A walk down the alley

As I've mentioned numerous times before, the alleyways in Ho Chi Minh are always bustling with interesting activity at any given time of the day.

I was craving phở this morning (and I also ran out of milk and cereals, so I gave myself this excuse to allow myself an unhealthy breakfast), so I decided to head out for some cheap, tasty-does-it street phở ... Sometimes I just need my fix!

Here is how it looks like to walk down my alleyway at 8:30am on a Sunday morning...

I'm out too late! This vendor is out of phở ...

A combined barber shop/ pharmacy ...

It's the weekend... no school (for some kids)!

Some people taking some vendor food to go

A little convenience shop inside a home

What you got there little girl?

A VERY open barber shop/ear-wax cleaner...

This lady ALWAYS makes great food (although not the healthiest stuff out there) !!! Just like the bún riêu I got from her here... In this picture, she's making bánh khọt...

People from throughout the neighbourhood have breakfast...

Convenience stores in homes are abundant... And they are very convenient indeed!

This is where I get my bananas... and sometimes some grapes, mangoes, and other fruits... Fruits are sold by weight, so the owner weighs everything on a scale she keeps behind there...

Well hello cute baby!

The alleyway opening out into the bigger street

Fresh veggies anyone? ( Just make sure you wash them handsomely once you get home! Motorbike exhaust and street dust is not a cool thing to have in your food... )

Streetside cafes...

Here's a phở place

Ooh 20,000 VND ($1) for phở !!! It's been a long time since I paid such a low price! Phở typically costs 35,000VND up to 45,000VND (~ $2.25) in the local phở restaurants these days.

Here is my Phở tái nạm (beef noodle soup with rare beef steak, and beef flank)... And of course with the standard condiments that go with it.... Some fresh herbs, hot chilli peppers, and a squeeze of lemon!

Heading back...

You meet many dogs in the neighbourhoods! Some are stray, some are family-owned..

Let me grab a quick fresh sugarcane juice...

Cheers!!!

How to call for new stovetop gas

When our stove top is out of gas, it is extremely easy and speedy to get the gas tank replaced!  Follow me for instructions!


First, let's locate the phone number on the gas tank under the stove. Now let's call the number and speak in my broken Vietnamese: "Hello, can you give me new gas please? Yes. The grey one. My address is _____. Thank you."

Let's see... Here is the time I called the guy... Let's see how long this takes...

Ding Dong! Oh, here he is! Let him in and he will swiftly exchange the gas tanks.

Now let's pay the bill... It's 370,000 VND. So about $18. Wow look how he carries that heavy tank with such ease!

The gas tank is aptly tied down on his bike. Goodbye!

Oh, and don't forget to take the little slip of paper he gives you for additional services he offers! So this one is the service of bringing you drinking water bins.

 

Let's see the time now.... The whole process, from phone call to seeing away the worker, took 12 minutes! Not bad, right?

 

Verifying that the gas works... Yup! 

 

Okay, now I can make my omelet!