A Peak at Vietnamese Cuisine

Purple Mangosteens being bought from a man on a motorbike.

The inside of a mangosteen has around six-seven white gooey sections that are extremely sweet.

Bánh xèo is a Vietnamese "crepe" or "pancake".  The crispy shell is mainly made from rice flour, coconut milk, and tumeric and tastes a bit like french toast.

This Bánh xèo is filled with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts.  It is served with a side of herbs, like mint, and lettuce leaves.  To eat it, you rip off a small section, add herbs, wrap it in a lettuce leaf, and dip it in fish sauce. Fish sauce is served with almost every meal.  It's made from pressed and fermented sardines, which doesn't sound to appealing, but trust me it's delicious.  I've been told, in the south it's sweeter and in the north it's more spicy.

Since it is almost the autumn lunar festival, moon cakes are sold at stores that line the streets.  They have savory and sweet kinds.

This is the top of a moon cake.  They all have really intricate designs on the top. 

The moon cake sweet bean filling is surrounded by a thin layer of dough.  There are also two salty egg yolks inside.  To make the yolks firm, they place eggs in heavily salted water for two weeks to a month.  The egg yolks become firm, but still retain their orange color.

A delicious custard apple smoothie.

  

Giant prawns that are served in a hollowed out coconut.