Food – TOKIDOKI (NOMAD)

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳: FOODIE ADVENTURES AUGUST 2026

Published on August 17, 2026 by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

August 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 FOOD: JULY 2026

Published on July 31, 2026 by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

July 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 FOOD: BAGEL’ED AGAIN! The Month of June 2026

Published on June 30, 2026 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

June 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳: THE MONTH OF MAY IN FOOD

Published on May 31, 2026 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

Hidden in an alley off of Do Quang Dau (near Bui Vien), PhinPhin Coffee serves authentic Vietnamese phin drinks like Salt Coffee, Avocado Coffee, and Coconut Coffee – plus smoothie bowls & healthy food. Cozy, vintage vibes in the heart of Saigon. I had a mushroom eggs Benedict for lunch and got a tuna melt to go.
39/7 Do Quang Dau Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 🇻🇳

Another delicious bowl of beef pho at Pho Quynh at Do Quang Dau/Pham Ngu Lao

My favorite Banh Mi: Egg, Cheese, Cucumber, and Soy Sauce.

Always Com Tam Suon (Grilled Pork and Rice.) I add extra cucumber. 😉

My Avocado and Chicken Sandwich, heavy on the tomatoes and lettuce, from The Hungry Pig 🐖 in a hem off of Pham Ngu Lao.

Chicken Burrito, Guacamole, Salad, and Chips and Salsa from Rico Taco:
**74/7 Hai Bà Trưng, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City**.

Pan Cheese Pizza from Pizza Hut:
**224 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai**

May 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳: FOOD IN APRIL

Published on May 1, 2026 by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

Gỏi cuốn — fresh rice paper rolls packed with vermicelli, herbs, lettuce, and your choice of shrimp, pork, or both. Mine had both. No frying, no fuss. Just clean, bright flavors wrapped tight and served with peanut dipping sauce. Vietnam in one bite.

Bún thịt nướng — rice vermicelli noodles topped with smoky chargrilled pork, crisp bean sprouts, fresh herbs, crushed peanuts, and a splash of nước chấm fish sauce dressing. Cold noodles, hot meat, everything in between. Saigon in a bowl.

Cơm tấm sườn — broken rice topped with a chargrilled pork chop, served with a fried egg, shredded pork skin, cucumber, pickled vegetables, and a pool of sweet fish sauce on the side. Humble ingredients, serious flavor. The dish Saigon wakes up to every morning.

Steak and Cheese Bánh mì at Banh Mi Ut Thuong 📍
**28/11A Tôn Thất Tùng, P. Bến Thành, Quận 1**

Ham and Cheese Melt with Fries at Big Boss Bistro 📍
**45 Trần Hưng Đạo, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bình, Quận 1**

“Little Miss Piggy” – a delicious panini packed with avocado, chicken, bacon, and lettuce at The Hungry Pig Café 📍
**40/24 Bùi Viện, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1**

Bánh Tráng Kẹo Mạch Nha – A light rice cake topped with coconut shavings and a sticky, sweet malt syrup drizzle.

April 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM: 12 DAYS OF FOOD IN MARCH

Published on April 9, 2026March 31, 2026 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

Bánh mì. The French left behind Catholicism, colonial architecture, and the baguette. Vietnam kept all three and improved at least one of them. The Vietnamese baguette is lighter and crispier than the French original because they cut the wheat flour with rice flour, which makes the crust shatter when you bite into it. Inside for me: pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, cilantro, eggs, pork or whatever protein you point at. I bought mine outside a Circle K because that’s where the cart was. It cost 20,000 VND. Less than a dollar. I ate it sitting on a red plastic stool on the sidewalk like everyone else. The Circle K behind me sells sandwiches too. Nobody goes inside.

Cơm tấm sườn. Broken rice with grilled pork. This is the one. If you forced me to eat one meal for the rest of my time in Vietnam, this is it and I wouldn’t complain. A plate of broken rice, a slab of pork chop grilled until the edges go dark and sweet, sliced cucumber on the side, and then the woman pours green onion oil over the whole thing from a small bowl like she’s anointing it. If she doesn’t do it, I will. The rice isn’t broken by accident. It’s the fractured grains left over from milling, originally poor people’s food, now the signature dish of Saigon. Every neighborhood has a cơm tấm stall. Every one of them thinks theirs is best. I haven’t found one that’s wrong. The pork is marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce and garlic and sugar, and when it hits the charcoal grill the smell travels half a block and pulls you in by the stomach before your brain can object. It costs about 35,000 to 50,000 VND. That’s less than two dollars. I eat it almost every day and I’m not tired of it.

Phở. I’m not going to pretend I have something original to say about phở. Everybody writes about phở. But nobody tells you what it feels like at 7am on a plastic stool in District 1 when the broth has been simmering since 3am and the woman hands you a bowl so hot the steam fogs your sunglasses. You add the herbs yourself from a plate on the table. Tear the basil. Squeeze the lime. Drop in the chili. The noodles are flat and soft and you pull them up with chopsticks and they never quite make it to your mouth without dripping broth down your chin and nobody cares because everyone around you is doing the same thing. Phở in Saigon is not the same as phở in Hanoi. Southerners add hoisin and sriracha. Northerners think this is a crime. I’m not getting involved. I just eat it.

What I’ve been reminded of about eating in Saigon: the best food is never inside a building. NEVER. The best food has no menu, or a menu you can’t read, or a menu that’s just a woman pointing at what she’s already made. The best food costs less than two dollars. The best food finds you.

Canh bí đỏ nấu thịt bằm. Pumpkin soup with ground pork. This one showed up as a side dish at a com binh dan place, one of those everyday rice-and-whatever restaurants where you point at trays behind glass and they load your plate. The soup is clear broth with chunks of golden pumpkin, loose ground pork, and chopped green onions. Nothing in it is trying to impress you. It’s the kind of thing someone’s mother made because the pumpkin was ripe and there was pork in the fridge. It was ok and I’ll drink the broth if it is served on the side again. It isn’t something I would order as a standalone.

March 2026

KATHMANDU, NEPAL CUISINE: DAL BHAT

Published on August 28, 2025August 1, 2025 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

National Cuisine: Dal bhat is Nepal’s classic comfort food—a simple yet hearty meal of steamed rice (bhat) served with a flavorful lentil soup (dal). Usually accompanied by vegetables, pickles, and sometimes meat, it’s the staple dish that fuels daily life across the country, eaten for both lunch and dinner.

31july2025

THIMPHU, BHUTAN: A WANDERER’S TASTE BUDS

Published on March 24, 2025 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

Clean Plates in the Kingdom of Clouds

Sometimes, the local flavors, rich and earthy, rest heavy on the soul. In Bhutan, where the mountains loom like ancient sentinels and the air hums with prayer flags, I crave simplicity—a plate that feels like a fresh start.

I gather greens that taste of the sun, grains as humble as the monks in the dzongs, and let them whisper in the skillet. A drizzle of oil, some prawns, some cashews, and suddenly, I’m eating clean, eating free.

In the land of ema datshi, even the wanderer’s taste buds need a road less traveled.

2025

PARO, BHUTAN: FOOD & TEA

Published on January 30, 2025 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

I spent the week before Christmas in Paro and enjoyed some good food.

The four items directly below are from the Mountain Cafés. The first two are from the one on the Main Street. And it only offers veg-options. The other two are from the one facing the city center park. This one offers both veg and non-veg-options.