Sonny Side - American vlogger, owner of the channel Best Ever Food Review Show with 11 million followers on Youtube, highly appreciates Vietnamese soup dishes. He even thinks that chicken pho, bun oc, banh canh cua... are dishes that "must be eaten once before you die".
Chicken Pho
The American vlogger chose a long-standing pho ga restaurant on Kim Ma Street, Dong Da District to begin his journey of discovering a series of Vietnamese drinks. Sonny was extremely surprised and excited when he first witnessed the process of hand-coating pho as well as how to prepare various chicken ingredients.
A full bowl of chicken pho will include pho, chicken, young chicken eggs, herbs, green onions... In addition, the foreign guest also asked to taste the chicken comb and the goose.
Sonny commented that the broth of the pho was fragrant, rich and warm, “like a hug from parents”. The young chicken eggs were rich, the pho strands were soft and thick, and the chicken combs had a special crunchy taste. According to him, being able to try many toppings with different textures made the taste of the chicken pho bowl much more interesting.
Bun oc
Sonny Snail dishes are not really popular in the West. However, Vietnamese people have a variety of dishes made from many different types of snails. According to the seller, snails are popular because they contain a lot of calcium as well as other nutrients.
Unlike pho, bun oc broth is made from simmered bones, snail broth, vinegar, annatto water and tomatoes. Therefore, the color of bun oc is also more attractive and beautiful than pho.
American vlogger commented that the bun oc broth has a light taste. At first glance, the snail's shape looks scary but when eaten, it is actually very delicious and unique. The snail meat is soft, crunchy and smells like seafood. This dish will definitely surprise foreign diners when they try it for the first time.
Rice noodle soup with crab
Sonny Side decided to enjoy rice noodles with crab at a small restaurant hidden in the local market. A full bowl of rice noodles with crab includes boiled vegetables, bean sprouts, rice noodles with crab, fish cakes, beef and especially crab roe. Similar to bun oc, rice noodles with crab also has a beautiful orange-yellow color from the annatto water.
He confirmed that this was the first time he had seen and tasted the unique rice paper dish: "It's like when you steam a crab, then squeeze it out like a towel, it will taste like this."
The American vlogger believes that although crab noodle soup has many diverse toppings, the overall combination is extremely harmonious and delicious. In addition, he is also surprised because almost all Vietnamese dishes have a lot of vegetables and fiber.
Eel Vermicelli
Eel vermicelli is one of the delicious dishes but can make diners scared when seeing the processing steps. After cleaning the eel with salt, it will be grilled, separated from the bones and organs, cut into small long pieces, marinated with flour and fried in oil.
Eel vermicelli usually comes in two types: vermicelli mix and vermicelli soup. Sonny Side decided to experience a full bowl of eel vermicelli mix including vermicelli, bean sprouts, crispy fried eel, peanuts, fried onions, and a bowl of broth.
The foreign guest commented that the eel had an attractive aroma, similar to fried fish skin. The vermicelli had a chewy and crispy texture, and was especially not lumpy because it had been blanched in boiling water and drizzled with soy sauce.
