- It's Mark Wiens.
I am in Saigon.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
I am at probably the most well known food vendor,
the legendary Lunch Lady in the city.
Many of you recommend I check this restaurant out,
made famous by Anthony Bourdain.
This is,
she serves a different noodle dish
every single day of the week.
I thought it would be very interesting
to come on Monday
because she is serving a Vietnamese dish
called Bun Thai,
which is a Vietnamese noodle dish
with a Thai influence.
I thought it would be really cool to experience
the Vietnamese
and fusion of Thai soup in this dish.
It's a very popular restaurant,
very popular spot.
A lot of people are eating and hanging out.
We are right here at lunchtime, so yeah it's packed.
Luckily, we got a table with a view of her
actually assembling the noodles.
I'm actually peering into the glass,
watching her make the noodles,
which is pretty awesome.
It's like front row seats.
(upbeat music)
(speaking in foreign language)
So the noodles have come,
the Bun Thai.
I've gotta say from appearance
it is a very beautiful bowl of noodles.
There is some beef at the top.
Looks like a meatball.
I think there's some squid in here, too.
There's some squid
and then two beautiful, orange prawns.
The noodles are at the bottom.
On top looks like some chopped up Vietnamese coriander.
Before doctoring it up with some chili and lime.
I'm just gonna taste the soup.
Mmm.
Oh yeah, that's pretty good.
It definitely has a little bit of a Tom Yum flavor to it.
It is a little bit sweet,
a little bit sour,
and has some good broth stock flavor to it.
I could definitely add some chili to that.
Looks like some roasted chili oil and with chili
and it looks like there's some toasted garlic in here, too.
I could definitely use some of this.
Add some of that.
I'm going to squeeze in some lime as well
to give it that citrusy-lime flavor,
which is always a great thing
when it comes to eating soup noodles.
Stir that into the broth
and you can see the noodles below.
I'm ready to start slurping.
I'm gonna to check out a piece of that beef
with some of the noodles first.
Mmm.
That's pretty good.
That's wonderful, actually.
It definitely has a Thai hot and sour flavor to it.
The noodles are kinda like spaghetti noodles,
but a little bit softer, and a little more bouncy.
I think I'm gonna add some chili sauce to this prawn.
Then, just eat up that prawn.
Mmm.
Oh yeah, that prawn is awesome.
So meaty, very fresh,
and with that roasted, dry chili sauce
that's awesome.
It's not overcooked.
I think they must be just cooked to perfection
and then she doesn't overcook them in the soup.
She just kinda puts them into the soup
so they remain juicy and just really fresh,
not overcooked and that is delicious.
That's a great prawn.
I'm gonna add some of the vegetables.
This is banana flower.
On the bottom,
I think its water mimosa.
This is water mimosa as well as some morning glory as well.
Anyway, let me add some vegetables to it.
Alright and then go and slurp down some more noodles.
Mmm.
Another very famous thing here is the goi cuon,
the Vietnamese summer rolls.
The fresh Vietnamese summer rolls.
These are one of the greatest treasures
of Vietnamese cuisine.
Let me dip it into the sauce.
They're also very famous to eat here
along with your noodles.
Mmm, yeah.
You can never go wrong with summer rolls in Vietnam.
They are just so wonderful.
So fresh, so herbaceous.
I really like the sauce here.
It's not too sweet,
you can really taste that Hoisin, that dark Hoisin,
the nutty flavor
and I think she added some crispy shallots to that as well.
That's great sauce.
Great sauce here.
Mmm.
I am finishing up my bowl of noodles.
Definitely a delicious, well-balanced bowl of noodles.
The soup is a little bit sweet,
a little bit sour,
and then with adding that chili oil
it did make it spicy.
It really almost has a Thai Tom Yum flavor to it.
The soup is very good,
but then those are very Vietnamese noodles.
I've never seen that type of noodle in Thailand.
It's really kinda a cross between a Thai dish
with Vietnamese ingredients and flavors.
It's definitely famous for a good reason
because the food is very good,
at least the day that I'm coming.
The noodles are very good.
The Lunch Lady is a legend
and she is extremely nice as well.
Very friendly and very kind.
The environment under the tree,
the atmosphere, the cool breeze,
at least there was a breeze before.
Now, I'm sweating it out,
but this is definitely a place to come
when you are in Saigon.
Huge thank you to all of you for your recommendation
and all of you for watching my videos.
I really appreciate it.
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I'll see you guys all on the next video.
I am with the Lunch Lady right now.
A very kind woman and an amazing cook.
(speaking in foreign language)