I wasn't able to eat much for breakfast this morning- the scrungy, churning tummy that affecting me for the past couple of days had finally taken a toll on the appetite.
So serious was it that I think I could have done with just a cup of (power) Vietnamese coffee, but then one feels really dumb to have just a hot beverage for the morning meal when there's so much food, so from the steamed section I took some glutinous rice, a bit of steamed tapioca and a serving of dragonfruit.
I thought fruit might settle the stomach.
As it turned out, it didn't settle- there was still the churny feeling- but the natural sweetness and refreshing juice didn't aggravate it either.
One thing about their food is never to underestimate the portions.
Their cuisine might look light (like their pho) but have a whole portion of it and you'll actually feel full.
It's like this plate- that blob looking lump of glutinous rice might look small- but it's one solid lump of glutinous rice- no gaps between- sticky, sweet and chewy- and it made me feel full.
Not much of a taste of dragonfruit, probably more savory than sweet.
Come to think of it, I actually do appreciate the clean flavors of Vietnamese cuisine.
Even if it be a piece of steamed tapioca.
I know; it sounds strange, like why would I come all the way here to Saigon to have the same steamed tapioca that I can find (albeit deep fried) back at home?
Maybe one feels a difference eating it in a place where I know steamed food's a thing, and their agriculture's strong.
Later in the afternoon we headed out to the Saigon Central Post Office- a well known tourist attraction in the Old Quarter of the city.
It is a place where tourists from Asia, Europe and America go.
But it is also a place where, if you wanted to send out a parcel or a postcard, you would also go.
Like the other buildings in the area, the Saigon Central Post Office stands as a living reminder of her colonial heritage, her modern history, and her present day.
I don't know enough of interiors and architecture to describe the place properly, but her cathedral-like ceiling, her arched windows, her space, her pillars, and even the floor tiles, all of it make for a sense of familiarity, especially if you're not alien to the architecture of Gothic, French and Renaissance features.
Maybe it were the height of the building (although shorter, this one) or maybe it were the element of space, but the typical Singaporean that is me thought of Fullerton Hotel almost immediately.
What makes her unique is that she hasn't been relegated to the status of a museum, but has retained her purpose as a working post office where today in 2024 you can stand at the counter and mail out a parcel to a city in North America.
So there's that sense of timelessness.
It's like you're doing the same thing as someone might have done a couple of decades ago- at the same wooden counter (reminiscent of the 50s and 60s), under the same fans hanging from the ceiling rotating with a soft, steady whirr, with the rows of wooden-slat benches behind you.
That being said, colonial or not, what makes this place a little more recent, a little more significant, is the huge portrait of Mr. Ho Chi Minh hung up high on the wall. It's not intimidating- you don't feel like he's got his eyes glued on you- but there's the reminder of his influence all the same.
Errand finished, we headed out of the Post Office where I hung around at the car park a little to take a picture, after which we decided we'd cross the road and see where we could grab a quick bite and maybe a coffee.
We looked at a couple of places but then at one spot we did a turn and noticed congratulatory flower decorations lined up outside a place called Nguyen Trung. They were celebrating the first-day launch of their new cafe.
With it being open to walk-in customers, back across the road (to the side of the Post office, actually) we went.
I don't quite remember what it was they were offering on the menu but I do know there were several concoctions you wouldn't find in regular Vietnamese cafes elsewhere, so instead of a Vietnamese coffee (which my friend thought I should take) I decided on a concoction, ordering a iced coconut coffee, and along with it too, a banh mi.
First thing that surprised me when our food arrived was the coffee.
I had been expecting a glass of coffee with the milk layered inside the same way a latte or cappuccino would be.
But what stood on this table was this huge a** glass of a coconut milk- with pandan leaves sticking out- some sort of crumbles, and a cute little jug of very solid black coffee that I was meant to pour in bit by bit and sip.
Perhaps coffees are meant to be savored wherever they are.
I liked that the coconut coffee wasn't very sweet.
A part of me had been worried.
This is South East Asia after all.
That's not to say that the coffee was bland.
Of course not.
There was a hint of salty somewhere and the taste of coconut was rich on the tongue.
One thing interesting about the food here was how balanced all their flavors were.
Sometimes it looks like a lot- like this banh mi- with her chonk of chicken, her thick slice of fresh tomato and fresh green lettuce. but half a baguette was just right a portion for an early afternoon snack, the flavors were fresh and clean, and the sauce (I think it was salad sauce or was it something else) added just a bit of vinegarish zhng without drowning the flavors of everything around it.
We took our time.
When we finished we headed out to AEON- a shopping mall slightly further out from the main town at a place called Binh Tan. How far it was away from District 1, I don't recall, but it must have been at least a 30 minute drive there.
Funnily enough I didn't take pictures of the car journey.
Maybe I was a bit pooped.
But AEON Mall has a good mix of shops, in particular their specialist stores. Here there were brands from Europe and US, there were local brands, local distributors, and on the ground floor there was a small road show featuring Vespa.
We took a wander around, looking at their retail, their cosmetics and lifestyle stores, their FMCG brands, and then we had a bit of dinner- salmon sashimi and salmon sushi bought from the huge supermarket on the ground floor.