blood cockles. I think we have a winner. That is something that you eat and you want to recreate because that is exactly what I want. I think this is the perfect dish for summertime. I feel like every Vietnamese meal has a little wrap-and-roll situation. That is super crispy. The dipping sauce is very flavorful. The texture is soft and it contrasts really well, really, really well with the crispiness. This combination right here is something that I grew up eating, something my mom used to make for us all the time. And I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it, talking about it. That fish is caramelized perfectly. It has strong notes of black pepper, which is what you want for a caramelized fish like gà khóa. I just want to have this before I combine it with some of the caramelized fish. This place has a good mix of locals along with travelers and tourists. So I would give this place a solid 8 out of 10. So after that gigantic meal, I've decided that I needed a palate cleanser, something to cool me off in this Vietnam heat. So I decided to come here to this dessert place, dessert store to have some chè khúc bạch and Vietnamese yogurt with pandan jelly. So what is chè khúc bạch? Chè khúc bạch is a Vietnamese soup dessert with fruits, longan, jackfruit, almond, and jelly that's been set with agar agar. And then yogurt, Vietnamese yogurt is very simple. Let's have a bite of the yogurt first. Cheers! Depending on where you go or where you have your Vietnamese yogurt, the differences could be in the different level of tartness, the thickness, the consistency. This right here is not too sweet and I like the tartness level of it. And it's not too tart. That's how you know it's a good Vietnamese dessert. So if your chè khúc bạch does not have this, it is not chè khúc bạch. Later that evening, I made a quick stop at Hồ Tý Kỳ market to find something for dinner. With all the rain we've been getting lately, I was craving something warm and comforting. What I didn't realize was that this place is also home to one of the city's most famous flower markets. It's funny, you come looking for one thing and somehow leave discovering something completely different. I'll definitely come back next time I need flowers for a special occasion. After walking around exploring Hồ Tý Kỳ market, I just happened to walk past this Vietnamese beef stew place. And it's filled with Vietnamese locals and tourists. So we're gonna go check it out because right about now it's dinner time. And I am so hungry. Again, after a full day of eating. Come on, let's go. This is very classic packaging. Reminds me of my childhood for real. This is the first time that I see a Bàu Càu restaurant with its own sauce station. Salt and pepper as a dip, chili salt, Vietnamese lemongrass chili oil. I've never been to a Bàu Càu place that has all these sauces for you to eat with your Bàu Càu. Oh my god, look how hot that is. I've never seen Bàu Càu served piping hot in a clay pot. It's still bubbling. I don't know if you can hear me right now because they're screaming over me right now. So I feel like I gotta scream too. Okay, I'm kidding. Meatball, beef rib, tendon. I think they said brisket. And what I like to do is take a little lime. If I can have a little lime. Lime in your salt, pepper. More lime in your muối ớt. More lime in my Vietnamese hot sauce. My selection, bánh mì. Best way and most comforting way to enjoy your Bàu Càu. I'll take a little bit of salt tooth coriander and I'll add it to my Bàu Càu. Dress it with a little bit of basil. Taste your Bàu Càu. Look how hot that is still. The steam still coming off the spoon. Yum. Umami, great body. And I love that the spices are super balanced. Break. Smell your bánh mì. Take a look at the crust. Break apart a small bite size. And I'm just gonna. Cheers. Before I burn my tongue. The star of the bowl. The star of the show. I'm trying to decide which sauce is best to pair with. I'm gonna go simple with the salt, pepper, lime dip. Oh yeah. The beef rib is flavorful. It's tender. It falls apart in your mouth. Cooked through perfectly. Yum. This is the winner. Hot sauce with lime. I love that they include two different types of tendon. Because the other piece of tendon that we had was firm. It still had structure. And this piece of tendon is loose. It's gelatinous. It's soft. It's jiggly. And it looks like it's gonna melt in your mouth. And it does. Yum. After eating outside, inside, an entire day. I feel like this is the most Vietnamese dining experience that it could get. You are sitting outside. It's hot. It's humid. But you're enjoying something that is still piping hot. But it's still good. And on top of that, there's people screaming. There's people taking orders. And this is very overstimulating. So if you are easily overstimulated, be warned. As the firework lit up the sky over Ho Chi Minh City, I couldn't help but stop and take it all in. If you had told a younger version of me that one day I'd be living in Vietnam, celebrating the city's 50th anniversary alongside the people who call this place home, I honestly don't think I would have believed you. People had been waiting for hours to share this moment with their friends and families. And once the countdown began, you could feel the excitement ripple through the entire city. Moving here has taught me that learning a country's cuisine is about so much more than recipes. It's about understanding its history, its people, and the moment that brings everyone together. I know I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm grateful that I get to live out my dream.