Some Vietnam food we eat

Well, being in Vietnam for 2 weeks, no doubt I have tasted food from 5 star to street food....Well, here come the list of food we tasted...sorry that there is no evidence by way of photograph since most of the time I am dining with some GMs, managers and so on.....sometime it was also unsave to bring camera around to hawker centre because lots of children will be standing beside begging for food!! poor kids..


Street food: Stalls in Ben Thanh Market....we have that everynight for our dinner..

Fastfood : Lotteria

Vietnamese food : Pho 24, Pho 2000 (refer previous post on pho 2000), broken rice

5 stars : Palace (on the way to my phuoc - picture below) and Yeebo (chinese food, in HCMC - sorry no photo..dine with GM)

Breakfast : Lousy hotel breakfast (chicken feet), Vietnamese sandwish - with roasted pork, chilli and lotsa vege, just like subway

If there is something i can recommend in HCMC beside their famous Pho and Grill Pork would be Yeebo Restaurant....During my last meal before we headed home, we were treated with a steamboat gala at Yeebo. The soup of the steamboat consists of chinese water creshnut, snow pear, chinese white cabbage and 2 huge pig bone. Once the soup is boiled, the waitress will remove the bone and cut off meat from the bone and serve it as a side dish. The ingredient for the steamboat is so fresh that the prawn is still jumping when we put it into the boiling broil....Yummy...href="http://yeebo.com.vn/">Yeebo Restaurant


normal scene for dinner at Ben Thanh Market

Steak at pasar malam price at Ben Thanh market

Asparagus seafood soup...taste like sharkfin

Saigon Beer with smelly fish sauce and Vietnam Ajinamoto

Seafood rice in Ben Thanh market

Fried Rice in Ben Thanh market

Cheated!!! Curry Chicken rice but got beef inside also...

Fried mee with gravy


Chicken Pho..from Pho 24

Lala in claypot and soup....not nice, malaysia version 100 times better


Broken rice with pork and prawn....Taste like pork and prawn stir fry with salted fish

Some stall at road site

Some grill stall in Ben Thanh Market....saw prawn jump off from BBQ pit and seller pick up from the road and put back to the pit

Vietnamese yum cha culture

Lotteria Promotion


Bear Bear, probably will make ppl become bear after drink it

Best food ever

Fruit in Vietnam is the best....Sweet...even green banana also damm sweet


Dine at Palace (not sure what the name of the restaurant but local call them palace....Is on the way to My Phuoc before the theme park...not easy to find indeed..Famous among expatriate and rich bosses

Hong Kee Dim Sum in Damansara Jaya( Near Atria Mall)

I always favour Jin Xuan Dim Sum until Nicholas insist on going to Hong Kee, saying that Hong Kee is much cheaper. Well, this I could not deny, but still I favour Jin Xuan, cos they dim sum seems to be fresher and I personally think that it taste better.
this is a plate of fried 'lobak gou' that icould get in any stall in pasar.
the chicken legs did much better...just a bit too skinny for my taste.
siu long pau was nothing special
the pau was hard(apparently kept in storage for quite awhile and not heated well enough too'
'wu kok was also a big disappointment


The food are either not warm enough, not well heated enough or just plain.Its' always said that foods get from good to bad when a restaurant gets famous. Maybe i am just a bit too late...

Northem Beach - Pie and Cake

If you are looking for a nice and cheap western food or italian food in Penang, you should head to Northem Beach foodcourt. The italian food is cook by Italian...No joke!

Previously when I am in Penang, I order the Chicken Pie set which come with salad and cake.

Just forget about the salad because I dun really enjoy much after few flies buzzing around the fresh vegetable and mayo...

Lets look about the delicious Chicken Pie in the cup...the Pie pastry is crispy on the outside but soft in the inside. The Chicken gravy is thick and full with potato, carrot and creamy taste. Excellent to eat with the pastry.

About the cake, it look very dry and in deed it was dry when I eat it...However, I must praise that there is no stall can sell such a better cake which somehow I feel much better than Secret Recipe...Brava...


So next time, head to Northem Beach for a satisfying food with affortable price...

Wantan Mee

One thing that I hate in Klang Valley would be the Wantan Mee. It is so difficult to find a stall with wantee mee that can taste as good as those in Penang.

Wantan Mee in Penang come with lard and lotsa oil....I know it is unhealthy but it taste so so so good...

I strongly recommend wantan mee in Pulau Tikus...Early in the morning, there is lot of uncle and aunty having morning coffee in Pulau Tikus. Small market selling fruits, foods and flower is located along the street.

Lorong Selamat Fried Hor Fun

Due to the popularity of the stall, me and my collueague force ourselves to go to overcrowded Lorong Selamat Fried Hor Fun, also known as Tall Guy Fried Hor Fun..



To me the stall is overrated....It taste same like normal wan tan hor or ying yong to me....

but i do recommend to try the fried osyter from another stall within the same shoplot...hehe...

Penang Char Kiew Tiau

Where is the best Penang Char Kiew Tiau???

I have try :

Newlane (beside Sunway Hotel)
Goodall II (Jalan Burmah)
Goodall I (beside a Chinese school)
Northerm Beach Foodcourt






Which photo is which stall.....erm, i already misplace...wahaha...
so u pick and guess la...

One thing i notice from all this picture is that the prawn is so much bigger than those we get in KL...

Malaysia Airline ~ Malaysian Hospitality

If there is one thing that Malaysia Airline can beat AirAsia, it would be the food!

Forget about finding the wallet to buy your favourite nasi lemak or donut, Malaysia Airline provide it all chargeable to your flight ticket!!

On my flight to Ho Chi Minh City, I was given a choice of Nasi Lemak with spicy chicken or Chicken prata. Well, I decided to go for Nasi Lemak with spicy chicken...

Erm, it turn up to be Nasi Lemak with spicy prawn....erm..."Misrepresentation"....

But overall it was good. Nice Fragrance coconut milk rice with spicy prawn with a piece of dried fruit cakes and juices. Sorry, AirAsia, but your nasi lemak cannot compete with this...

On the way back to KL, I was given choices of beef satay with fried rice or chicken prata. Well, sinful with my 'bo' experience in Vietnam, there is no more chance I will eat beef anymore. Thus i opt for Chicken prata.

Is more like a murtabak ayam serve with darca. The prata is tasteless...and my prata is obviously not cook as compare to my colleague. The prata is so hard and the taste of uncook flour is still there....The darca is also tasteless....Fortunately there is Forrero Rocher to cheer me up


Anyway, no doubt Malaysia Airline services is good....food is good....but 4 times with Malaysia Airline, 4 times I have bad terbulences. Maybe the plane is flying too fast and the plane is too small...

Pho 2000 - Vietnam

I just back from Vietnam not long ago for business trip and immediately have my exam. Sorry for the long 'lost' of HarkauSiewmai...

Lets get back to the topic...

In Vietnam, there is 2 biggest barrier when come to eat.
1. It is not easy to find a place to eat which is clean.
2. It is very normal to accidentally eat beef even u order a chicken dishes.

So my advice is.....

1. If you are not so adventerous and want to avoid staying in hospital, please do not eat at street food especially those sitting down at stool and eat at low rise table.
2. Learn this power word "Khong the an chit bo' which mean I cannot eat beef.

I would like to start the Vietnamese food corner with the introduction of Pho 2000. Pho 2000 become famous after US President, Bill Clinton visited their shop many years ago. Now Pho 2000 have several branch and one that can easily catch one eye is the one situated at Ben Thanh Market.

Pho (pronounce as Fur) is traditional rice noodles make in Vietnam. It was serve in aromatic soup that have been boil with herbs and chicken bone. Becareful if you eat at other place because I have eaten beef Pho even thought I order chicken Pho. So to make things clear, make sure you use the powerful word.

Pho is served with basil leaves, taugeh and vietnamese chilli. Vietnamese Chilli is super super spicy and don't ever try to bite it. Put it in the soup and stir it. The spiciness will come out by itself.

Beside ordering the Pho Ga (chicken pho), we also order Grill Pork rice. Vietnamese Grill Pork rank number 1 to me. There is no chance one can such a tasty grill pork in Malaysia. yummy....saliva drolling...

Last but not lease, for a very safe version to avoid BEEF......here is the vegetarian Pho....taste like bah kut teh with vegetable...hehe

Here is the drink we order....Fresh Fruit Ice and Red Bean Ice

Penang Hokkien Mee

In Klang Valley, Hokkien Mee is fried noodles with thick black soy sauce. However if you are traveling to Penang please be aware that Hokkien Mee in Penang is actually Prawn noodles in Klang Valley...

There is a lot of stall selling Hokkien Mee in Penang and it was you own choice of which stall is your favourite....





The only different between Penang Har Mee and Klang Valley version is the prawn is bigger, juicier and tender....and the seller is never stingy in giving those prawn....and another good selling point is the amount of fried scallot they put in....Yummy yummy

Penang Chee Chong Fun

What make Penang Chee Chong Fun special?

The answer lies on the sauce they use. Traditionally we eat Chee Chong Fun with sweet sauce and chilli sauce but in Penang, they have something different...Shrimp paste.

A thick stinky shrimp paste with a dash of sesame seed is the things that make Penang chee chong fun stand out from the crowd.

My journey to Penang last month have given me chances to taste the unique yet stinky food. Frankly I am not a fan of shrimp paste due to its taste and aroma.

Newlane Food Court[beside Sunway Hotel]

Priced at RM 2 for small and RM 3 for big plate, the chee chong fun was fairly drained with sweet sauce and shrimp paste. The aroma of shrimp paste was not so strong but just nice for people who do not like the strong adour of shrimp paste....I like this

Goodall II foodcourt

Totally an opposite of the one I have in Newlane. The shrimp paste here stink that once you try to stir the chee chong fun, the adour can just stink the nose for few seconds. Well, this was order by my friend who love shrimp paste. But for me, I can't take the aroma....

But from my friend verdict, he like it and he think it was fairly good as those we have in Newlane...

So if you like stinky smell, u know where u can get it!!!

Ghee Hiang vs Him Heang

What would you buy for your friend as souvenir if you are in Penang?

I bet it would be a box of 'Tau Sar Pneah' or better known as Tambun biscuit.

There is 2 famous brand in Penang been Ghee Hiang and Him Heang, rumour to be manage by siblings!

It have been a long debate between this 2 brands of which is better.

Ghee Hiang been the most famous among the tourist have 2 outlets in Penang, one being in Macalister road and another one at Burmah Road.

Ghee Hiang tambun biscuit come with nice box, pre-pack into a plactic bags of 4 biscuit each. Their main point of selling are the old brand name of 150 years and cleanliness.

For me, I think the outer skin of ghee hiang biscuit was somehow not as fresh and nice as Him Heang. The filling was a bit too sweet to my liking but was less oily.


Him Heang on another hand is more famous among the local and also my prefer choice. Located at Burmah road, Him Heang always face shortage of supply and it was well known that sometime, one have to pre-order before able to collect their tambun biscuit.

Him Heang biscuit have a well done outer layer been medium crispy. The filling was much oily been more lard and fried scallot been mixed with the bean (Tau Sar). The aroma of the filling is much stronger than those of Ghee Hiang.

Their selling point is that freshly baked from oven. One can feel the fresh heat been release from the box.

The only bad things about Him Heang is the packaging was not nicely done. If you put on your car and you drive from Penang to KL, most probably all the biscuit is upsite down in the box! Well, not really a nice way to give out as a gift...hehe

Anyway, Ghee Hiang vs Him Heang....I personally think it would much depend on each person taste and preferances. I personally like Him Heang, my sister prefer Ghee Hiang....So which 'Hiang' are you?

Padthai - Bangkok Fried Keow Teow

Padthai is a traditional food in Bangkok resemble our local fried keow teow.

The rice noodles (keow teow) was much softer than what we can get in Malaysia, more oily in nature and very smooth.

In every street in Bangkok, beside the famous pork noodles, padthai would be available day and night.

Once can choose from original padthai, chicken padthai, seafood padthai to pork padthai. On each table, there is sugar, peanut, thai chilli sauce, chilli flack and fish sauce which one can season the padthai according to our taste.

The difference between padthai with our local fried keow teow is padthai taste much sweeter, oily and smoother.

Anyhow, i somehow prefer padthai over our local keow teow...hehe

Penang Laksa @ Ayer Itam - Revisited

If there is a thing that I will regret leaving Penang without it would be eating Penang Laksa.

Penang Laksa or more famous as Asam Laksa in KL is not really my favourite food. The spicy and sour soup filled with stinky fish and prawn paste look very disgusting at the first look.

However, Penang Laksa at Ayer Itam prove my theory wrong for the first time last year when I was in Penang and when I visited Penang this year, I make it a must to visit place despite I have a tight schedule.


The stall is located at Ayer Itam market which added more 'stink' to the food. I reckon that there is tasted better Penang Laksa in other place but somehow, Ayer Itam one are still my liking.

The broth wasn't that stinky compare to other stall as the prawn paste was quite diluted. However, I appreciate the amount of fish inside the broth. The amount of mints and vegetable goes very well with springy noodles.

Yum yum....I just love the laksa with the sugar cane drink from stall nearby....

A must try!!!

Refer to my old post...Penang Laksa 2009...I could believe I capture almost the same photo as well...

Penang Laksa 2009