OK, truth be told...Ho Chi Minh isn't quite one of those places you can drag back tons of souvenirs and scratch your head over who to give what. Food, would be the wisest choice..unless the quirky tees which run a size smaller yet look deceptively bigger at the roadside!
Coconut candy and green bean cakes.
Green Bean Cakes (VND 20,000) that comes in boxes which reminded me of little match boxes. Unbox it and you get another packet in a mini plastic bag. Unfold to reveal six uniformly cut into cubes.
The story about wanting to try this goes back to the Cu Chi Tunnel tour where one of the group members was munching these and kept going "So yummy." Nope, I was not offered any so...I had to get some!
Melt in your mouth, more so than suggee cookies but these were suicidal sweet.
Special Coconut Candy (VND 25,000) that you can get freshly made at the Candy Farm (if you decide to go on the 1 day Delta Mekong tour...) or off the pack at most places. I got mine at Bin Thay Market at Chinatown. All prices are the same throughout the stores unless you want a later expiry date which would be a couple of thousand dong more expensive. Simply read: The fresher, the more expensive.
These like fudge candies are sweet but superbly chewy. The coconut taste is pleasant.
Nuts are cheap in Ho Chi Minh, not dirt cheap but cheaper than what you would get locally. For a kilo of these medium sized fried lotus seeds, it costs about 35,000 VND at Bin Thay Market and 30,000 VND at Ben Thanh market. Note that quality does vary with prices. I found the more expensive ones crispier and fresher.
Tons of other nuts like almonds and peas up for selection too!
Coconut candy and green bean cakes.
Green Bean Cakes (VND 20,000) that comes in boxes which reminded me of little match boxes. Unbox it and you get another packet in a mini plastic bag. Unfold to reveal six uniformly cut into cubes.
The story about wanting to try this goes back to the Cu Chi Tunnel tour where one of the group members was munching these and kept going "So yummy." Nope, I was not offered any so...I had to get some!
Melt in your mouth, more so than suggee cookies but these were suicidal sweet.
Special Coconut Candy (VND 25,000) that you can get freshly made at the Candy Farm (if you decide to go on the 1 day Delta Mekong tour...) or off the pack at most places. I got mine at Bin Thay Market at Chinatown. All prices are the same throughout the stores unless you want a later expiry date which would be a couple of thousand dong more expensive. Simply read: The fresher, the more expensive.
These like fudge candies are sweet but superbly chewy. The coconut taste is pleasant.
Nuts are cheap in Ho Chi Minh, not dirt cheap but cheaper than what you would get locally. For a kilo of these medium sized fried lotus seeds, it costs about 35,000 VND at Bin Thay Market and 30,000 VND at Ben Thanh market. Note that quality does vary with prices. I found the more expensive ones crispier and fresher.
Tons of other nuts like almonds and peas up for selection too!
omg omg coconut candy! I would seriously kill for coconut candy. Jealous! I love those gula melaka coconut candy from M'sia!
ReplyDeletespeaking of which..they are really super yummy! *oops* oh yes, gula melaka coconut candy fr m'sia..haven't had them in awhile!
ReplyDeleteThe coconut candy is originally from Bến Tre (in Mekong Delta).
ReplyDeleteBến Tre is famous for coconut. There's some other products from coconut which can be found there :)
@ thu: Hi there!! :) Great to see you commenting...am working on the hanoi posts...heex.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm waiting for them all ;)
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