Mark Wiens is a famous food blogger from the US. He currently owns a Facebook page with 6 million followers and a personal Youtube channel with more than 10 million followers.
With a passion for travel and culinary exploration, Mark Wiens has set foot in dozens of countries across continents, experiencing unique and attractive dishes in many localities and regions. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Thailand are the two countries Mark has visited the most. He is especially impressed with the rich cuisine in Vietnam because there are many delicious dishes at affordable prices.
On his most recent trip to Vietnam, Mark visited Hanoi. He admitted that he really enjoyed the street food experience and did not forget to enjoy a variety of popular snacks here. And one of the dishes that this Western tourist commented that he “must definitely enjoy when traveling to Hanoi” is xoi xeo – a delicious and cheap breakfast snack of the capital’s people.
To enjoy delicious Hanoi-style sticky rice, Mark woke up early and went to the famous sticky rice stall at the intersection of Hang Bai and Ly Thuong Kiet. He was excited about the Vietnamese breakfast habits and was surprised that at only 6:30 a.m., many eateries were already packed with customers.
The xoi xeo restaurant that Mark visited is a familiar culinary address for Hanoians, impressing with the harmonious flavor of sticky rice, fatty sauce, smooth green beans and fried onions. In addition to the traditional xoi xeo with its characteristic yellow color, the restaurant also serves corn sticky rice with similar ingredients and ways of enjoying.
In particular, the shop once caused a "fever" on Korean television and became famous on social networks thanks to the seller's "lightning-fast" sticky rice wrapping.
When a customer comes to buy take-away, the owner quickly scoops the sticky rice onto a layer of banana leaves that have been spread out, then quickly slices the smooth, pressed mung beans into large pieces. Then, he continues to drizzle on the fatty sauce and adds fried onions, pork floss, etc., and then wraps it up neatly.
For customers eating at the restaurant, the owner also prepares the sticky rice and serves it directly in a bowl instead of wrapping it in banana leaves and newspaper.
In just about 10-15 seconds, this person has finished 4-5 portions of sticky rice for many diners. That's why even though the restaurant is always crowded, no one has to wait long for their turn to enjoy it.
Witnessing the owner’s professional “lightning-fast” performance of making sticky rice with xeo, Mark could not help but be amazed and continuously exclaimed with delight. Here, the Western guest also ordered two full servings of sticky rice, one with corn sticky rice and one with xeo sticky rice to fully experience the flavor of the famous breakfast dish in the capital.
Each serving includes sticky rice, thinly sliced mung beans, rich lard, fragrant fried onions, shredded pork floss and cinnamon sausage.
With the beautiful yellow sticky rice, Mark commented: “I can’t believe how delicious the sticky rice is. The ingredients combine in a very harmonious flavor. The sticky rice is still hot and soft, the mung beans are rich, the fried onions are crispy and fragrant, and the pork floss melts in your mouth,” the American YouTuber with millions of views described.
While enjoying the corn sticky rice, he also kept praising its deliciousness and felt impressed when the traditional ingredients were skillfully processed into an attractive breakfast dish. The Western guest also revealed that he really liked the smooth green bean because it was rich and creamy, melting in the mouth when eaten and went extremely well with the sticky rice.
“Excellent, the sticky rice has a nice consistency. Adding corn makes it even more nutritious and enough to keep you full all morning,” Mark said.
At the end of the meal, Mark paid for two servings of sticky rice at 15,000 VND each. He admitted that the price was very cheap, suitable for everyone.
In addition to xoi xeo, during his trip and culinary experience in Hanoi, the American guest also took the opportunity to enjoy many other delicious dishes in the capital such as bun rieu, bun cha, bun oc, rib cartilage porridge, etc.
Phan Dau
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