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I won’t comment on the complex political impact of French colonization of Viet Nam in the 19th century, but the impact of French culinary traditions on Vietnamese cooking has resulted in the most interesting, and delicious, food in all of Asia.  Consider my meal last night, which was a delightful, bipolar mix of East and West.

The Vietnamese face of of my order was: grilled cuttlefish (not a fish at all, but more like squid in consistency and flavor), a green pepper dipping sauce of such potency that it could be marketed as a cure for jet lag, a salad of root vegetables, and light, fluffy steamed rice.

The French side: rice can be substituted for French fries, fries as genuine as anything you’d encounter in the 1st arrondissement in Paris (I ordered both the rice and French fries – why fight it?), a green salad of endive, basil and mint, and a presentation that was 100% French, meaning appropriately small portions on Western service with a knife and fork – not a chopstick in sight. And, in a continent where only instant coffee is offered, if available at all, the excellent coffee was French pressed and wonderfully strong.

It’s a successful mix of two excellent cuisines, and it makes one long for dinnertime. Yes, a Westerner can eat Asian in Saigon and still enjoy comfort food!

This entry was posted on June 29, 2013 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Food, Travel with tags cuttlefish, French impact on Vietnamese food, Saigon, Vietnamese cuisine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.