Amazon.co.uk Review
"Historians like to say that geography is fate. Geography is also cuisine..." Vietnam is actually shaped like a
don ganh, a bamboo pole with a basket of rice at each end--the rice-growing Red River and Mekong Deltas with 2400 km of coastline between. Inevitably, Vietnamese food has two constants: rice and
nuoc mam (fermented fish sauce). Equally distinctive is the pungent aroma and ying yang balance of the five Chinese flavours (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, hot).
World Food: Vietnam also explores how the French influence has been incorporated. Salad baguettes are authentic, yet sprinkled with fish sauce;
café au lait is drunk with sweet condensed milk; snails are served, but can be as large as golf balls. In Danang, you can find Asia's finest ice cream parlour.
Instead of recommending upmarket restaurants, the guide refreshingly enthuses over specific roadside vendors such as Hanoi's che stalls (sweetened mung bean desert) or purveyors of infamous cha gio (spring rolls) and pho, "seductively delicious" beef noodle soup, as addictive as tobacco. Simplicity rules. The "Don't Miss" section suggests an ear of sweetcorn at Hoi An's nightmarket, locally brewed street bia hoi, or the magical native dragonfruit. Author Richard Sterling also wrote The Fearless Diner and he tracks down delicacies like grilled geckos and fruit bat.
World Food: Vietnam helps you choose where, when, how and what to eat when you arrive in a town. Incorporating maps, recipes and phrase book, it navigates Vietnam's regional variations and explains etiquette. The text is rich in culinary legends, myths, riddles and poetry reflecting the Vietnamese passion for food. --Sarah Champion
Product Description
The definitive culinary guide to Vietnam. With tantalising photography throughout and written in an entertaining, opinionated and contemporary style, this guide is intended to be the benchmark for the country's cuisine. This pocket-sized guide includes everything to do with eating and drinking in Vietnam.