A Traveler’s Food Diary - Street Food from Vietnam

Guest Post by : Ashis Nayak

Ashis Nayak, a much travelled food enthusiast from Hyderabad, has a penchant for exploring new cuisines. Back from his recent visit to Vietnam, Ashis provides an insight about the Vietnamese cuisine.

Vietnamese cuisine is known all over the world for its use of extremely fresh ingredients and all flavors packed in a single bowl. I had the first person insight into the Vietnamese culture and cuisine while backpacking through the streets of Vietnam specially Hanoi, the street food capital of Vietnam.

Street Food Corners in Hanoi

The country of Vietnam is divided into three regions, the north, central and south and the cuisine differs accordingly. The ingredients too differ, but if you are a traveler, then there is nothing like a walk through the streets of Hanoi to get an overall exposure. A day in the cultural capital of Hanoi is a day in any other city until the sun sets. Then the food extravaganza is visible to one and all. The locals are crazy about their beer and their coffee.

Bia Hoi stall

Bia hơi, can easily be termed the national drink if it wasn’t for the coffee-mad country. Freshly brewed daily, this draught beer can be found in every street corner with locals guzzling them down as they go about their day. Having a shelf life of only a day with absolutely no addition of preservatives, it is light and an extremely refreshing lager. It might actually take the tag for the cheapest beer in the world with each glass only amounting to about Rs. 10 in Indian Currency.

Bia Hoi

Competing with the beer as the most popular drink is the coffee which can be found on every nook and corner. Now comes the question as to what is special about that. Being the second largest producer, the Vietnamese folk don’t just stop with plucking the coffee right off the beans. The go a step ahead and then you get Weasel, Civet Cat, Squirrel etc coffee which is basically fed to those particular animals and what comes out is much more strong and potent.

Pho

Fish Pho

But the best thing about Vietnamese Cuisine is the Phở. The dish is mostly loved by all Vietnamese and they have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is extremely light, fresh and is basically a rice noodle soup with a bit tangy broth.

Pho Ga or Chicken Pho

There is the fish sauce, shrimp paste, banana flowers and fresh herbs to accompany it. Phở can be of different types depending on the meat used. So there is the PhởGa (Chicken), PhởBo (Beef) and PhởCa (Fish).

Nem Cuon or spring rolls

More Spring Rolls

Another of Vietnam’s great food discovery to the world has to be the Spring Rolls (Nem Cuốn). Mashed and diced with any variant of veg of non-veg fillings, it is deep fried in Rice Paper. It is easy, fast and superbly tasty.

Sticky Rice with Fish Sauce and Fried Chicken

Like most Asian countries, Vietnam’s staple diet includes rice and they mainly lean towards sticky rice.
Hanoi is also the food capital of the country and when the sun sets, everyone crouches where they are to sample many local street foods and enjoy a glass of Bia Hoi. There is hardly very few restaurants and the street is where all the food is. Crouched in small stools or on the road, you can keep jumping from eatery to eatery to have all you can eat buffet at extremely cheap prices. And to top it all off, a karaoke machine will pass you by with some singing on the mike.

Bun Bo Nambo

Other famous Vietnamese Dishes include the Bánhxèo, a sizzling pancake stuffed crepe and the Bánhmì, a baguette stuffed with fresh ingredients more like a Vietnamese sub. Bun Bo Nambo is almost Pho without the gravy so that not allowing the food to not go soggy. Dessert category is one place where they’re lacking coz most of them are drinks.

Vietnamese Coffee

For a coffee nation, their desserts are also going to be coffee based. The most famous one in the streets of Hanoi is the Cà Phê Trung.  This is a Vietnamese Egg Coffee with creamy egg foam perched on top of dense Vietnamese Coffee. Chè is a lovely dessert with beans, water chestnuts and other fruit jellies in coconut milk and ice. So in the scorching heat of Vietnam, it is definitely a must try dessert after any meal.

Ca Fe Trung or Egg Coffee

Vietnam isn’t the place you’d expect restaurants until you reach the capital city of Saigon, but the rest is mostly street food and anywhere you walk, be ready to have an experience like no other. Fish sauce is the main ingredient in all the dishes, so if you are not deterred by it, you will surely have some of the most amazing food experiences to remember.

Che, a dessert with beans and chestnut

Pics Courtesy:  Neidhi Kumar

Also see :  A Traveler's Food Diary
                 Srinagar, Kashmir
                 Agonda Beach,  Goa

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The California Boulevard : A Taste of Hollywood

A two floored restaurant, next to the Rajouri Garden metro station, The California Boulevard welcomes you with open arms in a grand style with red carpets and the Walk of Fame. Set after the iconic American landmark of Hollywood, they have a Harley Davidson put on display at the entrance, which has become a great photo spot for all the restaurant goers. Invited to taste their wonderful menu, Chef Karen prepared select dishes from the 11 different cuisines that they serve.

The California Boulevard Interiors
Photo Courtesy - The California Boulevard

We started off with their speciality, the Dilli ki Chaat, which is better known as the Palak Patte ki Chaat. The spinach leaves were fried in besan and then topped with whipped yoghurt, mint chutney, sev and tamarind chutney to give a wonderful taste to the dish. Unlike most places where the dish often becomes soggy, they had managed to put the optimum amount of yoghurt such that the crispiness of the spinach leaves were retained while still giving the chatpata sweetish taste.

Dilli ki Chaat at The California Boulevard

Kaffir Lime Tikka

Served with mint chutney, onion and garlic jam, the Kakori kebab and the Kaffir Lime Tikka were the next to come. The orangish hued soft lamb kebabs were extremely well marinated and just melted in the mouth. The Kaffir Lime Tikka went particularly well with the mint chutney and was basically cheese marinated chicken kebabs with a hint of kaffir lime essence.

Kakori Kebabs

The Buffalo Chicken Wings had a rich cayenne pepper and BBQ sauce marination which made it sweet but with a spicy aftertaste. Among the other starters, Steamed Fish and Ganderi kebab were pretty interesting preparations. Though the steamed fish was simple, the butter garlic flavour was inch perfect and really brought out the sweet creamy taste.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Steamed Fish

Served in shot glasses, the Ganderi kebabs were basically chicken wrapped in sugarcane sticks. While the outside was crispy, the insides provided a sweeter taste which might not be liked by few.

Ganderi Kebab

Moving on to the main course - Chef Karen selected some of the best items from the different cuisines of the menu, each one of them delicately prepared - Gosht Nihari, Chicken Peri Peri Pizza, Honey Chilli Red Snapper and to end it all the Pork Chops.

Pork Chops

Served with the Cheese and Olive Kulcha, the Gosht Nihari was a bit of a let down. Though the meat was soft, succulent and cooked to perfection, it wasn't cooked in its own juice, something which I look forward to every time I try the Nihari. However, if this dish was to be served as a curry instead of nihari, it would be a definite hit owing to the wonderful combo that it forms with the kulcha.

The Chicken Peri Peri Pizza was the best of the lot. The smokey flavour, characteristic of every wood-fired pizza, along with cheese and the peri peri sauce made a heavenly combination, worthy to die for.

Chicken Peri Peri Pizza

For desserts, we were served the Kulfi Gazzak Ferrous, which is one of the specialities here. The dessert combines the goodness of gajjak with kesar kulfi and then tops it with molten chocolate. The taste is undoubtedly one of the best, but what was more impressive was the presentation - the waiter brings a blowtorch and slowly melts the frozen chocolate atop the kulfi to give it a wonderful mixed flavour.

Kulfi Gazzak Ferrous

The restaurant also has a Chef's Corner, a table for 8 where a personal chef and butler gives a tour of their world cuisine menu for a fee. The biggest plus point about dining at The California Boulevard is that the quality of the food is at the top and irrespective of the cuisine from which the dish is chosen, they managed to make a good job.

Meal for two persons – Rs 2000/-

Address : J -2/5, 1st and 2nd Floor,
B.K. Dutt Market,Rajouri Garden,
New Delhi

Telephone : 011 33036451

Also read: The California Boulevard, Gurgaon - The world on a platter

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Oh Calcutta: All about Maach, Mishti & more.....

For people who may not be familiar with the name, Oh Calcutta is possibly the most well known Bengali restaurant chain in India, with its presence in almost all major Indian cities. In Hyderabad, Oh Calcutta operates from very close to my residence in Begumpet.  As a result it has become a regular haunt for me whenever I feel like trying special Bengali recipes.

Oh Calcutta Begumpet

The building houses three restaurants from the Specialty Restaurants group – Mainland China, Sigree and Oh Calcutta. The Bengali restaurant is in the ground floor of the building.

On entering the restaurant, you can’t but help looking at the décor. On one side, many landmarks of Kolkata adorn the walls. On the other side, you see framed pictures of famous film actors of Bengal.  A book shelf has some contemporary Bengali books which one might flip through while waiting for the food.

Musur Daler Bori Bhaja with Tomato dip and Dahi Cucumber

As you wait for the starters, you are served a bowl of complimentary Musur Daler Bori Bhaja with tomato dip and dahi cucumber dip, just to munch away till the food arrives. The bori bhaja is crunchy and both the dips are well made, especially the tomato one which had coriander leaves and green chili flakes in it.

Among the starters, Mochar Chop is very popular among the vegetarians. Mocha or banana flower is one of the most loved vegetarian fares in Bengali cuisine used to make not just chops but other delicacies like Mochar ghonto, a vegetarian dish or Mocha Chingri, combined with prawns. The chop is possibly the simplest of them all to be savoured with kasundi.

Murshidabadi Chicken Fry and Fish Fry

Bhapa, a steamed dish is another specialty from Bengali. While Alu Bhapa is the vegetarian version, Kakra Chingri Bhapa served was essentially crab meat and prawn in a mustard and green chili marinade, steamed inside a banana leaf. As soon as you open the banana leaf, you are overwhelmed by the aroma. An extremely well made and delicious dish, Oh Calcutta serves it with a tamarind based dip, though I personally don’t take much fancy to it.

Gondhoraj Bhetki

Two other starters - Murshidabadi Chicken Fry (boneless pan fried chicken cutlets marinated in a special masala) and Gondhoraj Bhetki( bhetki fish prepared with the special flavor of Gondhoraj lebu - a type of flavored lime which is a delicacy in Bengal) are typical favorites. Another one which they serve is the Bhetki Paturi- Bhetki Fish in mustard sauce, wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed.

Bhetki Paturi

For vegetarians, Hing (asfoetida) Diye Alu Dom or Dhoka (a typical Bengali gravy dish with lentil cakes) is highly recommended. For non-vegetarians, it has to be Kosha Mangsho (Sautéed Mutton - Bengali style). You can also try the Chittagong Masala Murgi. The Chittagong district in Bangladesh serves one of the spiciest variants of Bengali cuisine, and this chicken masala cooked in red chili paste, garlic and ginger is simply perfect for the Luchis (typical Bengali maida based poories).

Luchi with Kosha Mangsho (above) and Chittagong Chicken (below)

Daab Chingri

As with many Bengali restaurants, Oh Calcutta many dishes to be enjoyed with rice. The first among this is Daab Chingri – prawns cooked with the soft malai and the nariyal pani of a raw coconut. The dish is presented in a green coconut with the prawn curry seen from the top- a feast to the eyes.

Railway Mutton Curry

Kachalonka Chicken (chicken cooked with green chillies and coriander leaves), Railway Mutton Curry (a recipe of the pre-independence canteens of erstwhile Bengal-Nagpur railway), and Chingri Macher Malaicurry (Prawns in coconut milk) are some of the other dishes to be tried with rice. There is also Doi Mach, the traditional curd based rohu fish preparation of Bengal.

Nolen Gurer Ice Cream

For desserts I love the Nolen Gurer Ice cream here, which is an ice cream made of date jaggery and milk. A bit of jhola gur (liquid date jaggery) is put on top of the ice cream. Other desserts like Malpua, Bhapa Sandesh and a mishti doi are also very popular here.

Currently Oh Calcutta has introduced a special weekday lunch for Rs 450 (all inclusive). The lunch has two veg/non-veg starters (Murshidabadi Chicken Fry and Fish Fry when I visited), Luchi- Aloor Dum, Dal, Aloo Bhaja, Aloo Posto, Murgir Jhol, Bhetki Paturi, Chutney and Bhapa Sandesh. An extremely value for money platter this offer is for a limited time.

Also a seasonal Ilish (Hilsa) festival is currently on here.

Address: 6-3-1186/1/1, Ground Floor, Begumpet, Hyderabad. It is very close to ITC Kakatiya Hotel and opposite the Chief Minister’s residence.

Telephone: 040-30431249

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Breakfast at Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk is one of the oldest and busiest areas of Delhi. Though it was traditionally built as a traders market, with merchants selling their wares during the ancient Mughal period, over centuries it has also turned into a foodie's paradise. Housing many famous eateries like Natraj’s Dahi Bhalle, Chaina Ram and Paranthewali Gali - a street lined with parantha shops, it is mighty close to the kebab joints near Jama Masjid and thus formed an ideal location for a food walk.

Puris being fried at Chandni Chowk

Lotan ke Chhole Kulche - Navigating your way to Lotan is not an easy task. Thankfully, we were graced by the presence of Sanju Aneja who took charge and after some turns from the Barshabullah Chowk - left, right and zigzag, we made our way to the most famous Chhole Kulchewala, who took little notice of the crowd around him and was busy preparing his chhole kulche.

Lotan ke Chhole Kulche

Sitting with an arsenal of masalas around him, Lotan's Chhole comes in three different varieties - mild, medium and hot, ordered according to the degree of spiciness. Though the medium one is spicy enough, the hot one is a must try for all those who can tolerate heavy dosage of red chilli. Topped with coriander, white raddish and grated ginger, the dish is exquisitely prepared and one dollop of butter makes it even better, highly recommended for the not so calorie conscious.

Chhole Kulche at Lotan

Bharath ke Kachori - Located at a short walk from Lotan, at the Barsabulla Chowk is Bharath's shop. Bharath's shop makes hot kachoris and serves them directly from the kadhai. These kachoris are piping hot and are filled with a mixture of ground urad dal, black pepper, chilli powder and salt to taste.

Bharath frying hot Kachoris and Puris

Shyam Sweets was packed when we reached there. Even on Sunday mornings, the place was flocked with people, hungry for their everyday fare - delicious Rasamalais, Bedmi Puri and Nagodi Halwa. The Bedmi Puri was crisp and golden brown and was served with two different types of alu bhajis and pickled carrots. The alu subzis were dynamically different in taste, one was a bit sweet while the other was spicy. They complemented each other quite well. The pickled carrots too chimed in beautifully providing the occasional tangy taste to the meal.

Bedmi Puri with Alu ki Subzi and Pickled Carrots

The other thing we tried here was the Nagodi Halwa. Served with ghee puris and the same spicy alu ki subzi, the halwa was a brand new thing for me, but the way you eat it is even more fascinating. After you manage to drill a hole inside the puri, you fill it with the sweet halwa and top it with some spicy aloo before taking a bite which causes a riot of flavor in the mouth. You can, on occasion, also add a bit of the pickled carrot creating a sweet-spicy-tangy combination.

Nagodi Halwa

One of the oldest shops in Chandni Chowk, the Old Famous Jalebi Wala was established in 1884 by Nemchand Jain and has since then been treating us to wonderful crunchy jalebis. Their jalebis are thick and juicy and as I sunk my teeth in this crispy outside and gooey inside dessert, the taste overwhelmed me. The syrup is very sticky as it should be and is optimally sweet giving a sense of fulfillment after one has enjoyed ravishing the jalebi. It is truly 'Finger Licking Good'.

Old Famous Jalebi Wala

Though we visited a few of these shops, Chandni Chowk is but a huge foodie maze with small shops selling food in every corner. It is essentially the street food capital of India.

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Street Food at Kukatpally, Hyderabad

Guest Post by : Vishnu Kompella

Vishnu is well known in the local foodie circles in Hyderabad as a person who has vast knowledge of street food in Hyderabad. He is one of the top reviewers of Zomato for Hyderabad, and a regular participant in the various food meets organized by the foodie clubs here.

KPHB or Kukatpally Housing Board Colony, a suburb, is one of the fast growing locations in Hyderabad and has the highest number of apartments in Asia. The place is generally inhabited by the population from Seemandhra region and you will find various types of food, some of which are generally unavailable in other parts of Telangana and Hyderabad. Though KPHB has several food outlets starting from bandis to 3 star and 4 star restaurants, the people here have a lot of interest in the street food. This has resulted in mushrooming of many street bandis and introduction of several new items for the street food lovers of this area. Here is a glimpse of some of the few notable food joints which attracts huge followers throughout the week. Whenever you are passing by these places, stop and just enjoy the real taste of street food.

The Chicken BBQ at Shekar's

1) Shekar’s BBQ

After the closure of Mama Chicken at Madhapur, my quest for the BBQ chicken led me to a place called “Shekar’s BBQ". Located near JNTU RyuthuBazar, this kiosk has so many varieties including chicken legs, wings, tadka, chest, boneless seekh. They serve these with the mint chutney, which is extremely tasty. Since the area is inhabited by a lot of youth and bachelors, this place is doing brisk business. The spice levels in the food items are moderate and can be customized as per the customer’s requirements. One of their operators told me that they also supply on order, and they do provide live counters for bigger parties. I find that the mobile BBQ concept is becoming very popular in this area and has huge business potential for the near future.

Location: Near Visakhapatnam Cooperative Bank, Road Number 2, KPHB Phase I, KPHB Colony, Kukatpally.

The Chicken served with onions and mint chutney

2) Sri Balaji Roti Shop

Sri Balaji Roti Shop is one of the oldest roti selling places around the KPHB area, and they are located near Ramya ground. They specialize in rotis, especially plain roti, phulka, jonna roti (jawar) but their signature dish is the famous Gunta Ponganalu. They operate in the evenings from 4 to 10pm. The kiosk is owned by two ladies, they started with only rotis and then  moved on to make Gunta Ponganalu.

Gunta Ponganalu

Gunta Ponganalu being prepared

They make it on a semi-circular mould which is filled with the batter and then cooked evenly. The ponganalu are served along with onion chutney and groundnut chutney. The spice level is very high, so a normal person should always have a water bottle with them! The place provides only a couple of chairs to sit and many make themselves comfortable by having a seat on the ground itself.

Location: Sri Balaji Roti Shop, beside Ramya ground, KPHB Phase 3, Kukatpally. Telephone: 8801856346, 9393310539

3) Annapurna Muntha Masala

Muntha Masala a.k.a. spicy puffed rice snack is a concept which is popular in Seemandhra. Earlier, they used to sell them in palm leaves along with a stiff spoon made from the leaf itself. The snack became popular in KPHB in early 2000s and was available only in limited varieties. Soon, people found it suitable as a snack to go along with drinks too which made the whole concept a big hit and presently there are almost 100 such kiosks in and around KPHB, slowly spreading to other regions of Greater Hyderabad. One of the oldest muntha masala centres is the Annapurna Muntha Masala. He has a special menu which is not available at other kiosks in KPHB.

Muntha Masala

My favorite at Annapurna is the tomato masala, brinjal,egg and mirchi bajji. Made with a variety of puffed rice mixed with proportionate amounts of salt, chili powder, roasted peanuts, coriander, garam masala, lemon and some special masalas it is extremely delicious. They also prepare the wet version of the masala by mixing it with wet chana dal. They make frequent changes and continue to bring in a lot of new varieties in their menu.

Location: Annapurna Muntha Masala, Opposite lane to Olive Mithai, KPHB Phase3, Kukatpally. Hyderabad, Telangana-72. Phone: 9985552601, 9666250375.

4) Chicken Pakoda Galli

The population of KPHB has a lot of non-vegetarians whohave migrated from different parts of Andhra. They prefer the special Andhra snack - Chicken Pakoda, which is different from the regular chicken pakodas at other locations. Made with dough which is very crispy outside, the meat inside is soft and juicy at the same time. The chicken pakoda bandis are present on the E-Seva road, which is beside the Cinepolis Complex. You can see several of them serving chicken pakoda, chicken legs, chicken wings and some other boneless stuff. They operate in the evening time, mostly around 5 to 10 PM.

Location: E-Seva Road, Lane beside Cinepolis Complex. KPHB Phase 3,  Kukatpally, Hyderabad-72.

5) Uggani and Karam Dosa

Uggani Bajji

Uggani bajji (BorugulaUpma) is a snack or a breakfast which is widely available on the borders of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They are made by tossing the puffed rice in a pan with curry leaves, onion, tomato, green chili, chili powder, coriander leaves,mustard, oil and some haldi. Fried gram dal powder (called Putnalu Podi) is served alongside with bajji.

Ragi Sangati

The bajji is super spicy maintaining a balance of gun powder and uggani. This snack is available for the breakfast at a tiffin centre which is adjacent to the Ramya ground, in which they do serve the regular tiffins along with Ragi Sankati, along with chicken curry and brain curry.

Karam Dosa

Another of their special items is the Rayalaseema Spl Karam Dosa. It is made the same way as the regular plain dosa, along with the karam which is made from the raw chili powder from Guntur. It is then mixed with onion paste making the dosa super spicy. They operate in the morning time from 7 to 11 am.

Location: Lane beside Ramya grounds, KPHB phase 3, Kukatpally, Hyd, Telangana-72.

Also see: Street Food Around Charminar
                Street Food of Hyderabad Part 1 and Part 2

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