The famous Lunch Lady's noodle soups in Saigon
For now, this is the last in my Saigon series, covering my most recent trip to HCMC in January. (Read about my eats from early July 2014 and late July 2014.) This time, as usual, I ate more street food, but I also ventured to less traditional places and had lunch outings with my pops, who has since moved back to Vietnam after retirement.
The Lunch Lady
After many visits to Saigon, I finally had the chance to try the Lunch Lady this time, whose real name is Nguyen Thi Thanh. Maybe you’ve heard of her: ever since being featured on Anthony Bourdain's now defunct "No Reservations," her street stall has become so popular, she’s even got a sign in English so all the non-Vietnamese speaking tourists can find her.As her nickname implies, she’s only open for lunch, and her single-dish menu changes daily. I’m quite fond of the notion of “you eat what we serve you;” so often nowadays, we Americans are paralyzed by having too many available options—think the paradox of choice. We are plagued with so many decisions to make every day that sometimes it’s nice to take the backseat and let others decide.On my first visit, I had bun Thai (pictured at top), a vermicelli noodle soup reminiscent of tom yum from Thailand. The broth was sweet and sour with a hint of heat, and it was loaded with all sorts of seafood from shellfish to mollusks to bivalves.“You came too late. I ran out of fish,” the Lunch Lady said in Vietnamese after her staff recognized who I was.What I didn’t know, though, I didn’t miss because the noodle soup was packed full of flavor. I also appreciated the smaller portion because it didn’t leave me stuffed. Rumor has it the Lunch Lady does charge a nominal premium for non-locals, but in turn she serves a slightly larger portion deemed appropriate for our non-local appetites (aka big bellies).We sat on small seats and slurped our steaming bowls of noodle soup in silence. It was hot and humid, and I was sweating, but I didn’t care—it’s a small sacrifice to make for an inexpensive, delicious midday meal. Besides, sweating into your noodle soup outdoors on a cramped sidewalk while trying to balance your big American rear end on the edge of a precarious plastic chair is the quintessential Vietnamese experience.
I came back on another day to find the Lunch Lady serving mi xa xiu, an egg noodle soup with barbecued pork. It’s a dish originating from neighboring China, and my only thought was I wish it included wontons (or hoanh thanh, if you want to say it in Vietnamese).Regardless, I happily finished the entire bowl and made a mental note to bring the hubs here next time. He’ll probably have to eat a double-order to satiate his appetite though.An interesting side note: all the locals I'd talked to had not heard of the Lunch Lady, which causes me to ponder if her fame is relegated to mostly foreigners. To any Vietnamese living in Saigon reading this, have you heard of Nguyen Thi Thanh and tried her food? Or is she mostly a tourist's treasure?The Lunch Lady23 Hoang Sa, P. Da Kao, Q. 1
Martini Bar at Park Hyatt Saigon
When I come to HCMC, if I’m not staying with my family, I stay at the Park Hyatt Saigon. It’s a five-star hotel, and after the extensive efforts it takes to get from Houston to HCMC, the comforts and amenities are much welcomed.The Martini Bar is housed within the hotel lobby, and I like to come here for a nightcap and have my companions describe me the scene. (You could say it’s a blind person’s way of people-watching.) The drinks are priced at American standards and aren’t cheap, but if you’re looking for a swanky, upscale scene, you’ll find it at Martini Bar. It’s sort of the place to be seen right now in HCMC, and while the sensory overload is sometimes a bit much for me, their martinis are solid—my favorite is the lychee.Park Hyatt Saigon2 Lam Son Square, Q. 1
Lunch dates with Dad
My dad now calls Saigon home again after retiring in 2012; by pure coincidence, he moved a few days after I left for L.A. To film MasterChef season 3 and had to watch the episodes on YouTube like the rest of those in Vietnam who were interested in how I fared on the show. Funny side story: even though we’d filmed months before, I never told my dad I’d won, so he watched unknowingly online and would email me after each episode to give me strategical tips or praise for the dishes I’d cooked that week.I enjoy talking with my pops about food. My mama was the cook in the family, but like me, having lived in a home where delicious dishes adorned the table every evening, my dad knew good food when he tasted it.My dad picked me up from the Park Hyatt on his motorbike one morning and took me to have bun thit nuong cha gio. Besides pho and banh mi thit, vermicelli bowls with grilled pork and eggrolls are probably the next most known dish of Vietnam. Served with fresh vegetables and herbs and dressed in fish sauce, it’s a dish that combines a variety of both textures and flavor profiles, that is, keys to good food. Think about your favorite dishes: don’t they usually contain both sweet and sour, salty and umami and even a little bitter or spice? Don’t they include both tender and crunchy elements? That’s what makes bun thit nuong cha gio so enjoyable.Afterwards, my dad took me to get ice cream. I felt like I was five again.I don't have a clue as to where he took me to eat, so if you have your own favorite bun thit nuong shop, do let me know.
For lunch another day, my dad picked me up in the car this time, and per my suggestion, we went to Marukame Udon, a Japanese cafeteria-style udon chain. I had the tonkotsu, and Dad had the curry. We also got a few tempura shrimp and vegetables and a onigiri or rice ball. The onigiri left something to be desired but the tempura was pretty good. The bowl of udon, however, was quite tasty and filling, so I could’ve done without the bells and whistles.The place was hoppin’ during lunchtime, and it was neat to see Vietnam expanding its gastronomical borders—back in ’97, the only foreign eateries I recall spotting in HCMC were Baskin Robbins and KFC.Marukame UdonFirst location: 1F Aeon Mall, 30 Bo Bao Tan Thang, P. Son Ky, Tan Phu DistrictSecond location: 215 - 217 Ly Tu Trong, P. Ben Nghe, Q. 1Have you been to any of these places in Saigon? What did you think?