My Friend Felafel

Dear Everyone,

I'd like to introduce you to one of my closest friends: Felafel (Falafel in Arabic)

We've known each other since I was on exchange in Israel last year and we've been inseparable ever since.

Whilst I've never been brave enough to attempt these balls of fried chickpea goodness, I'm a huge fan of any Middle Eastern eatery where it's on the menu.

Last weekend I ventured to North Bondi's 'Sabbaba' restaurant - which according to my fellow Hebrew classmates boasted the best Felafel in Sydney. Interestingly, 'Sabbaba' is the Hebrew slang word for 'great' or 'cool' (Fun Facts with Heath!)

Photo from official Sabbaba Facebook Page

I absolutely needed to try it for myself! And let me say, it did NOT disappoint!

Ordinarily I'd opt for a Felafel in a Pita bread pocket... but the selection of fresh and delicious-looking sides enticed me too greatly, so I went for the Felafel plate.

For roughly $9, what a feast!

Try it out for yourselves at:

80-82 Hall St.
Bondi Beach NSW
(02) 9365 7500

Vietnam - Snake Restaurant

I'd read about the hype surrounding the famous Snake Restaurants of Hanoi, so I was determined to try it.

Snake Balls

After a long taxi ride to slightly outside of the city, and then down to a dimly-lit street, with hardly anybody around, I started thinking that it probably wasn't worth it.

But then we stumbled across a restaurant serving everything from: pigeons to pork, snakes to turtles.

I ordered the Snake Banquet, which was $40 Australian Dollars - by far the most expensive meal of the trip. The waitress - who spoke no English whatsoever - returned with a LIVE King Python and two other waiters.

The waiters held the snake with its tail in the air, and upon confirming my decision they slit its throat and drained the blood into a bottle of Vietnamese Rice Wine, confusingly put in Vodka Bottle.

Rice Wine Infused with Snake Blood

I was then presented with three shots of rice wine - one infused with snake's blood, another with it's bile... and the last one with the still-beating heart of the snake. And yes, I did feel it beating as it went down my throat. Apparently it's a demonstration of masculinity. So manly!

With each dish you are supposed to take a shot of the blood-infused rice wine. Which I did with no complaints. The waitress returned at various intervals with dishes fresh from the kitchen, which used the meat from the entire snake.

In total, there were 5 dishes - a soup, a stir-fry, snake-balls and snake wrapped in banana leaf.

Snake Wrapped in Banana Leaf

They were all delicious but despite my attempts to convince my friend to try them, he didn't dare touch it.

(skip to several hours later and he was still awake making sure I didn't die from eating the heart!)

There was an unfortunate mishap with the ordering, however. My friend wanted something with Beef in it. Probably not the best idea considering the restaurant seemed to specialise in strange and/or endangered animals.

Snake Soup

As I already mentioned, the waitress didn't speak English so I said "Bo" which is 'beef' in Vietnamese. However she must've thought I was saying "Bird", because she went away and cooked up a pigeon which she served to my friend... that he didn't touch.

Poor guy!

Snake Banquet

Vietnam - Photos from Hanoi

Sugar Cane Juice

Bun Thit Nuong

Saigon Import Beer

Glutinous Rice Desserts

 Pho Bo and Herbs

Sugar Cane Juice

Vietnam - Hanoi

Good Morning Vietnam!

So I made sure I made the most of my time in Hanoi and crammed a week's worth of sight-seeing and eating into 3 days *phew*

I don't ordinarily make a fuss, but the hotel's complimentary taxi from the Hotel didn't arrive - leaving us to foot the bill for an expensive taxi. When we arrived at the Hotel I let the receptionist know that the driver hadn't turned up (In case he came late and was waiting for us). She looked appalled and instantly upgraded us to the Honeymoon Sweet!

Honeymoon Suite

The room was much bigger and had a great (sound-proofed!) view of the markets down below, which were transformed into Night Markets at sundown. Although I couldn't get over how funny it was that my mate and I were staying at the Serenade Hotel's Honeymoon Suite... sounds like a pay-by-the-hour sort of joint, right?

One of my good friends was living and teaching in Vietnam while I was there, and so I organised with her to go around and see all the city's hottest spots.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

After having lived there for 4 months already, she was practically a local! We started with a tour to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. The monolithic structure is impressive and really heavily guarded. Don't even think of stepping onto the grass! My foot strayed while taking this photo and I was promptly reprimanded!

Dried and Candied Mango Slices

We then hit-up the Dong Xuan Markets and shopped until we dropped. Literally. My blood sugar felt so low I thought I was going to collapse so I bought some dried and candied Mango slices.

Within the Dong Xuan Markets there's a food court area... but it's more like dozens of street stalls under a roof! For fantastically low prices, we bought several delicious dishes:

Lettuce, Prawn and Noodle Soup

Nem Nuong

Later that night we went out Clubbing in Hanoi. Being a clubbing-virgin I didn't really know what to expect, but the ridiculously-low prices of alcohol meant that it was an easily viable option to buy a bucket of alcohol.

Vodka Redbull in a Piggy Bank

 The dance club we went to served mixed drinks and cocktails in sandcastle buckets and... Piggy Banks!

The next day we took the lengthy bus journey to Halong Bay and then a cruise around the rock formations.

Our tour guide took us to some secluded rock caverns with stunning formations inside. Our less-mobile fellow tourists (an old Polish couple) stayed behind - meaning that we could get around to some special sites with ease.

Prawns and Crab

However, they DID eat most of the food provided on the cruise and weren't willing to share, so I had a measly serving of prawns and crab.

All in all, Hanoi was a bustling and exciting city with something for everyone!

Vietnam - Hoi An

Hoi An is hands-down Vietnam's capital for:

- Beaches
- Resorts
- ...and Tailoring?

You wouldn't believe it until you see it for yourself. Hoi An boasts the most tailors per square metre of anywhere in the world, and I wouldn't argue with that.

Not only is the main street littered with tailoring 'shops', but in the bowels of the town there's a large warehouse which is brimming with tailors.

I can't help but feel that the word 'tailor' is used pretty loosely there though. I mean, does a person sitting at a table with a sewing machine count as a tailor? And what about those 'stores' that have been variously busted as fronts for sweat-shops with child labour?

Anyway, I had some shoes and apparel custom-fitted and designed to my specifications, for 1/3 of what they would have cost in Australia on a conservative estimate.

Back to the Beaches!

After landing at Danang Airport, we were picked-up by our resort's personal driver and taken on the 40 minute drive down the beach to the resort. All the way along the beach is just resort after resort, with construction sites for new resorts everywhere else.

We got slightly scammed on the way though. Our driver took us to his cousin's pottery and jewellery store on the way, as it was at the bottom of the Jade Mountain and so I thought I'd purchase a little jade for my Mum. But it was soon apparent that they were just ripping-off 'wealthy' Westerners. Honey, I had just finished school... I'm not exactly rolling in $$$

Now onto the Food/stuffing my face at every opportunity

If you haven't worked it out yet, I love my noodles.

Sweet Potato Cakes

Banana Crêpe (French colonial overhang?)

Pineapple Crêpe

Roadside Bun Thit Nuong

Local Draught Beer

Vietnam - Photos of Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon

Bun Thit Nuong 

Carrying Freshly-Cut Coconuts

Bun Bo Hue

Local Shops

Roadside Eateries

Vietnamese Fried Rice with Egg and Greens

Street Vendor Making Banh Mi

Restaurant Within the Night Markets

Banh Xeo

Street Vendors Within the Night Markets

(another) Bun Bo Hue

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City

*So after a long MASSIVE break, you're probably more inclined to call me 'Infrequent Foodie' - I'm back now!*

After studying Vietnam in History class at school, I started developing an interest in the country, it's history and people. But it wasn't until I saw Luke Nguyen's culinary adventures throughout Vietnam that my plans go actually go there started to crystallise. And I'm so glad they did, because my 10 days there were some of the best of my life (thus far)!

It would be futile (and somewhat offensive) to try to condense the entirety of Ho Chi Minh City down to 2 Blog posts, so I'm only going to shed light on but some of Saigon's culinary and cultural delights.

Let's start with the shopping.

The main streets are dotted with massive department stores, which attract the richer tourist clientele, with top-ranged brands like Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Louis Vuitton having a firm hold. Since $10,000 handbags aren't really my 'thing', I opted for the (much) cheaper street-vendors and markets where most of the locals do their shopping.

Though the gutters scream "EFFLUENT" and the department stores boast "AFFLUENT", I had a great time haggling prices down and shopping up a storm.

On the way, however, I was stopped by a gentleman selling freshly-cut coconuts and drinks, who was more that happy to pass his heavy baskets on to me. I look pretty authentic, right?

Mmmmm all that shopping had made me hungry! What better way to satisfy those cravings than with once of Saigon's specialties, Bun Thit Nuong! This delectable bowl of rice vermicelli topped with mounds of fresh herbs, grilled pork and Nem (spring rolls) never fails to hit to spot.

Dear Reader, you must be starting to think I am always hungry and gorge myself on anything and everything. And you'd be right! Particularly when meals are (conservatively) $3 and each consecutively seem to be the best meal you've ever tried while there, you can forgive me for indulging!

Saigon comes to life at night with its Night Markets. The massive Ben Thanh Market was only a short stroll away from our hotel, so I often found myself haggling, buying and eating there. The large fires (see above) cook hundreds, maybe even thousands, of fish, prawns, crepes, meats and noodles every night. Cleverly, the cooks have large fans set up to blow the mouth-watering aromas throughout the entire market.

I couldn't pass up this opportunity to try Saigon's famous Banh Xeo - a crispy rice crêpe with a mixed filling of bean sprouts, prawns and other vegetables. The crisp crêpe goes down nicely with a bottle of Saigon Export beer!

xx

Vietnam - The Land of Pho, Ho and Woah!

I must admit, I'm not really one of those party-obsessed types who spent the entirety of my last year of school pining for Schoolies.

'Schoolies', for your information, is the party period after the HSC when a lot of school leavers descend on certain places near beaches, drink themselves silly and stumble around the place hungover, often after being arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

(Photo from trailsurfers.wordpress.com)

Not really my scene...

So rather than blowing my money on overpriced booze and crappy accommodation, I decided to travel to Vietnam for 10 days with a mate, who felt the exact same way!

And I'm so glad I did! 'Why?', you may ask?

Firstly, the food was amazing! Everything is so fresh (thank the lack of refrigeration for that) and tasty! I made it my goal to try as many regional specialities as possible... Followed by 1 bowl of Pho per day. I'm proud to say that I succeeded, but you'll read about that in my later posts. ;)

Secondly, Vietnam possesses a rich and diverse culture and history, steeped in centuries of war, trade and religion. I don't profess to be a scholar on Vietnam (yet), but I was particularly taken by some of the Museums and exhibitions on the War and Women... as well as experiencing first-hand how Vietnam is coping with modernity.

Lastly, I couldn't help but feel like I was living some chaotic spectacle! There's so much energy and activity that one could be easily overwhelmed, whether in the bustling markets or the roadside restaurants.

So now that we've got that straight, let's get on to the trip!

Sydney Airport For The Sweet Tooth!

My cousin recently returned from a trip to the Gold Coast, where she carved up the amusement parks!

While waiting for me to pick her up, she took these awesome photos of the confectionary bar.

I'm glad I wasn't there to see it myself - I probably would have bought the entire shop!

New Caledonia - Entry 6 - La Fin

Well, the holiday was quickly drawing to an end and we were up bright and early to ensure we didn't find ourselves stranded on a tropical island. Actually, I dont think I'd particularly mind being stranded on THIS island, but unfortunately it was time to go.

Our 'ride' came in the form of a covoy of relatives, who gave us lovely parting gifts in an attempt go send us over the Air Calin baggae weight limit. Of course, the aforementioned airport renovations involved an extensive upgrade to the Duty Free shopping areas.

While my travel partners were checking out the perfumes and designer luggage, I couldnt help but gawk at these beauties:

Mmmm... Cant you just feel it go straight to your hips?

In hindsight, that probably would've made the perfect comfort food - it's not easy to say goodbye to them all. But I'll be back next year!
Oh, and I was leaving for Vietnam in a little over a week!!!

New Caledonia 2012 - Entry 5

Alors, presque la fin de mon voyage en N-C!

I had been promised a "light lunch" so that I would have room for a large dinner, however that quickly went out the window when I ordered my meal!

I'm a sucker for seafood - particularly when it's so fresh and flavoursome! The grilled salmon, jus and green salad that arrived at my table was nothing short of mouthwatering.

The combination of slightly salty salmon and mild jus an absolute pleasure to eat. Without a pesky bone in sight, the most dangerous part of the whole meal was trying not to stuff myself silly with all the salmony-goodness on my plate!

In a not-so-rare event, one of my Grandma's cousins (Read: Matriarch) mustered the collective side of their family for a special night out.

This time, we went to quite a remarkable restaurant. If it weren't for the fact that it's located on a pontoon about 250m out on the reef, the large open floor in the middle of the restaurant ensures a clear view of the seafood below. Once you get past the initial intimidation of sharks swimming by while breaking your bread, you feel quite spoilt by the whole experience. Alternatively, the drop down to the reef could make a convenient way for the staff to dispose of non-compliant customers...

(Photo: ile-de-nouvelle-caledonie.com)

Le Roof restaurant - minus its Anglicised name - offers up some unbelievable French dishes, with an equally unbelievable price tag! As in 'extremely high'. BUT, it was a special night out and everything was delicious and well-presented!

For example, this Tuna Risotto-type dish was a fusion of local produce, freshly-caught tuna and expertly-cooked risotto. The only downside was that it was all fairly similar in colour, but it more than made up on that in taste.

The dessert was just what you'd expect - a classic dish... but a few times better! I thought I'd opt for a sorbet, so I selected two very New Caledonian flavours: Mango and Niaouli.

Niaouli isn't endemic to New Caledonia, but it grows in abundance there and is found in anything from drinks to food, soaps to medication. To put it into perspective, it's a bit like Eucalyptus mixed with Lemon and Coconut. Confusing? Then go try it! :D

Ma famille calédonienne me manque beaucoup! (I miss my New Caledonian family a lot!)