My Healing Methods: Exploring Vietnam with Local People by Trying Their Local Dishes

Sujud Ganda Saputra
Nov 6 · 9 min read
Border between Cambodia and Vietnam in Mộc Bài

In order of about learning a new things, I like very much to learn new things especially involved in any adventures that people might offer to me. Having new experiences in life are such unforgettable. There will always a new start in some experiences. It’s like getting your first diploma, jumping into your first big project, singing in front of big audience, seeing your first step of your children, watching your favorite singer, holding your first trophy, and many more. Those things were really remarkable on your memories, weren’t they? And I bet that every human being must be had their best moments which becomes their memories even sometimes bad memories are being remembered at the same time.


Last weekend on November 2nd 2019, I was having plans to visit Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for the umpteenth time. What makes it special its because I had plans to book a local tour there with my friends. She was the only one who suggested to book a tour, so I decided to take some of it. As our plans, we found some tours in AirBnB. After long discussion that we talked about what tour we are going to take, we decided to take culinary tour on our very first day arrival.


As we arrived at Ho Chi Minh City around 3.00 P.M. on Saturday, November 2nd 2019, we directly went to our apartment that we already booked. We booked the tour at 5.00 P.M. that they would be picked up us in our apartment. As we met our tour guide, it was out our expectations. They were very friendly in their personal and very funny. Their names are Toan and Thư. After a short conversation explaining our schedules, they point us to their motorcycles and start our tour.

Their Tour Information from AirBnB

Our first stop was in District 3. District 3 is location that inhabited with most local people who works for government. They also brought us to the old building that American had built when Vietnam was under American-French colonial period. The building was being lived by local people. The building was really old, it was already 40 years old. But as we could see there, we saw many local foods and finally we arrived at our first stop that around those building. We enjoyed our dishes that called Bún Bò Huế. It was a beef noodle with Vietnamese noodle also their soup was really special. The taste was really different from other noodle soup that I ever tasted before. It was really tasty!

Bún Bò Huế

As we finished from eating Bún Bò Huế, we went to our next stop that still around District 3. It only took 5 minutes to reach our second stop. We ate the most very well-known food that Vietnamese have, it’s called Bánh Mì. It’s a Vietnamese traditional food that looks like a hot dog. It’s filled with pork, chicken, and variant vegetables. But as I could not take pork, I asked my tour guide to filled it with only chicken and vegetables.

Bánh Mì

We didn’t take too long to eat Bánh Mì. So our third stops were close from Bánh Mì stall. It’s still around District 3 which only took 5 minutes. We tried a beverage that made from sugarcane and mixed with kumquat. The taste was really mind-blowing us. It tasted so good, nor to sweet, and nor too sour. As you know that the sweet thing comes from sugarcane, and kumquat is such a unique fruit that I ever seen and taste. And the beverages called as Nước Mía in Vietnamese language.

Nước Mía

The tour guide also challenged us to tried kumquat directly. The… taste… is… really… horrible… it’s very sour more than a lime or even lemon. Yikes.

Kumquat Fruit

As our fourth foods were really close Nước Mía stall, our tour guide brought us a Vietnamese Pizza that Vietnamese people known as Bánh Tráng Nướng. Well, this food was not my favorite at all but I still tolerate the taste. It’s pretty good though.

Vietnamese Pizza or Bánh Tráng Nướng

So after we enjoyed our pizza and Nước Mía, we went to our fifth places. It took around 10 minutes to reach there. And as I told you, this is my favorite dishes from all above that the tour guide had guided us. I was a bit shocked because they mentioned us about “pancake”. I was imagined myself that pancake could be sweet and cold just like some cheesecake. As I arrived and figured out what it looks like, I was shocked that the pancake filled with shrimp and squid toppings. There was another toppings but since I did not eat pork, the tour guide decided to order the pancake with seafood toppings. The first thing that I couldn’t imagine that we have to taste it with coconut sauce and some oily spicy topping. First, we wrapped the “pancake” and added the coconut sauce with lettuce. You also can put any leafs if you are a big fans of vegetables. After we wrapped it, we dipped it into the bowl that filled with oily spicy topping. And as you can imagine, the taste was really awesome. As they wrote on AirBnB, they guaranteed that the flavor would really explode my mouth. And yes, they really did!. Oh, this dish is called and known as Bánh Khọt.

Bánh Khọt

They also served with big portion but the texture will be a but different.

Bánh Xèo is for the big one, and Bánh Khọt is for the small one

As we tried our fifth dishes, we went to our next step around District 1. The dishes were located in the park of District 1. Our next dishes are called as Gỏi Đu Đủ Khô Bò. It’s a papaya salad that served with beef jerky on the side and shrimp crackers on the top. Our sixth dishes were really great and yet mind-blowing, again.

Gỏi Đu Đủ Khô Bò

After we enjoyed our sixth dishes, we headed to our seventh dishes. We went back to District 3. As we would near to end our trip, our last dishes would be dessert. And our seventh dishes as known Crème caramel. As we knew, Vietnam was being under French colonial. Few of their culture and dishes were from French. In Vietnamese, they called flan as Bánh flan. Their flan was a bit different. And again, they also used coconut sauce as toppings. Also they poured Vietnamese coffee around the flan. The taste was really awesome! I recommended you to try this dishes while you in Ho Chi Minh City. I would like to come back again to this stall and trying the flan for another time even I captured and marked the location as well. I also bought another dishes from the stall and take away but unfortunately I forgot what was the name of the dishes I bought. I only could describe that the dish was a coconut with pudding in it. I tried to google but I could not find it. If you’d like to ask, I can ask my tour guide later.

Bánh Flan

Our last dishes also pretty amazing. First of all the dishes were made from banana. They looked like a sticky rice from Thailand (even I haven’t eaten one from it yet). And also, again, they pour the sticky banana with coconut sauce. I don’t really exactly know why they loved coconut sauce so much. But I can guarantee you that their coconut sauce is very different than any coconut that you ever tasted before. In Vietnam, this sticky banana also known as Chuối Nếp Nướng. For banana and dessert-head, I bet you will droll if you see this food.

Chuối Nếp Nướng

And finally we finished our tour. I am so happy that I able to meet and getting know of new people around the world. I also learned a lot new things from my tour. It is sad because we have to end up our tour. But I am also happy that I am able to have new friends in my life.


I believe that by learning new things, we also learned about how to accept ourselves for who we are. By getting involved with local people, especially in my first experience, I was learning that there is so much place in this world that we haven’t explored yet. I learned a lot new things, I learned about how actually their cultures, about their habits, and also I got the chances to know their individuals more. It was an incredible experiences I ever had. I never thought about having new friends by learning their culture (re: dishes).

It would worthwhile your time to get know about others culture while you busy to find yourself about what’s your purpose in life. This memory is completely left me a gratitude feelings that I never had before about being lost with purpose. But I am not that lost. Because I was getting lost along my path which a part of finding the path you are meant to be on. Because getting lost in nowhere will bring you to find yourself better. As the part of my healing, I am able to remember all over again and smiling over the memories that bring me joy about enjoying myself with someone new.

Getting lost was not a matter of geography so much as identity, a passionate desire, even an urgent need, to become no one and anyone, to shake off the shackles that remind you who you are, who others think you are. — Rebecca Solnit

Because some paths just cannot be discovered without getting lost, right?

One of my friend also told me about how we get into moments that would remain in our mind and our heart.

Because none every moments can be bought and happened twice. You also cannot repeat any moments that already happened before. It would not be the same. All you can do is only remains the memories all over again by yourself.

Because in the end:

Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that takes our breath away. — Anonymous

And well, here’s our photograph that we has taken while we enjoying our tours with our new friends.

And also, this is me and my friend

Cheers from the boy who is working overseas right now!

Sujud, as known as J

*p.s: I did some revision due my tour guide said that I misspelled her name. So sorry *ROTFL*

Sujud Ganda Saputra

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To write is to taste life twice as a reflection | A Newbie Writer | Tech-Savvy | Warrior | Part Time Traveler | Wellness Enthusiast | Psychology Big Fan

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