Bobotie's blog

My favourite experience in Vietnam? Cruising Halong Bay? Scurrying through the Chu Chi tunnels? Seeing Uncle Ho in all his splendour?
Surprisingly, none of the above. It came one morning in Nha Trang, perched on a plastic chair, where I sampled a little bit of Vietnam in a bowl.
Most foreign visitors to the country aren’t too keen to embrace noodle soup in the early morning, but this culinary delight is as quintessential vietnamese as, well, water puppetry. Although unlike this dish, you may want to give that a miss.
I am of course referring to Ph?, a noodle based soup that is devoured hungrily for breakfast around the country, and in the north sometimes with a Bia Hoi (fresh beer) to boot.
That morning in Nha Trang, we ate an unassuming cart surrounded by a few tables and chairs, the kind you would easily pass without a second glance.
There, we were promptly served by an ancient and unassuming female proprietor, who dished up Ph? with chicken, accompanied with the customary fish sauce, herbs, chilli and lime, something that I imagine she’s done for most of her life.
The street breakfast of Ph? soon becomes a familiar scene in Vietnam, with locals displaying their deft touch with the chopsticks, spoon and condiments in order to get that perfect balance between sweet, spicy and salty.
Nha Trang was the first time that I felt ready to juggle the flavours with any degree of proficiency. I may have tasted the dish previously in Ho Chi Minh City, but there I haphazardly glugged fish sauce into the bowl and slurped away, soup flying all over the place, including into my eye.
I was ill-equipped, so I observed the locals eat with a close concentration and elegance.
The dish, much like cuisine, possesses an intensity of flavours that you, the eater, are in control of. I didn’t understand that at first as I brashly placed every flavour into my bowl, but there's a subtlety to the cuisine, to the people, and to the country that deceives your initial perceptions.
Ph? is Vietnam's most famous dish, yet many outsiders struggle to understand its significance.
It is the fuel of a nation, a social gathering in the early hours, and a luxury that, during Vietnam’s war-torn past, was not always available to its populace. It is to be celebrated.
As Graham Greene wrote, ‘They say you come to Vietnam and you understand a lot in a few minutes, but the rest has got to be lived.’ Ph? may just look like a bowl of noodles, but after delving a little deeper, it’s much much more.