We only had 2 nights and 1 day in HCMC. The night we arrived we had tickets for TEH DAR show.. (That isn't a misspelling!) It is listed as a "tribal cultural show". It was VERY enjoyable and a lot of fun.
The primary activity of our day in HCMC was a cooking class. It turned out to also be an EATING class! We went to the market where we met our chef/instructor/guide - Sunny. She was OUTSTANDING!! She guided us through the market explaing things as we proceeded. Showed us samples of ingredients, explained their uses and had us try a few things. She then hopped on her motor bike with the purchases and met us at the former residence of Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge. This where we would have our cooking class and enjoy what we prepared.
Ready to enjoy Teh Dar Show
Our drop off point was at this flower stand. Those flowers are ALL artificial. I only realized it when I saw the lady putting them together!
On rhe right is Sunny showing us one of our ingredients and below always lots of fresh fish.
Lots of beautiful fresh vegetables.
And below Sunny picks out some last ingredients. We didn't get any of the animal parts - liver, heart, kidney, etc.
Look closely at the picture on the left. There are frogs in that bag. We didn't get any of those or the crab in the center picture. On the right is Sunny about to leave on her motor bike will all our ingredients.
As you can see from these pictures, the ambassador's house is very nice. On the left is the living room. On the right, one of the bedrooms. Below are the library and most important the dining room where we will consume the fruits of our labors.
Chef Sunny ready to start the lesson!
Granny collecting the ingredients for the spring rolls.
I'm mixing the spring roll ingredients while Granny is preparing some fish for another dish.
Granny is about to get a spoonful of ingedients fot her spring roll while I am beginning to roll one
Here I am completing the rolling of a springroll.
A plate of springrolls ready for cooking.
Chef Sunny showing Granny how to make the pancake.
Chef Sunny getting the springrolls cooking.
My job. Of course the most difficult of all - keep stirring the spring rolls.
The hard part is finished. Let the feast begin!
On the right are Chef Sunny and our HCMC guide.
Stay tuned!
Cooking class video coming soon!
Following the cooking class, we went for a tour of the Reunification Palace. This was the headquarters of the South Vietnamese government and the presidential residence. Now it is primarily a tourist site. Pictured below left is one of the conference rooms. Below center is the reception room where the president would receive visiting dignitaries. Below right is Granny resting by a pond in the living quarters area of the palace.
After our touring, we decided to go to the rooftop lounge at the hotel. It had a nice view of part of the city and an infinity pool that was really dramatic. Following our lounge visit, we went to a local restaurant where I ordered a salad for Granny and me. The salad was good but the dinner was just so-so. Tomorrow we are off for our cruise on the Mekong.
