Saturday, December 15, 2018

The Heat Is On In Saigon!

Hahahaha This is my second post that I used lyrics from my favorite songs.  Cheesy, no?

I was just in Ho Chi Minh City, which will now be known as Saigon in my post, with FGM, Ninong and Vinnie.


As always, when I ride PAL, I have to have my Jumbo Bola Bola Siopao from Vin Vin Cafe.


It was our 1st time in Saigon.  It was in my bucket list and I am glad I can tick it off from the list.

The van of the hotel picked us up.


We stayed at Hotel Equatorial in District 5.


I shared a room with Vinnie.  Our 2nd out of the country adventure.





Good thing the room was very big.  I had a lot of space for my stuff.  Hehe Pity Vinnie, I only left 1/4 of the room for her.

We were welcomed by Anna who works at Hotel Equatorial on our first night.  She is the daughter of Tita Mench from my Perlas group.


I enjoyed her treat to us! I ate all the seafood that I could.






And then some...










Thank you, Anna!

On Day 2 in Saigon, we went shopping in District 1.  We went to Saigon Square and had merienda at 4Ps pizza!

Pizza in Saigon?!?!?!  It is in the must eat in Saigon list in some of the websites.

I loved the Ham and Cheese Pizza with mushroom sauce.


Spaghetti Bolognese with Smoked Cheese!


The cheese is made in Vietnam.

YUM!!!!!  I want to go back to Saigon and eat the spaghetti and pizza again. 


We did the touristy thing, you know? Sightseeing?

Saigon Post Office.


What's so special about this place?

The guy who built the Eiffel Tower also built the post office.


You have to remember, once upon a time, the French colonized Vietnam.

Notre Dame Cathedral.


Late snack was at the Crab Noodle Soup place near our hotel.



Day 3 was spent in District 7.  We went to Crescent mall and had a very late lunch at Hoang Yen.

We ordered almost all the appetizers and side dishes.

Corn sauteed in butter and shrimp paste.


Really good!!!!

Fried Chicken


Goi Cuon - fresh spring rolls


Cha Gio - fried spring rolls


Calamari


Gyoza


Kimchi


We went around the mall and I found my supermarket heaven Auchan!!!  A huge supermarket!





I love the fish sauce in Vietnam.  Every morning, I would get a little and sip it with a spoon.


KFC abroad is my must eat fast food.  I don't like the chicken in our KFC here.

But in other countries, I love it.

It was crispy and yet very moist and juicy inside.



I also learned to eat fried eggs with a dash of seasoning or soy sauce.


Lots of fish sauce to choose from in the supermarket.


I brought home a mini sari sari store, ingredients for cooking.


Question is, when will I have the time to cook the ingredients that I brought home?!?!

Day 4 was pasalubong shopping at An Dong Market.  We bought lots of nuts, especially the cashews with skin on.

Then we went to the Russian Market to buy some winter stuff for traveling.  I really liked this bonnet.


I thought I looked so cute but everybody did not want me to buy it. I sent the photo to almost all my Viber chats and asked if I should get it or not.  The answer was not. 

Then a few days after I saw a pair of red and white Snow boots from Lazada!  It is one of their best sellers!!!


I missed my chance. HIHIHI

We had merienda at Pho 24 in Vincom Center.



Then they all went back to the hotel while I stayed on in District 1.  I bought French baguette at Pat a Chou to bring home as pasalubong for friends and family.


I also had cheese ice cream!


I ate at Wrap and Roll.  But it had so much GULAY!




After eating, there was still a lot of vegetables. 


I just ate the fried spring rolls and shrimp paste on sugarcane sticks.

More supermarket shopping before heading back to the hotel.

They have GRAB there and it was so convenient and easy to book.

On our last 2 nights, we just ordered Banh Mi from Huynh Hoa via Lalamove with the help of the hotel's concierge.



Really good and crunchy.

Do you want to hear it?


Hahahahaha

I would love to go back to Saigon to eat more.  We could not eat much because were always full from our buffet breakfast.

The 4 of us enjoyed our trip.  Everybody got to buy a little something for themselves.

We are so thankful for Anna for giving us tips on where to eat and shop.

Thank you also FGM, Ninong and Vinnie!!!


The heat is on in Saigon, indeed!

PS

Snowball is really smart.  Every time I would come home from a trip I always let her get her pasalubong from my suitcase.  It never fails, she would only get her toy and not touch the other stuff in the suitcase.