My foodie status does not come from the fine dining world, but rather the street food world. I think since my very first international trip to Greece in 1996 I loved street food. Actually I take that back. I think I was much younger wanting pretzels and hotdogs from vendors in Boston and New York.
Why street food? It is cheap, usually delicious, and readily accessible at all hours of the day. There is an element of surprise in there too, you don't always know what you are going to get! I have munched my way around the world eating often what I can find in food carts on the side if the street along the way.
Southeast Asia has no fear about their street food. It is everywhere and Vietnam seems to be the king of the peninsula. There are food stalls on pretty much every corner. Low tables and stools a lady presiding over a huge hot with noodles and meat around her. The men seem to do the serving and money collecting. I didn't eat in a restaurant during the first seven days of my trip!
One person decided to market this and created a "street food restaurant" made up of some of her favorite recipes. It was, of course, delicious. A little bit of comfort food goes along way in any culture. It wa of course a bit upscale street food with a restaurant price to go with it. But the idea is a good one!
Mui Ne takes street food to another level. The local boats come back with fish and it is sold on the sidewalk. Later in the evening you can walk by these impromptu restaurants and see what they are cooking and choose what you want. The options are seafood (fish, mussels, oysters, scallops, squid, crabs, eels, shark, turtle, etc ) as well as some weird land creatures...snakes, geckos, frogs.
As much as I love a random cheap meal from the corner some days, I miss a nice juicy cheeseburger.
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