Street Food - Off and On the Street

We generally avoid malls and mall food like the plague. So it was a little disconcerting last year to find ourselves spending a lot of time in the region's shopping center food courts for a feature article in today's Wall Street Journal Asia 'Weekend Journal' (the annual Food Issue) on street foods cooked and served 'off the street' (a few out takes here).

I have to admit I accepted the assignment with some ambivalence. For me eating on the street is an integral part of travelling (where street food is available, anyway). It's such an easy and delightful way to connect with locals and immerse yourself in local culinary (and other) culture.

But I also realize that there are lots of travelers who, for whatever reason, just can't go there. And I do not turn my nose up at you. Street food is not just about the food, it's about the experience, and while the experience can't be recreated in a shopping mall food court or restaurant (though Saigon's Quan An Ngon comes pretty close), in the course of our research for this piece we found that - sometimes - the food can.

So I say, to those who just can't bring themselves to eat on the street or in a market: I'm glad that there are places like this, where you can find at least an approximation of the street's flavors. (I also say, put yourself in my hands for a day and I'll have you converted. But that's neither here nor there.)

For this article we visited malls and standalone restaurants in Bangkok, Jakarta, Saigon, and KL (we had help in Singapore) . And we found something interesting, a little tidbit that hasn't entered the debate about the desire of some regional municipal governments to sweep foods off the street: places like Jakarta's Kafe Betawi (a chain) or Tanah Abang food court may actually become repositories for some tastes of the street, as certain street foods disappear from their natural habitat.

The owner of Kafe Betawi, who is really very passionate about street foods, told me that she tries to conjure, in her restaurants, approximations of  street foods she remembers from her childhood that are now nearly extinct on the street. And on the 8th floor of Tanah Abang, a massive textile market, we found a street specialty - kerak telur, a sort of rice and egg 'omelet' with coconut and palm sugar - that we'd been searching for in vain. It was even cooked old-style, over charcoal.

***

That said, for us the street is still where it's at. I mean, just have a look at that opening photo: com tam (broken rice) topped with grilled pork, sweet-tart cucumber-carrot-daikon pickle, a fried egg, and scallion greens (fish sauce-chili dipping sauce on the side) taken with a glass of inky iced coffee at a tiny, low-to-the-ground beaten metal table, at 7am on a Saturday in an alley in Saigon's District 1. 

It's a dish we often overlook, common as it is to nearly every Saigon city block in the a.m., but it's so delicious. The broken rice is fluffy, light, almost couscous-like, the pork slightly sweet and smoky, the pickles a sharp counterpoint to the richness of the meat. The egg's yolk, broken to spill over the rice, pulls it all together. And the dipping sauce, with it's lightly sugared, fish-flavored chili punch, is the flavor of Vietnam itself. What a way to wake up. (That, and the coffee.)

But this meal isn't just about the deliciousness of what's on the plate in front of us. It's about being out and about when Saigon is at it's best, when the buildings still cast long shadows and the air is a bit cool and as close as it ever gets to clean; when the motorcycles, relatively thin on the street, speak a soothing purr instead of a deafening roar; and when locals, fresh from a night's sleep and not yet worn down from all the crap that a day in Saigon can throw at them, are at their friendliest.

(Smiles and nods also come from the sight of a couple of tall foreigners perched on kiddy stools hunkered down over a plate of com tam. Don't ever underestimate the power of partaking.)

 

It's about the aromas that waft about in that alley, the good ones: the comforting, enveloping smell of steamed rice, the hint of sourness rising from the vendor's jar of pickles, and the meaty smoke snaking up from the grill that taunts your growling belly while you're waiting for your plate of com tam and then, after it's delivered, stokes your hunger even as you're eating.

 

It's about the tinkle of bicycle bells and the honk of motorcycle horns (at the end of the alley sits an apartment building, and at 7am residents walk or ride by your table on their way to work, school, the market, breakfast, coffee), and the nods and high-fives sent your way by other eaters, many of whom probably breakfast here every single day. It's about the vendor's smile as she sets down your plate, the coffee lady's laugh at your pronunciation of 'cafe sua da', the privilege of watching your meal prepared right in front of you, and the pleasure of tucking into something so luscious yet so ridiculously cheap.

In short, this fantastic plate of com tam is about everything - the whole experience rolled into one tasty package. 

And that's why, given the choice, the street is where we eat.

Com tam, alley behind the opera house, Saigon. Starts early, closes when she runs out.

Comments

[wandernut]

I remember sitting in Quan An Ngon, sipping my iced coffee, eating a variety of grilled meats and rice rolls... and watching an old lady on her stool, making her golden yellow duck egg omelet in a mini wok. And she did it so fast it was mesmerising to watch.

They were paper thin, and I think used as an alternative wrap for their rolls. The tower of omelets next to her kept rising, and it was as tall as she was (sitting down) before her daughter took the whole lot away. When I left, she was still at it. A ladle of beaten egg. A swirl of the wok. Peel. Stack.

It was awesome.

[William Leigh]

Sounds fantastic and looks incredible.

[Duy]

It is spelled as Com Tam (with a M) not Com Tan (with a N) .
Tam means broken rice.

[Jennifer]

Oh, I have such mixed feelings about this project, Robyn. Not about your excellent and honest work, of course. But street food! Inside! Sigh.

[Lisa]

You write so well. You've both captured and conjured up such a brilliant atmosphere in this piece. All your pieces are consistently top quality (not to mention the photos too), but this one still manages to stand out even amongst them. Have enjoyed your blogs for so long - thank you.

Lisa.

[Craig]

Thanks for the post. Com tam and cafe sua da were my morning staples when I lived in Saigon. By the end of your post I was nearly salivating and strangely even missing the traffic.
A tip: when you're next in Saigon find Nguyen Trai Street in District 1. It's across the park from the backpacker district. The Zen Plaza is located about midway down the street. If you start with your back to the Plaza, cross Nguyen Trai Street and head left. You'll eventually run into the best banh mi stand in Saigon and quite possibly all of Vietnam. A gentle-faced middle aged lady sets up shop daily at this spot for the evening rush hour. Next to her stand she grills these deliciously spiced patties on a bed of hot coals, stuffs them in a crusty baguette, drizzles a barbecue sauce concoction over the sausage and crowns the masterpiece with pickled vegetables. Needless to say I was a steady customer on my commute home. That was nearly five years ago so she might have moved on or been driven away by the periodic "crackdowns" on street vendors. If you find her, let me know. It'd be nice to know she's still serving up those amazing treats.

[Craig]

Now you got me thinking about old culinary haunts of mine in Saigon. Around the corner from my house on the edge of District 1 was a row of seafood restaurants. I poked around on Google Earth trying to pin down a street name until an internet search revealed that my old roommate had already done the hard work for me. Here’s his post.

http://nostarwhere.blogspot.com/2005/11/restaurant-row.html

[Sticky]

Nice one Robyn...we root for the same team!

You are so right about it being about more than the food! So many lessons about culture and human behaviour to be learnt from that crouched position streetside.

[Marc]

The February 28th Splendid Table was all about Mexico (especially Mexico City) and had segment that might apply to the street food dilemma. In some restaurants in Mexico City, there is a woman who is responsible for ensuring that traditions are followed -- any changes to the menu or recipes must go through her. She doesn't cook, but only advises about traditions and enforces them when necessary. Perhaps some "keepers of tradition" are needed for street food, people who learn the techniques and pass them on to new establishments, food archivists and so on.

Link to the Splendid Table show (which is also available from podcasting services like iTunes): http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/shows09_02.html

[Mai]

Thank for all posts about vietnamese food. They are all amazing, amazing even a Vietnamese-it's me.
I have studied abroad for 4 years. The longing for a little bit of sunshine and home town dishes on a gloomy winter day in a foreign country was sometimes so sad that I wished I could burst into tears.
It is very nice to know, about the world there are always people, who have an insatiable thirst for knowledge of foreign culture and one of its representations- the art of cuisine.
At last, an apology for my English.

[yiqin]

thank you for evoking in me the delicious times i had in vietnam. :)

[eastingfeasting]

oh good one.
But i'm a light eater, so hanoi pho at 7am will help me fight any cold winter.
If you dont' like pho, how about bu'n cha ca' Nha trang. you must try nha trang fishcake bun soup. these meals is actually light like a milk cereal but the taste is memorable all day.

[Shibuya]

Great pics as always thanks!

[Robbie Becklund]

Very nice work, I to love street food and would be concerned about eating in shopping malls.

[leekent.blogspot.com]

Found this very spot last week on my trip to HCMC. Fantastic food, probably one of my top meals there. The banh mi lady that shares the same corner isn't bad either. I enjoyed watching the environment in the morning, watching people going to work, and the Mai Linh drivers saluting the flag in the morning before work.

Thanks for the address, love the blog

[Account Deleted]

It's really delicious!

[Sandra Turner]

I agree! The experience one can get from eating street food is far different from falling in line at the food courts. Though we cannot assure of the health, street foods are still unique!