Vietnam Foodie Fun Part 2
After a week in this sleepy Viet beach town and trying with all my might to find this country’s traditional foods something to write home (or Substack) about, I gave up and went back to eating Western grub. Aside from one more cultural coffee concoction, I stuck strictly to crossover fare that made my tum-tum very happy.
So if you read this week’s post over at bangkokseven.com you’dve heard tell of such glorious eateries as Tippy’s, La Villa, Mio, and the Sailing Club. Here’s the food-related breakdown from those joints…
Tippy’s
This little Mexican place was absolutely fabulous. I got two fish tacos and one taco each of asada and carnitas. All four were as close to perfect as I’ve ever experienced. The fish tacos were reminiscent of the ones you can get on any street corner in Ensenada. How these folks were able to replicate the taste of Baja California is beyond me. The steak was like a mouthful of heaven. The pork tapped into the carnal, North American-rooted lifetime of Latin goodness that shaped my entire self-concept. It tasted like it'd been marinating for days. There was power in it, like something an Aztec woman would've fed to her man before he went off to die in battle. The margarita, like venom, seeped into my veins and warmed the undulating edges of my soul. I could've been in LA, or Rosarito, or a dusty Texas border town. The margarita was top-notch.
La Villa
Fresh Iberico ham plus four cheeses, a glass of white, a glass of red, and a reserva porto, along with hot, freshly-baked bread. It took an hour to consume it all, and every second was pure pleasure.
The ham, carved fresh off the leg, was out of this world. But the real treat was combining the ham, gorgonzola, and a dram of honey on a hot fresh piece of bread, and washing it down with the albarino. It took me back to a sunny beachside cafe on Palma. It's also reminded me of the scene in Apocalypse Now! when the soldiers came across a colonial family out in the middle of the jungle and were given a proper French meal. The scene was both fitting and incongruous at the same time. The post-colonial influences on Vietnamese culture is undeniable, and while a man can get cheese and wine in Bangkok, its somehow more significant here. Maybe it's due to the subtle reminders everywhere that this is, in fact, a communist country. The West lost the war. What rose from the ashes is a populace that loves life, loves food, loves playing host, and embraces all the best things about capitalism. Like every communist country in Asia except north Korea, Vietnam is commie-lite.
Mio
Following Tippy’s lead of providing exactly perfect foreign food in the heart of Vietnam, this very busy, very popular Italian restaurant served up some phenomenal bruschetta and a downright awesome pizza.
The bruchetta was a three-slice appetizer. One had Parma ham wrapped around an apple slice on brie with honey and rocket. It was like sucking the tit of a Roman goddess. Another had ham, and creamy mushroom sauce (at once tangy and delightful). The third was a traditional tomato and olive oil spread, and all were top-notch.
The pie had bacon, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, and corn kernels, which I picked off one by one. Still, it was just what the doctor ordered.
The Sailing Club
I got a burger (bacon, mushrooms, gouda, sambal soto, red onion relish, garlic aoli) and a cocktail called A Sparrow’s Night Out (Beefeater, Absolut, tequila, lime, passion fruit) followed by a Midori Summer (rum, Midori, Cointreau, passion fruit, lime). Everything was—again—awesome. I tell you what, Nha Trang can turn out the West Hemisphere food like nobody’s business. The cocktails were totally unique to this location, though, and exquisitely satisfying.
Clearly, the highlight of my little trip was the food. I can’t say I bit into anything—not one time—that wasn’t a 10 out of 10. Hat’s-off to the people of Nha Trang for making their own food—and the food of faraway lands—so goddam delicious.
For redlight-related fodder, check out bangkokseven.com