bún chay (with tofu) at Lille Saigon 1

posted in: food, oslo 0

the wonderful bún at Lille Saigon 1 (not to be confused with their competitor Saigon Lille Cafe up the street–a splitting of ways apparently caused by some nasty divorce). but really, what could go wrong when you combine rice vermicelli, pickled carrots & daikon, fresh cucumber, fried onions, bean sprouts, peanuts, tofu fried with lemongrass, and sweet/spicy fish sauce? nothing. … Read More

liang pi (凉皮)

posted in: china, food 0

Liang pi literally means ‘cold skin’ in Chinese, and is a lovely cold snack served in the summer. This dish comes originally from Shaanxi province but you can pretty much find it everywhere in northern China, and in Beijing it is common to find liang pi stands on the street, like so: It’s basically a cold noodle dish, but the … Read More

more from 西安名吃 (Xi An Famous Foods)

posted in: food, new york 0

I was supposed to take my parents somewhere to eat during their layover at JFK yesterday, but they didn’t make it out of the airport due to ticketing problems. Not to waste an opportunity to eat away from Manhattan, G and I headed to Flushing anyway. I wanted to try this new Qingdao restaurant called M&T, but it was closed–and … Read More

bun cha, part 2

posted in: food, hanoi 0

very fine bun cha place on my street. close-up on the meaty goodness: bun cha apparatus: bucket o’ coals, meat in a grill clamp, fan to keep the (amazing amount of) smoke out of your face and into the street (good advertising), little bia hoi stool to do it all from. Doi Can street (just west of Van Bao, next … Read More

nobody doesn’t like bún chả

posted in: food, hanoi 0

it may distress some of you to know that food isn’t good all the time in hanoi (and there are nasty rumours saying that all *good* vietnamese cuisine, and certainly what we know overseas, comes from the South)–however: there is not a single person who doesn’t love bún chả. I admit I first heard of bun cha while bored on … Read More