Colored with tumeric and filled with shrimp, squid, onions, and bean sprouts, this flat seafood pancake is crispy and savory. An absolute must try, one pan-sized cake is enough to satisfy.
Bánh xèo chảo is fried to order on the corner of Tô Hiến Thành (tow heen tan) and Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai (ween tea min kai).
So you want to learn the Vietnamese language, but all of the language centers only teach the northern dialect of the language which when a foreigner speaks it, everyone looks at with shock and awe. The southern dialect, specifically Saigon, is the most respected despite the Hanoian accent being the official sound of Vietnam, due to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) being the center of Vietnamese culture and innovation. But you want to know what is the most coveted accent? It is the accent of the overseas (usually American) Vietnamese. This is an accent of broken Vietnamese due to the Viet Kieu's loss of original language as a result of being force-fed English by American culture. Even Vietnamese Americans recently born are not formally taught the language as their parents have an indefinite need to study and practice English itself. This makes English the official language of most affluent Vietnamese households, especially those who came over as refugees in the 70's and 80's. The need for the elders and the kids to assimilate into American culture for fear of being ridiculed as un-American was so great that the youth lost the ability to speak the language past grade school.
When I stepped foot onto Vietnamese soil, I literally remembered just a handful of words despite being fluent in Vietnamese when I was under 12 years old. I attempted to recapture the language with Pimsleur and Rosetta but found them useless for attaining real knowledge in conversational Vietnamese. Those two programs focus on travel-speak, which is not a necessity as one may assume because most Vietnamese in the tourist business already understand travel-speak in the English language, so all you need to know is English to get your needs across when it comes to traveling. The trick is learning the right Vietnamese words and phrases in order to interact with locals.
When I came to Vietnam I immediately realized that the 10-15 words that I remembered from my youth was not enough to cut it here. I then created a spreadsheet with a list of Vietnamese words, a sentence for each word, pronunciation guide, translation into the common English phrase, and a literal translation into English. In one month I assembled a spreadsheet containing 170 core vocabulary words, with nearly 600 total words when combined with the supplemental words in the example sentences. As I used these sentences to interact with locals, I automatically learned knew words every single day. At the end of the month I had acquired a vocabulary of 1200 Vietnamese words, which I figured was a good enough number to hold a conversation with almost any fluent speaker.
Below is a link to the spreadsheet that helped me learn the language. Please keep in mind that much of it are ways to talk to girls as that was the priority when I first got here and also keep in mind that the pronunciation is like that of an 8-10 year old. But here's the kicker. Girls actually love it and think it's cute. So take it from me. The Viet Kieu dialect is extremely powerful. And with great power comes great responsibility so bear that in mind as well.
In Nha Trang there are many beautiful pagodas such as Long Sơn (lowm sun) or the one at Vinpearl. Few are spoiled in riches such as those. In their own ways they have become tourist traps. And some of the monks at the former carry themselves more as cocky fratboys than humble students. I once saw a group of them at an adjacent karaoke room with 2 karaoke hostesses. It is bad enough when a whole country of supposed followers of the teachings of Buddha are obsessed with wealth and outward appearances.
The one pagoda that I respect as being true to carrying the essence of the Buddha is Chùa Linh Quang (jewah lin wang). The head monk there is a tall, lanky man named Thầy Thích Nhuận Thanh (tay tit newon tawn). Thầy means teacher. He with the help of several old ladies have raised over 30 abandned children, with zero expectation of them staying with the pagoda when older. Thanh himself was an orphan raised in a Da Lat pagoda. He waa given the opportunity to study in England. As a young adult, he was entrusted to take the helm at a new pagoda in Nha Trang which I call a Buddhist sanctuary. The whole area with its trees, ponds, and wide open spaces is so serene. It is humble, not flamboyant. And it is peaceful. I treasure the uplifting conversations I have had with Thay Thanh and the invitation for me and my friends to have lunch with him and the kids of the monastary.
If you wish to visit, take Le Hong Phong to Phong Chau. Make a left when you see the sign for Chua Linh Quang. The address is 58/8 Vườn Xoài (voong swai)- Đòng Rọ (dom raw)- Vĩnh Xuân (vin swung) - Vĩnh Thái (vin thai)
Although many hotels are partnered with bus companies such as Phương Trang (foong trang) or Phương Nam, I personally would avoid most companies that are not The Sinh Tourist. There are three reasons why you pay an extra $1-2 for The Sinh Tourist.
1) English speaking guides. And English speaking people on the bus with western standards of ettiquite.
2) Impeccable safety record. Other buses are often in too much of a hurry due to being late. Rollovers occur several times a year. The Sinh Tourist has never experienced one.
3) No nonsense travel. Just 1 pickup point and a max of 2-3 dropoffs. Multiply that by 6 for other companies.
The Sinh Tourist's new location in Nha Trang is on 90C Hung Vuong street.
A Hanoian original, bún chả (boon cha like in chad) combines grilled to order pork patties and sliced pork loin with airy rice noodles in a nước mắm (nook mom) based sauce, enhanced with leafy and stringy veggies.
How To Eat:
Method 1: Place veggies of your choice into the meat filled bowl of sauce. With chopsticks, dip some noodles into the sauce. Bring the noodles up to your mouth with veggies and meat.
Method 2: Place noodles, veggies, and a piece of meat into an empty bowl. Spoon some sauce into the bowl and chow down.
The best Bun Cha in town is at Quang Sanh (wang san) on 7 Hàn Thuyên (han tween) near Dam Market / Chợ Đầm (chuh dom).
Nước mắm / nook mom (fish sauce) with chilli flakes and pickled veggies top a bed of tender noodles, lettuce, grilled pork, and peanut sauce.
Đặng Vân Quyên is located on 2 Phan Bội Châu. That is "dang von ween" on fan boy chow. Pho 24 also now has their own version of the dish.
Chunks of beef are stewed till tender. The soup is added to a broth of Pho / fuh with those famous white noodles. And you thought Pho only came with rare beef or chicken.
Banh Canh / Bun Ca can be enjoyed at Nguyen Loan on 123 Ngo Gia Tu
Freshly cut fruit combined with sweetened condensed milk, ice and water sounds so simple yet trumps all over Jamba Juice and the like in taste. Not to mention it is under $1 per glass. Order up a glass of Táo / apple), ca-rốt / carrot, dâu xây / strawberries blended (yao say) or even chuối - yauort / banana yogurt (chewy ya oowah).
My favorite Sinh To (sin toll) is at Sinh To Quy on 50 Bach Dang. For late night cravings, go to the Catholic church and look across the street.
