Taipei - Moon Moon Food

There was a branch of Moon Moon Food, a local chain known for traditional Taiwanese fare, just down the street from us, so we stopped in for dinner.

It had a modern, but comfortable feel and was busy, but efficient.

We tried their signature sesame-chili noodles, despite the fact that we aren't big fans of too much sesame. And it was just too much sesame paste for me - which was a shame, since the texture of the noodles was good.

The chicken and clam soup fared better for us. A nice, clean broth with tasty clams and bone-in chicken that was a bit bland but perked up with a little soy.

And, of course, we couldn't resist some lu rou fan. This version was less seasoned than others we've had, which made it taste a bit lighter - something that worked in the context of this meal.

Hanoi - Phở Sướng

So, we clearly were going to revisit "magic food alley" (Ngõ Trung Yên). This time, we had our sights set on phở.

We'd seen Phở Sướng on previous visits, but hadn't eaten here. We had a great breakfast - one bowl of tái chín (rare beef and cooked beef), and one of tái gầu (rare beef with fatty brisket).

Both bowls were great, and the place was busy, but efficient. Perfect way to start the day.

Hanoi - Revisits to Bún Bò Nam Bộ Bách Phương and Bún Chả Nem 41 Cửa Đông

This was our third time visting Hanoi, and we revisted a few places we've been to a number of times. Bún Bò Nam Bộ Bách Phương (pictured above) is still just as delicious as always. They have modernized the place, though, which diminished the "vibe" of eating there.

Bún Chả Nem 41 Cửa Đông was also a bit altered - taking up more space in front with tables and moving their cooking operation out of the way. Still a great bowl of bún chả, though, and very busy.

An Bàng - Early Morning Market

An Bàng Beach is a pretty touristy area, and as such there aren't a lot of food options around that we find very interesting. One exception is the market which operates during early mornings (show up much after 10 and its all over).

We had breakfast at the market both mornings we were there. The first morning, we sat down at a little table and had some bún mắm - this version with grilled pork (thịt nướng).

It was really tasty. The lady also had a cauldron of broth and was serving up bowls of bún bò. It looked really good, so we came back the next morning to try some.

Unfortuantely, that lady wasn't there, but another lady was working at another nearby table with similar offerings. Very good.

While we were there, a batch of fresh little fish came in and everyone around us immediately stopped what they were doing and huddled around to try to get the best of the catch.

We also found a lady frying up bananas.

Yum!

Da Nang - Bún Mắm Bé Hà

We happened to find a little shop on a residential street selling bún mắm (a new dish for us), so we stopped in for an early lunch.

Bún mắm consists of rice noodles with a funky fermented shrimp sauce and various meats. We got a version with some sliced pork and cold cuts.

The combination of the sauce and some of the cold cuts being fermented tipped the scales a bit too much toward the "funk" for me, but it was a fun dish to try and the people running the place were super nice.

Although we'd come for bún mắm, we noticed that they also had bánh bèo - so we got an order. They were fantastic. So much so that we came back again on our last morning in Da Nang and had an order each.

Da Nang - Hotel Breakfasts

Our hotel in Da Nang did a very nice breakfast - with very servicable versions of local dishes. Above, Mì Quảng.

Bò Kho.

Gỏi Cuốn.

Phở Bò.

"Western Breakfast".

Another take on Mì Quảng.

Bún Bò Huế.

Saigon - Hủ tiếu and Bún Bò Huế at Út Huệ

Another evening in Saigon after dinner "Plan A" had fizzled, we again found ourselves hungry and looking for targets of opportunity.

We came across a nice looking little shop selling Hủ tiếu and Bún Bò Huế.

We got one bowl of each. Hủ tiếu was a new soup for us, and this version was terrific. Great broth, and lots of goodies - shrimp, quail eggs, pork slices, meat on the bone. A very "dặc biệt" bowl.

The Bún Bò Huế was also loaded and delicious. We left happy and satisfied.

Saigon - Bún Thịt Nướng at Thái Bình Market

We love the combo of rice noodles and grilled meats, so I was looking forward to trying a southern Vietnamese take on it.

Thái Bình was the closest market to where we were staying, so we stopped by the food stall area one late morning.

Following the savory-smelling smoke, we found the spot we were looking for. Ladies were busy grilling over several separate stations.

We got bowls with a bit of everything in them - grilled pieces or meat, sausages, and meat-filled rolls.

Mixing it up with some chilies and a generous amount of nước chấm, it was super good. Perfect food in a perfect setting.

George Town - Pasar Lebuh Cecil

One day we trekked in the heat of midday to Pasar Lebuh Cecil - a market and hawker center - to have lunch.

The place was very busy, which is always a good sign.

We got a bowl of Prawn Mee. It wasn't as spicy as it looks, with the only heat coming from a fairly mild sambal, but the stock was packed with prawn shell flavor.

The noodles were a mix of mee and bee hoon.

Popiah was a dish that had been on our list of things to try, so we took the opportunity to have some here.

We'll leave our opinions open as I think popiah varies a lot, but we weren't big fans of this. Overly sweet, and without much texture.

As we were getting up to leave, we heard a motorcycle rev up and this guy zipped by - angling his stall into his slot in the market.

Goerge Town - Belacan Fried Chicken and Hai Koay Teow Soup

Doing my research on George Town, I'd read that Kimberly Street was *the* food street. While that may have once been the case, it now is fairly subdued - with more active street food areas in other parts of the city. Still, there was good food to be found there, and one evening we stopped in to try a few things.

First we got some fried chicken from the "Belacan Fried Chicken" stand. "Belacan" means "shrimp paste" - not sure if that was supposed to indicate a flavoring for the chicken? I didn't taste shrimp, but the seasoning was super good, and the chicken was moist and piping hot out of the fryer.

Right across the street, Hai Koay Teow Soup was doing brisk business.

We snagged one of the last free tables and put an order in. Looking around there were lots of others sitting waiting for food. They meticulously put out bowl after bowl and we were finally rewarded with ours.

Well worth the wait. Full of goodies. Rice noodles, fish balls, fish cakes, pork slices, liver slices, minced pork...

Great bowl of noodles.