I'm picking and digging. I'm tearing, cracking and licking. I use a LOT more of the small tissues available than the Vietnamese are using. The different delicious sauces not only WOW my pallet, but somehow manage to cover my face, hands and even my shirt. My Vietnamese friends look the same as when we sat down. But, I am a mess. I am sitting on the small chairs more suited to a 3 year old, enjoying one of the most loved dishes in Vietnam.....Snails!

Vietnam is known for it's unique, distinct, tantalizing, unforgettable food! The dishes are created with a mix of salty, hot, sour or sweet flavors . A fermented fish sauce (nuoc mam), cane sugar, citrus juices and peppers are some of the flavors used in making the Vietnamese dishes. The chili sauces and herbs are served in small dishes on the side.
 
All over the country you will find tourists lining up for cooking courses and pleading for recipes. Each part of the country seems to have it's own particular 'speciality food'.
 
Hue is among the best places in Vietnam to get your palette working overtime and begging for more!
 
If I am eating alone, my favorite way to eat here is 'grazing'. Just walking around the streets and eating a little of this and that as I go. At the end of the night, I haven't made a noticable dent in even my small budget!
 
Bahn Mi is one of my favorite street foods. It's served on a French style baguette. (A left-over from the French occupation years ago). The baguette is filled with meat (beef balls,etc.), cheese, fresh vegetables (cucumbers, green onions, etc.) and fried eggs. I pay between 10,000 and 15,000 dong for one (50-75 cents). The moving street vendors find me, if I don't find them . I hold up one finger. "No Spicy", I add.
 
Then, later, as I walk along the river, or about town, I might buy a section of pineapple on a stick for a few cents or a bag of fresh cut mango. There are all types of fruit cut and bagged -- or on sticks, everywhere. You can buy snacks or full meals, often prepared right on the street while you wait. Sit on the grass or one of the small chairs, if you like. There are small bags of caramel style popcorn or fresh grilled ears of corn, kebobs or so many other foods to buy and eat. Food is on sticks, in small plastic bags, or throw away cups. Walking the streets is like being at a carnival every night here.
 
Dog is a favorite food in Vietnam. But, not in this restaurant. Hue boasts several differences that sets it apart from other places in Vietnam. And, one of the most striking ones is that it has a plethora of vegetarian restaurants. I am in one now.
 
Many of the locals have a strong tradition of eating here twice a month. Not because they are not meat-lovers, but because it is part of their Buddhists beliefs .
 
I'm not a vegetarian. I love vegetables, though, and don't need meat with a meal. I often go for many meals without meat. But, today I want to eat in this Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant. It is just across the street from the homestay where I am staying. I watch the Vietnamese file in to eat here everyday.
 
I look at the menu. It is all in Vietnamese. No English. All the customers are Vietnamese. This is not a place accustomed to English speaking foreigners. The staff are no help. There are no photos on the menu. I have no idea what the menus says. I give up and leave without a vegetarian meal! There is still the street food, though! Maybe I will come back with one of my Vietnamese friends sometime.
 
One of Vietnams signature foods is Pho. It's pronounced something like 'Fuh". Very popular all over Vietnam! I put the description of it on the photo here!
 
Pho might be the dish of Vietnam but Hue City has it's own claim to food fame! Bun Bo Hue is a soup sometimes filled with congealed pig's blood! Delicious! See the description on the photo!
 
At home, back in the states, a group might gather around a bowl of popcorn, chips and dips, watermelon or pizza for a social get-together with friends or family .
 
Here in Vietnam the social grouping is centered around plates full of SNAILS!
 
There are restaurants dedicated to snails, called Quán Ốc. But, as you walk along the streets there are the street-side snail vendors. Sit around small tables and share them with your group.
 
The snails come in about 5 varieties, I think. Steamed, fried, sautéed, covered in chili sauce and salt, and grilled. You can get different toppings as well.
 
I never saw a menu in any of the snail places I ate at (3). I was always there with local friends and they did the ordering in the local language. If there was a menu, I don't think it would have an English translation. First, because I don't think many English speaking foreigners stop at these places and also it might be very difficult to find English translations for the different snails.
 
The snails are salty, spicy, hard or soft. Easy to open, difficult to open, and some do not need to be opened at all (just dig the snail out). Sometimes you eat the meat with a small tool and sometimes just pop it in your mouth from the shell . It depends on what type of snail you are eating.
 
A few plates of different types of snails come at first, along with vegetable plates. All communal. Later, as time goes by, the staff brings other plates of different varieties of snail. 

There are a number of reasons to visit Vietnam, but the FOOD is a REALLY good reason! There are so many wonderful foods but, here in this post, are a few of my favorites!

True Story
The night before I was to leave Hue my friend called to invite me to eat dinner. I countered that it was my time to buy him dinner. 

There is a fast-food restaurant (similar to McDonalds) here. It's the Lotteria. I think it's a Korean company. They are not in every part of town here, but, occasionally, you see one in a 'Supermarket'.
 
What the Asians call 'Supermarket' is what we would call a mall. They are few and far between. They will have a grocery store, clothing stores, maybe a food court, etc . They are similar to a mall in the U.S., except much smaller. Also, the everyday locals do not shop there, because prices are higher than the street markets.
 
I saw a Lotteria across the river on one of my trips here before. I never ate there but I asked Hung if he had ever eaten hamburger and fries. Not only had he not eaten them, he didn't even know the Lotteria was there, even though he has lived in Hue 6 years. (Locals in the different countries often ask me what foods we eat in America).
 
The Lotteria in Vietnam not only has burgers, but also has added menu items of rice and things, maybe chicken or steamed veggies. Many Asians I meet have to have rice every meal!
 
We stand at the counter. The menu shows photos, but no English words. I see a photo of a double cheeseburger, fries, and drink meal combo.
 
All the customers are Vietnamese. I guess these are the higher income people. The girl at the register does not speak English, so I have Hung order the combo.
 
He orders 1 combo. "No", I tell him. "We need 2". We can share he says . (Food portions in Asia are smaller than American portions, so he thinks one between us is enough!)
 
I tell him the combo is for one person. He argues one is enough. I hold up 2 fingers and let the girl know we want 2 orders. Hung looked at the receipt. "Expensive!" he says. (Almost $7 U.S. for both). An Asian meal would have been more like $2 for both! "It's okay," I assure him, "tonight is my last night in Hue, so special night."
 
Sitting at the table I notice we did not get ketchup for the fries. I go looking for the ketchup.
 
When I got back to the table, Hung had his hamburger unwrapped. But, there was no top bun. He had eaten the bun and then the slice of tomato underneath it. He was eating the burger piece by piece!
 
He was holding the hamburger patty, ready to eat it. "What is it?", he asked. I told him it was a beef patty. But, I stop him from eating it. I unwrap my burger and pick it up, showing him how to hold it and take a bite of the whole sandwich.
 
So, he picks his burger up (missing the top bun and tomato, but the rest intact) and takes a bite . "Delicious". he says.
 
He finishes the double cheeseburger but takes the fries home for later. It's a lot of food for him.
 
Often when you eat something here, your waitress or friend will ask, "Is it delicious?". Never "Is it okay?" or "Is it good?".
 
Actually, I reserve 'delicious' for exceptional things. Most are just maybe 'good'. But, apparently, 'delicious' is the English phrase they learn in class.
End of True Story!

Eating in the Asian countries is always an adventure. When I am with a local they order combinations of food that foreigners don't even know exist. Often, the local will laugh when I start to eat something. Then, they will show me how to eat it or what to eat it with. So, even though Hung eating the hamburger made me laugh inside, I have done the same thing with the Asian dishes many times. Maybe sometime I will tell you about my most embarrassing faux pas while dining in Asia! But, not today!

NEXT: "The One Thing You Need in Vietnam!"