Lunching in Saigon

Apart from breakfast, I had just one opportunity to enjoy a meal during my initial stay on this trip to Ho Chi Minh City and it was to be a lunch in the Bến Thành Market.  In one section of the huge and busy covered market is an eatery section with a fair number of stalls featuring noodle and rice dishes with side dish choices as well as fresh fruit juice stands and cold drinks shops.  They all call out to you to stop by as you try to walk past them with their menus in hand.

I settled on a noodle bar run by a few ladies where I saw locals dining.

Looking up at the shop from where I was sitting, at a low table.

At my table waiting for my food and looking across to the next table.

My very red lunch arrives. This was strongly recommended. Vietnamese “udon” they said but the noodle is transparent and shorter as if intentionally chopped up into little pieces though the shape is exactly like our udon. Not spicy but ketchup-like taste. This was the “seafood” version with shrimp, fish cake, maybe squid, and other small fish.

The view from above.

The menu. My lunch was 40,000 VDN, about US$1.75 or ¥210.

The ladies at the behind-the-counter kitchen.

Locals eating around the counter.

 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Went into the office at 11 am on Friday, August 7th, left the office around 7:30 pm in the evening, travelled to Haneda to catch a flight to Paris departing at 10:55 pm (which was brought forward to 10:45 pm).

At HND.

Landed at about 4:30 am, Paris time, on Saturday, August 8th, picked up my luggage, headed for Terminal 2C where Air France has a lounge for early morning hours with proper shower facilities opening at 5:30 am.  Sat around until then.

At CDG.

Now feeling refreshed and waiting for my next flight to Sofia, Bulgaria, departing at 10:20 am.

Lunching in Ginza

Was out for a business lunch in the Ginza district the other day with my American guests.  One of us being a vegetarian, was trying to go for tempura and while Ginza is known for its many tempura restaurants I just could not find the right one to reserve because they were either full, didn’t take lunch reservations, too far to walk to, or too pricey.  My alternative was to go to a soba place which often serves good tempura as side dishes.

I was so spot on.

Tanakaya

My guest’s assorted vegetable tempura dish with mostly Japanese vegetables.

Sashimi for non-vegetarians.

My soba-kakiage set lunch.

And they gave us a private room.  And our waitress was super nice.

Tanakaya

 

Good Bye 2014, Hello 2015!

Back in Tokyo and visiting my parents on new year’s eve and for the new year holidays as I ritually do every year.  Festivities have begun.

Our end-of-year dinner with soba to close.

And the first meal of the year in the new year.

And it snowed (though ever so slightly) during the day.  Unusual as our January is very dry with sunny and crisp days.

And at dinner more sake.

Bliss.  I love Japanese new years.

Kitsune Udon, Daiginjyo Soft-Serve Ice Cream and Ohaka-Mairi

On the day of my departure from my cousin’s in Ashiya back to Tokyo, I wanted to visit the cemetery in Kobe where my grandparents’ (amongst some other family members I believe) ashes are kept as I had not done it in a long time.  My cousin suggested we drive there before I catch my flight back to Tokyo and she also suggested we have lunch at her favorite udon shop, founded in 1948, and then visit a sake producer, a different one from the day before, to try its sake-infused soft-serve ice cream.

I had the kitsune udon.

My kitsune udon!! Love.

We had so much difficulty getting to the cemetery and had no time to pick up any flowers so we just cleaned the grave site and prayed in front of it having placed some offering.  We did not bring any incense as our grandparents were Protestants.