RICE PAPER SCISSORS

Can Tho is the heart of the Mekong Delta, home of the floating markets and agriculture industry; also where Valerie’s father grew up. Here’s some of the many eats we enjoyed on and around the river.

Kem - Ice Cream

Inside: Chocolate ice cream, peanuts and condensed milk sandwiched between two wafers

Verdict: Usually we would say nay on those wafers, since they remind us of the cheap ice cream cones you get at Sizzlers. But we loved it as a sandwich, keeping our hands clean and mouths happy.

Extra bits: It was actually Valerie’s cousin’s ice cream. He only ordered one, and we ended up eating all of it. Whoops.

Bun Hue Gao Luc - Hue Style Red Noodle Soup

Inside: Red rice noodles, goji berries, fried tofu, tofu cha lua, fried shallots, scallions, peanuts, water spinach

Verdict:  So balanced, flavorful, and full of surprises. The tofu (two ways) added a variety of textures and the goji berries were right where we expected to find them—in a soup. Com chay (vegetarian food) is dank!

Extra bits: The noodles are made from a red rice variety — fresh everyday!

Com Chien Cha Bon - Rice Cracker with Chicken Cotton

Inside: Cotton chicken, scallion oil, and chili sauce on a toasted rice cake

Verdict: Crunchy, flavorful, and super simple.  We’re stoked on this dish.

Extra bits: So good our vegetarian friend had to break a few rules a take a bite!

Banh Mi Op La - Fried Egg Banh Mi

Inside: Fried egg, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, pate, cilantro

Verdict: A-OK — not the best, certainly not the worst. However, we do love how much airy(er) the bread is here.

Mi Tien Bac Buu - Eight Item Noodle Soup

Inside: Egg noodles, tofu cha lua, vegetarian ‘duck’ meat, lotus seeds, dry fried tofu skins, braised tofu skins, ginko berries, dried dates, lychees (is that 8 yet?!)

Verdict:  A bit sweet for our taste, but exciting nonetheless. Great myriad of textures and a good departure from the everyday pho broth.

Cafe Sua Nong - Hot Vietnamese Coffee

Inside: Drip coffee + a little condensed milk

Verdict: We usually drink our coffee iced (because it’s hot as balls over here), but having it hot was necessary during our breezy boat trip along the Mekong Delta. Our floating cafe warmed up their shot of pre-dripped coffee (left) by submerging it in hot water (right). Nifty.

Tom Nuong w/ Satay - Charcoal Grilled Prawns w/ a Satay Sauce

Inside: Prawns topped with satay — garlic, shallots, honey, soy sauce, chili, served with okra

Verdict: Having your own tabletop grill is awesome! Give it a minute grill on each side and you’re good to dip it with a salt/pepper/young kumquat dip.

Extra bits: We had our waiter chug beers, give speeches and sing to us. We’re a tough crowd (though he was more than happy to do it!)