Scents of Saigon streets

The streets of Saigon are one of the places where you can experience countless unexpected scents.

Walking on the sidewalk to my new prefer “Pho” shop is actually an ordinary activity, but fortunately, I’ve already discovered an interesting journey that I’ve never been mindful of for a long time.

Waking alonng the sidewalk about 100m from my company, I could smell various scents, such as the fragrance of several pedestrians use passing by me, the scents of people driving on the nearby road. There are several unique odours I could feel: the pleasant savoring smell of fried bananas of the roadside eatery, and the aroma of onions and garlic being fried on the fried rice pans of street-food stalls. Or if you go for a morning walk, your hunger will scream more intensely because of the alluring invitation from the smell of grilled meat on the barbecue tray of the sidewalk rice stalls.

The clean subtle scent of the street-side clothing stores brightly lit, the natural floral scents of the florists nestles in a corner of the busy street, and the familiar smell of coffee from the cafe shops alongside. All of these scents pass one by one through my nose.

I could even “hear” the unpleasant smell of the sewers in the faint smell of the wind. Fortunately, I often go for a walk at the end of work when the sun goes down and city life starts, the smell of the delicious food drowns out almost everything, even replacing all unpleasant odors. And I want to notify you guys that what I describe here is just one fragrant corner of the whole picture of the scents of Saigon.

The scent and taste of PHO Saigon

I like the smell of pho and noodle soup. Although I don’t like eating cilantro and basil, I have to admit that pho could lose its soul and is no longer to be called PHO without these ingredients.

The green smell of cilantro, basil or herbs, coiled with the smell of fried onions and garlic, then entwined with the greasy aroma of beef and stewed ribs, stimulates the salivary glands of anyone who has ever tried it. The images of lemon slices on the surging broth of a bowl of pho with a little spicy satay can make my stomach growl (even though I just had a bowl of it in the early afternoon).

It can be said that a bowl of pho is a work of art that requires its artisans be skillful at making selective decision of fresh ingredients to making a pot of broth while assuring to combine many different flavors successfully.

From my point of view, Cooking pho is like creating perfume, the artisans making it must understand the essence of each ingredient and know how to combine them effectively so that each material do have enough time to show its own character as well as successfully combine with other ingredients.

I used to dislike walking because of the “wetness” in the hot weather like Saigon, especially in the scorching afternoon. If I walk in the sweltering midday in Saigon, my skin may become medium-rare or well-done beefsteak. Walking early in the morning or in the late afternoon is so enjoyable, and now, it is more interesting because it can help me to build and explore more ordinary scents of life.

It can be said that a bowl of pho is a work of art that requires its artisans be skillful at making selective decision of fresh ingredients to making a pot of broth while assuring to combine many different flavors.

Cooking pho is like creating perfume, the artisans making it must understand the essence of each ingredient and know how to combine them effectively so that each material do have enough time to show its own character as well as successfully combine with other ingredients.

Scentmefree._

Reading Vietnamese version of this blog here >>>