Saigon Street Food by motorbike

We got right into the food scene with an evening Street Food tour – by motorbike. They offered a ‘scaredy cat’ option by taxi for an additional fee – but once we found out that we didn’t have to actually drive the motorbikes ourselves (!!), we decided to brave it. We each had our own driver and can safely say that we all got hand cramps holding onto the seat handles for dear life as we wove in and out of the crazy city traffic. Quality parenting decision – but we loved every minute of it!

We headed out of the tourist district into the more local neighborhoods – riding down back alleys, smelling incense burning, hearing local music, seeing families having dinner and conducting local business – a truly unique, local experience that’s one of my favorite things about traveling.

Binh was a fantastic tour guide; we were joined by a couple from Scotland and a couple from Australia/Italy – our daughter was definitely the youngest of the group – everyone was impressed with her adventurous spirit! Our first stop was to a shop where the cook has been making the same traditional rice pancakes in the same location for over 40 years. We learned how to properly layer a lettuce leaf with herbs and roll it around the pancake – so even fried food ends up tasting fresh and light and healthy.

Next a quick stop for freshly prepared banh mi, with the bread toasted to order on a little charcoal cooker.

We then moved on to an amazing seafood shop – run by a former gangster…if you leave your motorbike with them while you eat, apparently it’s VERY safe.

Some scenes from the street outside the shop:

 

Binh saw to it that each bite was more delicious than the last.

Everything was so healthy, it felt like you’d never get too full.

Alas, it had to end at some point – by then, the traffic had died down, and we were getting to be pro passengers on the motorbikes – I even loosened my death grip enough to take a couple of videos. Going through this intersection at 10pm was about 90% less harrowing than a few hours earlier!

 

And finally back to the safety of our street…

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Saigon Street Eats Street Food 101 tour: http://saigonstreeteats.com/tours/street-food-101/