During his trip to explore Hanoi's cuisine, the Western visitor did not hesitate to try dishes that many people were wary of, such as balut, pork sausage, and fried worm rolls.
Mike and Ashley (from the US) started their trip across Southeast Asia more than a year ago. In Vietnam, the couple visited many destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat (Lam Dong), Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hanoi, etc. and experienced the cuisine in each locality.
Mike and Ashley revealed that Hanoi is their favorite city in the world because of its delicious food and affordable prices. The couple spent 2 days here to experience traditional dishes.
With Ashley sick, Mike took a tour of the old town with a local guide and sampled some of the local street food, including one that was “not for the faint of heart.”
“This trip gave me the experience of eating like a local but it is definitely not for the faint-hearted. However, I still recommend you try it once,” Mike wrote on his personal YouTube channel with more than 50,000 followers.
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He said that although there are some dishes in Vietnam that make foreign visitors wary and afraid to try, such as pork sausage, balut and fried worm rolls, he will try them once.
With the crab cakes, Mike and the tour guide stopped by a famous restaurant on Hang Chieu Street, near O Quan Chuong Gate. The restaurant has been open for more than 30 years and is a familiar dining destination for many locals and foreigners.
According to Mike’s observation, the dish has an eye-catching appearance, similar to a donut. However, the ingredient inside this dish makes many foreign tourists “sweat with fear”. That is the roe.
The American guest commented that, compared to his personal taste, he found the restaurant's crab rolls a bit salty but the flavor was delicious with the outside layer of the rolls being quite crispy, while the inside was smooth and fatty.
“I find the fried worm dish quite fresh, and it tastes great when eaten hot and dipped in chili sauce. The dish is made from pork, eggs, dill leaves and worm. Don’t let the fact that the dish is made from worm scare you away and make you miss out on a delicious dish,” he said.
Next, Mike was taken by the tour guide to a local market to enjoy pork sausage. This is a popular dish among Vietnamese people but also makes Westerners wary because it is made from pig blood.
Mike admitted that he was “not very excited about this dish at first”. But when the tour guide described the sausage as being quite similar to sausage, the American decided to try it and was surprised by the unbelievable taste.
“The sausage has a unique texture and flavor. The overall dish is quite delicious, but the chewy texture of the outer shell is what I enjoy. I think this is a dish worth trying when you come to Vietnam,” he commented.
After tasting the pork sausage, Mike continued to experience the balut. This is one of the familiar street foods in Vietnam that many Westerners just look at and sweat, not even daring to enjoy it.
The foreign visitor admitted that it took all his courage to try this street food. He even asked for a few slices of chili to “reduce the focus on the taste of the balut.”
The tour guide suggested he try the yellow egg first, then eat the rest with sliced ginger and Vietnamese coriander.
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According to Mike, the duck eggs have a “very strange but not bad” taste and the spiciness of the chili is very helpful in dispelling the fear of the dish.
However, he believes that pork sausage is a dish that is "more strange than balut".
“I’m sure the blood sausage is the strangest dish today. And the balut isn’t as bad as people think. It’s probably more of a visual scare than a taste or texture one.
The tour guide told me that many foreign tourists who experience this kind of adventurous culinary tour have to give up because of fear. But I did it,” the American tourist expressed.
Photo: Mike & Ashley
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khach-tay-phat-hien-mon-la-hon-ca-trung-vit-lon-o-pho-co-ha-noi-2332978.html
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