Yep, the story is basically in the title…
Today, after visiting the Royal Haskony Vietnamese offices based in Saigon, which is a story in itself, my day became a culinary adventure. For lunch I went with some fellow classmates to a food court that had tables upstairs and down, but was totally surrounded by different venders cooking fresh Vietnamese street food right in front of your eyes. The smell, the sounds of sizzling and the vibrant colors of the different foods could make anyone feel hungry I’m sure. The cuisine itself was delicious and made me especially excited for my next destination…
immediately after getting a sample of the food court I went to a cooking class, given by one of the chefs working at a top Vietnames style restaurant. On arrival I was made comfortable and, along with the other three participants, was told about the 4 courses we were going to prepare that afternoon. Throughout the entire experience the head chef constantly explained the details behind where Bietnamese ingredients come from, what makes the ingredients so good and why the ingredients add to the flavor. All in all a fascinating exoerience, and thankfully only 2 out of the three foods involved going into the main kitchen and using the stove or charcoal grill, because that got pretty hot inside there. First course was a traditional Vietnamese spring roll with shrimp wrapped in mustard leaf. Second, sticky rice fried dumplings with chili beef stuffing. Third, Vietnamese belet leaf beef wrap. Finally, our last dish was a Vietnamese custard with passion fruit…
Im so glad I sought out this opportunity and hopefully can remember some of the preparation methods to take home with me… Fortunately they did give us a recipe!