Saigon street food...by motorbike

It was an early evening start for our motorcycle tour. Our lovely ladies (all the XO motorcycle drivers are ladies - Lin driving Jayne and Han driving me...I guess Han had the bigger engine!) picked us outside our city centre hotel at 5.30pm and whisked us off through the narrow and busy side roads to a local restaurant in District 1 (downtown Saigon).

Here we met up with the rest of our tour party, and apart from the UK, there were representatives from Australia, Israel, Canada, Germany, and Equador. Eight tourists in total, and of couse, eight local motorbike riders. Plus two tour guides and three 'men in black' - minders/bodyguards (?).

Some images in this post courtesy of XO Tours

This was also to be the location of our first course; Beef and pork soup with round (like spaghetti) noodles - Bun Bo Hue.

We then hit the streets for a long ride out to District 5, which is home to what we are told is the biggest China town outside of a China itself. We observed the hustle and bustle of the streets, and went through the huge 'wet market' area, where fresh fish, meat and vegetables are sold from street stalls. Then on to, District 6 for our second food stop. This place seems to specialise in tabletop barbecue, and we had:

BBQ Quail

BBQ goat breast with garlic dipping sauce

BBQ Beef with salt chilli and lime dipping sauce

BBQ Prawns peeled for us by our hostesses (drivers)

BBQ Okra

Jumping Chicken! (actually Kermit the frog, both skin off and on)

...and plenty of beer.

It was also here where Jayne, who cannot use chopsticks to save her life (I am loads better than she is), somehow bested me in the competition to drop peanuts into a bottle (she must have cheated). Hence her modest celebrations like the humble winner that she is...

Then mount up for another speedy motorbike ride across town through the insanely crazy traffic to District 7. This is also known a Little Singapore because it has been redeveloped and gentrified, and is home to the new up and coming middle classes. To be honest it is somewhat sterile and a little dull, but I guess it is a decent place to live.

It was now getting later in the evening, and the streets a little quieter, and we were in the quiet part of town, so Han allowed me to do a little filming from the back of the bike (because it meant I was not holding on at all).

Our final gastronomic destination was a local's restaurant in rowdy District 4 (bars, restaurants and karaoke joints used by the Vitetnamese...and a return to the mad traffic) where seafood was to head the agenda, along with a special surprise dish.

We started with Crab claws, again peeled for us by our lovely drivers, in a salt, pepper, lime and chilli dipping sauce. Then Scallops with peanuts and lemon grass, and Clams in sweet and sour broth. We could order up as much as we wanted.

And then came the special; Embryo duck egg (Jayne chickened out - pardon the pun). I had a go, the white was inedible, the yoke pretty discussing, and the Embryo part just tasted like chicken thigh....I don't think I would bother again though. Once again there was lashings of beer! Dessert was Coconut jelly and Creme caramel (a French Indochine legacy I guess).

Alas the fun has to end, and it was back on the bikes for a final time to be driven back to our hotel. But what a wonderful evening and a great way to spend five hours. Apart from the fun of the motorbikes, and the amazing food, we got to see the parts of Saigon that most tourist never see.

Now to bed, we have an early morning start tomorrow.