JULY 2019 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 55Vietnam
VIETNAM FOR THE VORACIOUS
By Kareena Gianani
T
V chef Anthony Bourdain
travelled around the world to
make taste-memories, armed
with an open eye and an
empty stomach. But it was Vietnam that
proved “life-changing” for him. He spoke
of its street food as if in rapture. “It just
seemed like another planet; a delicious
one that sort of sucked me in and never
let go,” he famously said.
To trace Bourdain’s footsteps in
Vietnam, hop between Ho Chi Minh
City, Hue, and Hanoi. In Ho Chi Minh,
visit Cơm Niêu Sài Gòn for com dap
(clay pot rice). Watch as a waiter breaks
a clay pot and sends it flying to another
standing far away. The guy will catch it,
and as soon as your heart rests, dig into
rice topped with fish sauce, scallion and
sesame. Crispy outside, soft inside, and
totally worth the drama. Bourdain also
loved their lobster grilled with paprika
sauce, crabs fried in sweet basil, and
zucchini blossoms stuffed with ground
pork dipped in batter and deep fried.
No Bourdain fan will miss the
pilgrimage to Bún Chả Hương Liên,
where the chef and Barack Obama ate
barbecued pork swimming in fragrant
broth, served with noodles and greens.
When in Hue, to try what to Bourdain
was “in the hierarchy of delicious, slurpy
stuff in a bowl... at the very top.” Bún bò
Hu, the pork and beef bone soup was
made maddeningly delicious by shrimp
paste, noodles, chilli and—congealed
pork blood cubes. Go nowhere but to
Dong Ba Market for this badass bowl.Anthony Bourdain sampled
Vietnam's piquant flavours
with all his heart, be it pho
(top) in Hanoi or clay pot
rice in Saigon.Why Anthony Bourdain gulped it all down on the go
Ho Chi Minh
CityHueHanoiKATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK
(ANTHONY BOURDAIN),
DIMACHECHIN/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
(FOOD),
BRAUN, STEFAN/STOCKFOOD/DINODIA PHOTO LIBRARY(WOMAN)FOOD