The recent flurry of activity around the 'Is she or isn't she'
weeping virgin of
Saigon means the streets have been flooded with
bauble sellers accosting the catholic crew for a religious dime or
dollar. Almost a week has past since
the first 'tears' were spotted by a lottery
ticket seller. The believers still congregate in their hundreds to
marvel at the concrete statue opposite the HSBC cash machine in
central Saigon. Fortunately for the faithful, there are snack
vendors aplenty on
Nguyen Du street to sustain them throughout
their vigil. The seller above normally flogs 80 chuoi nep
nuong - rice wrapped bananas - and 20 bot ban - bean
paste ball wrapped in sticky tapioca - a day around District 1 from
her mobile stall. She tells me trade in her 5,000VND nibbles has
been a wee brisker this past week. Praise be.
This is the "nuoc cot dua " eat following with the
chuoi-nep-nuong- very delicious and taste:
I've covered chuoi nep nuong + nuoc cot dua
before, so I
won't gas. Just sit back and ogle. Bloody gorgeous, innit? Hell -
why not download the
large version and
reset your computer wallpaper. Not big enough? Think you can take
more? really? Then
chuoi nep nuong
gigantic is the one for you. Study it
carefully. I swear the one bottom left is blubbering. More scenes
from the stall
here. For more on Weeping Mary, see week old on
the spot reports from
The Rice Bowl and
No Star
Where.
you're foraging for streetscoff around Saigon and you're
into gooey nanas and grilled rice, keep 'em peeled for Chuoi
nep nuong. Much like the
sandwich the concept is bonkers simple. Cook
rice, peel nana, wrap nana in rice, grill and serve. Warm fruity
goo awaits scoffdom inside the charred rice case. Since the Earl of
Sandwich's brainwave during a gambling session in 1762, the
sandwich has mutated big style. We now have (the classy)
Marks &
Spencers, (the retro)
Breville and (the naff) Pret a Manger. Through it
all, the humble Vietnamese nana ricewich remains unchanged. What no
durian ricewich? Whither the
mango noodle wrap? A matter
of time maybe, but not for now.
The bitter burnt rice crisp cover combined with the stickier
interior rice and the warm nana centre is a gargantuan gobfull -
Well, it is if you try and hog down close to your loading bay limit
first nibble - whoops. Ideal picnic fodder or 'grab 'n' go' scoff.
It looks the business, it's surprisingly filling and it'll keep you
going all morning. You'll need to cough up 5,000 sobs to get a
taste of this savoury fruit tease. This seller stalks central
Saigon, specialises in Chuoi nep nuong, but also sells a
small array of rice cakes..
Thank for your looking..Well , I'm very hungry. Let go to
the restaurant to enjoy the chuoi-dep-nuong and nuoc-cot-dua now !!
^^