Author: La Vie Partagée

Must Do’s – Local Favorite Eateries in Hue, Vietnam

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Every year and a half, I will travel to Hue, Vietnam to visit orphanages as part of Orphans’ Futures Alliance due diligence trip. I am always excited to visit the kids and also to sample my family’s favorite restaurants in the city. Hue is known to have the best authentic traditional cuisine stemming from its imperial history. My family is originally from Hue so I grew up eating many of the local specialties. Locals take great pride in the food culture and I am excited to share with you some of my family’s must eats when we are in Hue. Huyen Anh (52 Kim Long Street, Hue, Vietnam) This place specializes in fresh rice rolls (bánh ướt thịt nướng) and bbq pork (thịt nướng). This is a local favorite and the people there do not speak English. Don’t be intimidated as there are only 3 items that you can order. You can always just show them a picture. I would advise bringing your own wet naps as the place can be a little grungy like …

Bánh Bột Lọc / Hue’s Tapioca Dumplings

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Bánh bột lọc is a transparent chewy dumpling made from tapioca flour and filled with minced pork and shrimp. The dumplings are then topped with fried shallots and served with sweet chili fish sauce. This is a specialty of Hue, the old imperial city in central Vietnam. My family originated from Hue so I grew up eating a lot of bánh bột lọc. This recipe is relatively easy but forming the dumpling does take some practice. The boiled dumplings are worth the effort, and making the dumplings is a fun activity to do as a group. This recipe is rated medium in difficulty and takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to make. Ingredients 1 lb of pork belly 8 large Tiger shrimp with heads 1 package of banh bot loc mix 1 package of tapioca starch 1 onion diced (enough for 4 tablespoons of diced onion) 1-2 red chili diced thinly 1 cup of chopped scallions Fish sauce Chicken bouillon powder (“CBP”) Salt Sugar Pepper Fried shallots 1 Lime Directions Make the filling: Remove bones and skin from the pork …

Airline Review: Bangkok Airways

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Bangkok Airways is a regional boutique airline that services the local southeast Asian cities. I had a pleasure of taking a flight with Bangkok Airways from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand and the flight was much better than I expected. In this review, I will give you my assessment of my experience flying on this regional airline. ‘ Value: Above Average The price for a one way flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok varies approximately $50 to $100 for a one way ticket depending on the time and date. It is slightly higher than other regional airlines but the service and quality are much better as well. Seat: Average The seat in coach was average in comfort and seat space. I am 5 feet tall and you can see that there was still a decent amount of space left after I sat down. Boarding: Average Boarding was orderly and efficient. This is actually a plus as I’ve been on many regional flights and boarding can vary from chaos to semi-orderly. Food: Above Average I was very …

Sautéed Shiitaki Mushrooms, Beansprouts and Chives

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Dinner at my parent’s house always includes one vegetable dish. This can be as simple as steamed broccoli or sautéed vegetable mix. For this week, we will make a simple dish of sautéed shiitake mushrooms, beansprouts and chives that is served at my family’s dinner. It is an easy and healthy way to add vegetables to your diet. This recipe takes 20 minutes to make and is rated easy. Ingredients 1 bunch of chives 1 lb. of beansprouts 6 dried shiitake mushrooms  or fresh if available 2 tablespoons of minced garlic 1 tablespoon of diced onion 1 teaspoon of minced ginger ¼ teaspoon of sesame oil 4 teaspoons of soy sauce 2 teaspoons of vegetarian soup base Salt Sugar Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) Directions Rehydrate the mushrooms by soaking the dried shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of water for 15 minutes or until they plump up. Cut the mushrooms into small slices. Cut the chives into 2 inch segments.  Dice a few cloves of garlic to get approximately 2 tablespoons of garlic. Heat enough EVOO …

Phở Chay / Vegetarian Phở Noodle Soup

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Everyone loves phở but if you are a vegetarian, you are missing out on a national treasure. Buddhist temples have been making vegetarian phở for a long time. This is a fruit based broth with phở seasoning that has a remarkable resemblance to the beef version. Vegetarian phở is also much quicker and easier to make for those days where standing over a bubbling pot for hours is not on the schedule. Enjoy this healthy and delicious phở anytime of the day. This recipe is rated easy and takes approximately 1.5 hours to make. Ingredients: 1 large carrot 1 daikon 1 asian pear 1 casava 1 bartlett pear (American) 1 fuji apple 1 yellow onion 1 chayote 1 leek Vegetarian soup base (can be found in Asian markets) 1 package of pho dac biet seasoning 1 package of fresh pho noodles (flat vermicelli) / Dry pho noodles if the fresh version is not available 1 tablespoon of rock sugar Soy sauce Sugar Sea Salt Ground pepper Assortment of mock beef and ham or tofu depending …

Vietnamese Caramel Flan

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One of my favorite dessert growing up is my mother’s flan. My mother’s version is creamy and fluffy. Her trick is to steam the flan instead of the traditional baking method. This method only takes 15 minutes to cook and the flan comes out perfect every time. This is an easy and elegant dessert for anytime of the day. Impress your guests at the next dinner party with this make ahead dessert. This dessert is rated easy and takes 30 minutes to prepare and another hour to chill in the fridge before serving. This recipe makes approximately 5 servings. Ingredients 6 large eggs 2 cups of whole milk 1 lime 18 tablespoons of sugar (8 for the batter and 10 for the caramel) 5 oven proof baking cups Steamer that fits 5 baking cups Directions Make the egg batter: Crack 6 eggs into a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, slowly stir to break up the eggs. Don’t beat it hard and fast as it will add air bubbles to the batter. This changes the batter …