Nha Hang Ngon in Pasteur Street

Obviously since I blog about food, a major highlight of traveling for me is to taste local food. Those who know me personally are used to my restaurant habits - order several items, have a few spoonfuls and let my dining companions consume most of the dishes. If I'm eating alone, half of the orders are bagged for a latter meal. Gaining unnecessary weight is a major factor that I want to avoid.

It was a good thing that I made plans to eat out with couchsurfers while I was in Ho Chi Minh. At Nha Hang Ngon on Pasteur Street, I was accompanied by Francois.

I was supposed to try out another restaurant in this street that my brother recommended but since I was too lethargic to make an effort to locate the address, we ended up at Nha Hang Ngon.

I'm glad we ate here. The restaurant setting was a colonial villa in mustard.

I like the genteel, laid back atmosphere.

The restaurant was quite full of locals and tourists.

A prominent feature of most restaurants in Ho Chi Minh is the exposed kitchen. I meant, literally, and not through some kind of tempered glass.

Both sides of the restaurant had cooks preparing the food. It had the hawkers market atmosphere.

I wonder how the flow of ordering is done. In a typical kitchen, a dispatcher receives the order slips from the waiter  or and relays to the cooks. Then, he checks the final plating and informs the waiter that the food is ready.

It must be a challenge to control food cost if the kitchen is spread out all over the establishment.

The aroma of fresh ingredients dominated the kitchen areas.

Ingredients organized neatly.

This is Banh Mi Bo Ne - " filet mignon served with bread and French fries ".

The lovely baguette with the filet mignon.

Muc Nuong Muoi Ot - " muc squid with chili and salt ".

Bun Cha Ha Noi - " vermicelli and ground pork meatballs served with fresh herbs and fish sauce ".

This was really tasty and delicious.

Dessert was Khoai Mi Hap Sua Dua - " manioc steamed with coconut milk ". I was curious about manioc and it turned out to be cassava.

Francois has been traveling around Asia for a few months and had his fill with noodles. He was quite content with his fillet mignon bahn mi.

After lunch, time for more sightseeing. This is the Municipal Theatre of Ho Chi Minh or the Saigon Opera House.

The Opera House is shaped like the Opera Garnier in Paris and was constructed between 1901 and 1911.

The Notre Dame Cathedral.

Built in 1866, the materials used for the church were imported from France.

We weren't able to enter the premises since the church is closed when there are no services.

Across the Notre Dame Cathedral is the Saigon Central Post Office.

The post office was built in 1891 by French architect Gustave Eiffel.

The post office brings to mind period films with settings of classic European train stations.

I forgot to look up where apparently, there is a picture of Ho Chi Minh overlooking the thoroughfare.

Phone booths converted into ATM machines.

A few meters away is 30-4 Park, a small park which was named after Vietnam's Reunification Day, April 30, 1975. On the sides of the park are small cafés which are perfect venues for people watching while having a cup of coffee. But, the call of vegetating in my hotel room was too strong so I decided to relegate an idyllic afternoon for another day.