April desserts and High tea at the Grand Hyatt Hotel!

Good morning everyone! I thought I can start the cravings early today by showing the newest flavours at CODA! The flavours have been played out as everyone's favourites and are sure nice warmers of the heart from the cold weather we are about to encounter. 

Medjool date soufflé w drunken date ice cream and butterscotch vanilla sauce

Sticky date pudding has been on everyone's mind lately..especially mine hahaha *drool* so I thought, What better way to change it up a bit by creating it into a souffle. WINNER!! It is delicious!!! Too bad the texture is slightly airy than the slightly denser pudding, but you can't complain with the ice cream and sauce to go with it is AMAZING!!

Salted caramel fudge

These salted caramel fudge are a mouthful of sweetness w a slightly salted finish. Delicious for those who just want a bite with their coffee.

Poached quince bread and butter pudding w ginger ice cream

The quince is poached in port sugar syrup and layered between brioche soaked in a cinnamon ginger custard. The ice cream is lightly infused with fresh ginger and churned with crystallised ginger folded through. It is absolutely yummy!! If this doesn't warm you up..I'm not sure what will!

GRAND HYATT HIGH TEA

Blogging should not be done during the middle of the night because my tummy is groaning its complaints of hunger after seeing these pictures and reminiscing how they tasted last week. 3 other girlfriends and I decided to catch up over high tea and eat to our hearts desire.

We were offered to start off with, finger sandwiches filled with cured wagyu beef, smoked salmon and egg. The beef was to die for!!! Each filling was sandwiched between different bread, white, wholemeal and dark rye.

The cakes were beautiful. There were 5. Strawberry custard tart, baked cheesecake, green tea eclair, flourless chocolate and carrot cake. Yum!! I gotta say they were all my favourites but the cheesecake was outstanding.

The warm scones were perfect and round served with house made raspberry jam, apricot jam and cream. It was very delicious!! I wish I had the chance to eat them all but it was a struggle..can you believe..I eat everything!!!

Anyway..I better leave you to it, or else I'm going to start to chew my own arm off..I'm so hungry!!!

Gnight Xx

Dying4desserts in Vietnam, Da Lat

My parents and I travelled to Da Lat for 3 days. It was a 'country side' trip to get away from the city. January is considered Winter and it's coldest up in the hills where Da Lat is situated. It's warm during the day but cold (cool for us) during the night. We visited the Elephant waterfall, a temple at the waterfall, visited the night market opened nightly and of course the annual Flower festival.

But anyway, back to the food we ate.. we started off with Pho.

This tiny little place is only opened for breakfast and dinner. They have the freshest ingredients because most of the fruit and vegetables are grown locally by farmers. The photos are not very good, but you get the picture.

Lotus root and seafood salad

Beetroot, potato soup

Grilled pork spare ribs

This restaurant is massive. There are 2 levels and they sell many dishes to eat with rice. There is a selection of salads, grilled meats, soups and stir fries. And the only dish which I see as worldly popular are hot chips. The food is delicious and all the locals and foreigners know this place. We did come again for dinner and had a hearty traditional Vietnamese meal. I was so hungry that no photos were taken. We had a tamarind eel hot pot, a lamb stir fry and artichoke tea. I forgot the name of this place but it is opposite the Blue moon hotel on bui thi xuan road.

Banh Khoc Vung Tau in Da Lat

Some food stalls are in front of the restaurant

Prawn and pork noodle soup

Banh Khoc -  Vietnamese mini pancakes

Rice noodle and grilled pork salad

My parents and I decided to eat at Banh Khoc Vung Tau Dalat. Most restaurants in Vietnam offer the same dishes but are made differently everywhere. This restaurant was delish and cheap at AU$2 a bowl or dish. 

The night market...

For dessert, I wanted to try something from the street vendors. It was a little different to what I've experienced. It was a pale green pandan crepe thing filled with shredded coconut, sesame seeds and sugar. It was good and warm for my tummy in the coldish weather we were experiencing.

It used to be illegal to sell street food and the vendors would get arrested and run away leaving all their equipment to be taken away by police. However, coming back here after 3 years, there are heaps of vendors that sell popular dishes like a selection of sea snails, chinese donuts, grilled meat skewers. And no body is running away!! Da lat is also known for their knit wear as it's mainly cooler weather up in the hills than down on flat ground.

Here is a shot at night during the night market...

.. with all the hustle and bustle of people selling clothes, toys and food.

And this is the morning shot when all the people are gone and cars can access the road again.

Cold dessert station

The hot desserts

Glutinous rice ball with mung bean in ginger coconut syrup

Cold 4 colour dessert

Another Vietnamese desserts place is hidden. There is no signage on the doors at the front. It is more like gates that are opened slightly ajar. They have cold desserts which you may know as 3 colour drinks, but there is a wider selection of fruit and sweets which you can choose from and it is served with coconut milk and shaved ice. Hot desserts come in tiny bowls which you can easily scoff down a few.

I walked into a bakery where my parents and i have visited many years ago and it's great to see how they decorate their cakes.

Next door to the bakery, there is a Chinese Vietnamese restaurant which we decided to have breakfast before we left.

Mi Quang - Turmeric egg noodles in a braised pork soup

Bo Kho - Braised beef and carrot stew with bread

Mi Bo Kho - braised beef and carrot noodle soup

I've come to notice that most Vietnamese restaurants have multiple food stalls that surround the dining area. Unless they are a tiny restaurant, all food does not come out of the same kitchen. With an extensive menu and choices, they have many of the food trolleys that hold particular dishes.

Anyway, this is the last of my short trip to Da Lat, although not as informative as I would like...it can always be improved in the next post called ' Dying4desserts in Vietnam, Phu Quoc'.

Have a great night Xx

Dying4desserts in Vietnam, Saigon

Hello! Or should I say CHAO for all the Vietnamese in us of all. I am dying to share with you my 2 weeks trip to Vietnam. I spent a few days relaxing in Saigon, followed by sightseeing in Phu Quoc (an island in the South) and DaLat. These posts are going to be in random order and are all about the food. Food is delicious in Vietnam and I ate heaps! I'm surprised I haven't gained any weight during this trip, however unfortunately my Personal Trainer had said I have added a few centimetres to my waist line. O wells, she will just have to train me harder in the upcoming months before Europe. But that's another story.

I arrive in the afternoon on the 24th December into the heart of Saigon. The weather is great, the happiness I feel seeing my parents again is overwhelming and of course I was HUNGRY!!! haha

First stop..

Quan An Ngon (Ngon Restaurant)

Popular to many tourists, the idea of this restaurant is fantastic!! In the middle of the restaurant are where all the guests sit and dine. On the edges of the perimeter, there are food stalls of many types of food. Each food stall will have say one type of dish such as rice paper rolls, noodle soups, vietnamese pancakes, sweet desserts etc. 

Rice paper stall

Vietnamese savoury rice noodle / dumplings / cakes

Sweet desserts

Mini pancakes

Noodles Station

A different noodle station

Fried Spring rolls

Snail station

After walking around and seeing what I felt like, I ordered the..

Bun man Vit (Vermicelli duck noodle soup with bamboo shoots)

Spring rolls with fresh vermicelli and herbs

Che (A sweet soup containing peanuts, lotus seeds, seaweed, tapioca and coconut milk)

Banh Duc (A glutinous coconut pandan cake with palm sugar syrup and sesame seeds)

Bun xao Ghe (Clear noodle crab in clay pot)

Banh Duc man (Savoury coconut glutinous cake with nuoc mam, meat loaf and powdered shrimp)

Sweet tofu in coconut syrup and ginger

The restaurant is like every Vietnamese hawker food you can think on the street put together under one roof. The idea is amazing and the place is always busy. I'm also pretty sure most taxi drivers will know where it is so it is a must eat!!

Another eatery...

You can't visit Vietnam without eating their Pho.

Special beef noodle soup (73000 dong = approx. $3.50)

Vegetarian stir fry with rice

The menu consists of Pho the rice noodle soup or rice dishes, so whatever you prefer!! Pho 24 is a franchise, they are on most corners, however there are many different Pho restaurants and they are everywhere!!! With the money exchange rate at the moment, Vietnam is a bargain place to holiday! Eat on the street for approximately $1 a meal or go into an air conditioned restaurant with service for $2.

Mon Hue Restaurant

Mon Hue restaurant provides dishes specialised in Central Vietnam, Hue. Vietnam is divided into 3 parts, the North, Central and South. There are differences in dialect, accents and definitely in food. The South tends to use more sugar in their diet having a balance of sweet, tang and salty. Whereas, the North (Ha Noi) and Central tends to eat more Salty flavours. There are a few dishes which are signature to those parts, and Mon Hue Restaurant specialises in Central Vietnamese Cuisine. 

They start by offering these parcels at the table. If you eat it, then they charge you. I don't know what it's called but it is savoury and made of glutinous rice flour with shredded coconut filled with mashed mung bean.

Selection of Hue style 'dumplings'

Eaten with the Nuoc mam (fish dipping sauce), all these savouries have diffeent tastes and textures and also cooked differently. Right at the back is a dish with shrimp and it was cooked in banana leaf. The ones in the ramekin, banh beo are coconut rice flour steamed with powdered shrimp and pork crackle. Banh bot loc is the glutinous chewy 'dumpling' filled with baby shrimp and there is a cold meatloaf on the corner. 

Peacock spring rolls

These spring rolls are fried and tooth picked on this dragon fruit (which becomes our dessert after). Loved the presentation and vegetable carving! hehe

Fried/steamed cakes with shrimp and pork

This is the same glutinous rice cake. One is fried and one is steamed. It has a light spring onion oil on top with crispy pork and shredded shrimp.

Pork mince stir fry with crispy cracker

The pork is wok fried with bean shoots, mung bean and onion laced with coriander. You spoon it onto the thinly fried rice cracker and with the nuoc mam dipping sauce.

Hue style noodles

Hue style noodles with prawn dumplings

Special Hue style noodles

Hue style beef noodle soup is one of the most famous noodles of the Hue region. With a pho base, the addition of spices and herbs such as lemongrass, chilli, star anise, cinnamon etc. It is delicious and one of my favourite cooked with ox tail and beef bones.

Chicken rice Dong nguyen

Ma po tofu

Lotus soup

Dong Nguyen Restaurant is known for their Chicken. They are a cheap eat which locals and foreigners know about. Situated in Cho Lon (10 - 15 minute taxi ride out of the city), this is the area where most Chinese born in Vietnam live. You may refer to this area as 'Chinatown' hehe. The dishes are very simple, rice with fried, grilled or poached chicken. They also have a selection of healthy soups made from pork stock and chinese herbs. This lotus soup is just amazing and refreshing. They also sell BBQ pork or ma po tofu, a pork mince with chilli and silken tofu to name a couple.

Banh Khoc - Vietnamese mini pancake

This place is a little treasure in the hidden streets of Cho Lon. We would not know this place unless we had family friends. The locals know it, and it is known for their Banh khoc, the vietnamese mini pancakes. Crispy on the base and soft above, this delicious dish is made of rice flour mixed with coconut flavours and prawns. They are garnished with dried shrimp powder, spring onion oil and eaten with nuoc mam. You can eat it on it's own, or wrap in lettuce leaves with shiso leaves, mint and vietnamese mint.

Fish vermicelli noodle soup

This was just delicious. The soup was sweet and tangy made from fresh tamarind, tomato and the fish which I'm not familiar with the English term, but in vietnamese it's called Ca Loc. This soup came with a side dish fill with fish sauce and chilli. Dipping the fish into the sauce creates this delicious sweet flavour from the fish, salty from the fish sauce and the chilli flavour to make you salivate.

Deep fried squid

Somehow, deep fried squid is always on my mind no matter what. It is lightly battered then sprinkled with salt and pepper (maybe a little msg) hehehe

Banh cuon is Vietnamese Steamed rice noodle. It is served on it's own with meat loaf or you can choose a filled one. For breakfast one morning, my parents and I took a mini stroll a few stores down from the hotel we stayed at and had this banh cuon filled with pork mince and black fungus. Garnished with crispy shallots and the nuoc mam sauce.

I LOVE VIETNAM for it's massive selection of sweets!!! They sell desserts or anything sweet for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!! Grilled bananas, glutinous rice wrapped bananas, sweet glutinous rice, steamed cakes..too many to name. I ate so much, but forgot to take photos until I finished so it was too late. haha But at least I remembered on this occasion. We bought grilled bananas from this couple who sat at a particular spot behind Ben Thanh. Something so simple eaten with coconut milk and crushed peanuts with a slight sprinkle of salt can be so satisfying!

Dried swallows nest

Swallows nest and lotus seed sweet soup

Apparently, swallows nest is made of their spit and is hard to get. Asians believe there are healthy values to eating this. It's like strands of jelly that doesn't taste like much. It was AU$15 for a very small bowl. Good to experience once but WOW..I don't think it was worth it at all.

Macarons

I found a French patisserie who sold macarons. They were worth AU$1.50 each. I just had to try it, but unfortunately they didn't allow us to take photos. Boo.. ah wells...

So what do you think?? The food was yummy recapping what I ate. And finally, I have finally posted this post after 3 months. Slowly but surely, the next 2 parts are to come. Enjoy!!

Xx