Food of Saigon, Part 1: Les Français

By Andrea Tee
Photographs by Christyna Fong

I once read on a restaurant wall that food is the life blood of a country. Far from just being a source of fuel for its people, it reflects a country’s values and history, culture and tradition. It can, in fact, tell you where a country is now and where it will be in the future.
 

It may have been something I read on a wall, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Old French illustration of the capture of Lang-Son

 Saigon is a fascinating amalgamation of French and Chinese influences, reflected in its food. In 1858, under the orders of Napoleon III of France, French gunships attacked the port of Đà Nẵng, colonizing Vietnam until 1945. While you wouldn’t expect to find heaps of bangers and mash for sale in post-colonial Malaysia, Vietnam seems to have embraced its 87-year French imperialist history in a big way. Its not uncommon to walk down a single street and see three different roadside vendors selling variations of pâté, cheese and French bread.
 

This combination is, in fact, a standard breakfast dish in Vietnam, and one I’ve already had twice because it is divine. A six-inch loaf of crusty, crispy French bread is sliced open and slathered with either Laughing Cow spreadable cream cheese or a spicy mayonnaise. Shredded chicken and slices of processed, deli meats are stuffed in, followed by sticks of cucumber and carrot.
 

Because this is Vietnam and it is still quintessentially Asian, a sprig of coriander and some chilli go in as well, and you’ve got this lovely, meaty, cream cheesy, spicy concoction encased in a light, crunchy shell. All for 18,000 VND (RM2.60). * It’s important to note that this may not be the standard price everywhere, but we are staying in a tourist area and things are predictably more expensive.

A flan pie--yet another delicious French pastry to be found in the bakeries of Saigon.

Though rice and noodles are, as in any south east Asian country, one of the main staples, Saigon boasts a huge array of breads and pastries. Nearly every bakery I have passed by sells a variety of sweet and savoury Danishes, as well as the ubiquitous French bread. There are a number of authentic French bakeries here too, and Christyna and I had the pleasure of stopping at one that sold an abundance of gorgeous, expertly-made pastries and cakes, all labelled under their original French names. We shared a baba au rhum (rum baba) for 40,000 VND (RM5.80); a small, yeast cake saturated with rum and served with whipped cream on top.

The cake, soaked and glistening with alcohol, was sitting in a veritable pool of golden rum. I hadn’t tried one before, as they’re not often sold in Malaysia (for obvious reasons), but if you love rum and cake, a baba au rhum could potentially be one your most satisfying pastry-related experiences, ever. The cake itself was moist and held its texture and shape when cut into, and the rum when eaten with a dollop of cream was incredibly rich, though not overwhelmingly so.

The delectable baba au rhum, overlooking the city one last time.

This richness persists in a lot of the French influenced food in Saigon. I don’t recall eating chicken eggs at all. Rather, duck and quails eggs are in heavy abundance here. Cheese and yoghurt too, are extremely popular, and so is the glorious French dessert, Crème Caramel.

Beef Ragout, a rich, beef stew with potatoes, carrots and generous chunks of beef is yet another commonly featured menu item. Served with a choice of French bread or steamed rice, the ragout is warming, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of food.

Having hopefully satisfactorily whet your appetite, I will be covering the prevalent Chinese influence on typical Vietnamese street food in my next article.

Blogger Profile

Andrea Tee, 22, is a Communications and Writing major in her final year. She reads, writes, goes on the internet and does other stuff sometimes.