Vietnamese Spring Rolls in Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam is one of my favorite countries in Asia. The people are gentle and friendly, the food is good and inexpensive; the shopping is fantastic for silk, lacquer and other elegant home furnishings. I am also an admirer of Vietnamese contemporary art – one of my favorites being Nguyen Thanh Binh. How can one resist those beautiful bright colors and slender Vietnamese ladies in their traditional ao dai's (cheong sam-like outfit worn over pants)? 

I’ve been to Ho Chi Minh on quite a few occasions, including one to attend a friend’s wedding. My favorite hotel is the Caravelle hotel, located right in the heart of Saigon. On my first visit to HCM, I remember going to the Notre Dame church, listening to the mass in Vietnamese (well, I don’t understand Vietnamese, but you get a rough idea of the mass schedule and the tunes are familiar). Leaving the church was one of the most heart wrenching moments. About 40 to 50 people were gathered around the main entrance of the church, some young some old, with broken arms or legs, all victims of the Vietnamese war. It makes the war that was fought so close to my hometown in South East Asia, but only witnessed through television so poignant and present. I also recall in the corner of the War History Museum a big jar of orange liquid, filled with a fetus deformed by Agent Orange.

Now, onto a lighter topic, the food! I love the food in Vietnam. You get interesting French-Vietnamese fusion food, the local Vietnamese pho is comforting and inexpensive (about US$1 for a bowl) and of course, my ultimate favorite – the Vietnamese spring rolls – both fresh and fried. The fresh spring rolls are called Gỏi cuốn and the fried ones are Chả giò. I love both equally. There was an unforgettable, almost embarrassing occasion when my friend and I ordered spring rolls from room service as a snack before dinner and we ended up with 40 fresh and fried spring rolls. Needless to say, we got completely stuffed as we finished all 40 of them and dinner that night was really, really late!

p/s: In the picture, that's me on a cyclo in a traditional Vietnamese outfit - ao dai with a traditional conical hat.