Viet-Noms

Let me tell you about the food in Vietnam… It is incredible!

Being the only carnivorous creature of our group is interesting to say the least. I’m out-numbered three to one here, and my initial idea of going veggie myself for the summer here was left in the dust when I discovered Vietnamese cuisine is riddled with meat!

So between seeing everything I can possibly fit in to my time here and doing the thesis in IRRI, I think I have enough on my plate (pun intended) than to be worrying myself about the surprise meat in many of the dishes we have come across.

Lunchtimes are usually vegetarian. Whether it be from the old reliable Loving Hut Vegan place introduced to us by Ha (the other intern in our office), home cooked rice from our very own rice cooker, or a Banh Mi. Apologies for not having a photo of a Banh Mi; I usually inhale it before thinking of snapping a picture!

This week we were even surprised with a peanut butter taste test in the office! A little snack on this Vietnamese peanut butter (Nutter’s Butter) was well needed!

Dinner times are a mixed bag of western and Vietnamese foods depending on the mood. The street food is so good; one of the advantages of being the meat-eater is I can taste the other’s food but cannot share mine *insert villainous laughter*. The opportunity to watch the world go by while sitting on the street is also beautiful!

The adventurous food choices I am making are not all sunshine and daisies however… I need to remember that in Asia spicy really means spicy. So when I crave that I need to stay mild; to avoid anymore tears in an empty restaurant because I get hell-fire in a bowl! 😂 It tasted great but I might’ve done some internal damage!

I love trying any kind of thing in our canteen at IRRI but I did reach my limit at the chicken hearts I got on my plate one day! Spotted the artery and tapped out. 😂

But after all the insane food I’m trying, there is always room for the home comfort of a cuppa and some toast (and sometimes a biscuit from the little stash I brought from Ireland – I am rationing that treat!)