Bap Breakfast
We're currently in Saigon, having just come from Hoi An, where we spent five days on the hunt for the town's best cao lau and ate our way up one side and down the other of its lovely little market (outside of the market food in the Old Town's generally been a disappointment). Yesterday's breakfast - one of them, anyway - was an unexpected joy: ngo bap, plump kernels of rehydrated dried corn, black beans, and roast peanuts tossed with white sugar, peanut powder, and fried shallots in their oil. It may sound a strange combination, but the disparate flavors and textures really work.
More - much more - to come next week.
can't wait for more of your post on Viet food! Otr than the famous spring rolls, I'm sure there's more to Viet food!
Posted by: thenomadGourmand | December 13, 2008 at 05:21 PM
Just had Pho for the first time, last week and have been thinking about it every day. Ngo Bap looks interesting and would love to try it. Actually, would love to be 20 steps behind you on your food hunts and eat up all your great finds. Do you know of any foodie meetups in KL, where people get together and try new restaurants and hawkers?
Posted by: Life2.0 | December 13, 2008 at 10:16 PM
You just brought me back to my childhood memory with this breakfast item. I haven't got it for a long time. It's one of the most popular breakfast items for Vietnamese. You can also try to explore many different types of breakfast made from sticky rice, both sweet and savoury. They are popular items.
Thanks for the writing about Vietnamese foods.
Posted by: Dat | December 14, 2008 at 12:36 AM
I never heard of this ngo bap breakfast before. I think I'll check out some of the restaurants in Little Saigon here in Westminster, CA and see if I will run into it. Thanks for writing about it.
Posted by: bertN | December 14, 2008 at 11:12 PM
Life 2.0 - look into Fried Chillies - the link is on our sidebar. There is a forum on the website and they do organize foodie outings in KL and beyond. Quite a diverse group of people, you would enjoy it.
Hi Dat - we wanted to try the sticky rice too, from this vendor, but she was fresh out by the time we got there. I love dried corn though, so this was a real treat.
Hi bert - you're welcome. I think Vietnamese breakfasts other than noodles are rather unexplored. You could probably turn up all sorts of goodies in Westminster.
Posted by: Robyn | December 16, 2008 at 08:58 AM
ngo bap breakfast? Really I never heard this before. But it looks so delicious! I don't mind to have a bowl,pls! I honestly can't wait to see more about Viet food!
Posted by: Egy Azziera | March 12, 2009 at 06:03 PM