Some people like to know what they're putting in their mouth. Not me. I relish trying unknown foods, and many things I've eaten remain a mystery.

Not this beautiful plate though, which I devoured in Da Nang the other day. Thanks to my wonderful local friend Kent (more on whom coming soon), I learnt that the dumplings on the right and back of the plate are called banh bot loc, a recipe for which you can find at this marvelous blog. With the pink and grey dumplings on the left (which I guess are both kinds of cha lua, Vietnamese ham), the blob of chilli jam in the middle, and the chilli powder and fresh coriander sprinkled on top, it made the most delectable snack to satisfy the mid-afternoon munchies.

Banh bot loc vendor
Bach Dang street, near the market
Da Nang

I never learn. Whenever I'm tired, hot and hungry, I always go for the easiest option - which, surprise surprise, often turns out to be the worst option.

So it was this afternoon when, after 15 minutes walking around under the midday sun in uncomfortable new shoes, I stupidly chose to eat at a place directly opposite my hotel and was duly disappointed. Still, the lackluster omelet and baguette did at least give me enough energy to go looking for something to fill me up properly, and on this mission I am happy to report I did succeed.

Not 5 minutes walk away I found a lady with a freezer, painted on the side of which was 'Kem', aka. ice cream. Thinking I'd perhaps be lucky enough to get a Magnum or Cornetto, you can imagine my surprise and delight to see it filled with cute little tubs and bags of what looked like homemade kem. Encouraged by the friendliness of the lady, I chose the 3 that you see in the opening photo, and this time, I was certainly not disappointed.

The yellow-ish square on the left turned out to be some kind of frozen banana and coconut cake - chewey, sweet and gorgeously cooling; the tub was yogurt, sweet and refreshing, but the absolute winner of the three was the green stuff in the bag - frozen sinh to bo, the avocado smoothie for which Vietnam is famous. This last kem was a perfect balance of sweet and savory, and oh so satisfying when sucked straight out of the bag.

I can see an addiction developing.

Kem vendor
Thai Phien Street, Hoi An.

Banh Cuon, the classic Vietnamese breakfast dish, is not, as the above picture shows, a great food to photograph. But as so often in Asian cuisine, it is usually made right in front of one's eyes, and it's the making that is rather more photogenic.

The set-up at this Banh Cuon joint in Son La was particularly rough and ready - the steamed pancakes were made on what looked like old oil drums, and the dipping sauce kept in a saucepan on the floor...

...but though this was my first Banh Cuon in Vietnam, it's gonna take some beating. The balance between pancake and filling was perfect, the fried shallots sweet and moreish, and the dipping sauce a beguiling combination of flavours. What a great way to start the day.

Banh Cuon restaurant, main street, Son La.

(Photo by Karin Bage)

After my somewhat disappointing experience in Sapa (food excepted), I tried not to have too many expectations for the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Nonetheless, my hopes were high when I arrived here on Tuesday - and this time, I am happy to say, all those hopes were justified, for Hanoi is utterly fabulous. Though it's wild, chaotic and a teeny bit intimidating at first, it's many charms get to work quickly, and I am already totally in love with the place.

One of those many charms is, of course, the street food, which is just mind-blowing - utterly delicious and absolutely EVERYWHERE. The other day, as my friend Karin and I wandered the streets near where we're staying, we stumbled across an alleyway that led to a market. Though by the time we got there (around 3pm) the market was well past it's best, on the alleyway there were a few street kitchens still going strong, busy with people getting their afternoon sweet kick. We joined one stall that was serving a wide array of snacks, and through an embarrassing mixture of pointing and help from an English-speaking fellow diner, sampled a few wonderful small eats.

Banh troi tau, opening photo, was first on our menu. This instantly aroused my curiosity as it is so similar to the Chinese tangyuan, a specially of Chengdu - and sure enough, our friendly fellow diner translated it's name as a kind of Chinese cake. The method of serving of this version is a world away from the plain Chinese kind though, with fresh shredded coconut, crushed peanuts, black sesame seeds and coconut milk adding a much more tropical flavour. And the dumplings themselves were exemplary - a perfect balance of chewiness and softness, and in two different flavours (green bean and sesame) to boot.

As we were eating the dumplings, a mother and her teenage daughter sat down next to us and ordered drinks. I was so taken with the look of the mother's that I ordered one myself, and was not disappointed.

First, crushed ice is packed into a glass, to which is then added a red bean sauce. Then the glass gets a spoonful of black jelly, another of coconut milk, and then is topped off with some shredded fresh coconut. The resulting drink was an amazing mixture of textures - grainy (from the red beans), slippery (from the jelly), crunchy (from the ice), and all a glorious deep maroon colour. This stall will be enjoying my patronage again soon, no doubt.

Sweet snacks stall on alleyway next to Ngoc Ha Market,
Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

I'll be honest - so far, Sapa has not impressed me one bit. The town has been thoughtlessly developed, visitors are constantly hassled by craft-sellers and motorbike drivers, and it's streets are lined with 'Western' restaurants aimed squarely at unadventurous eaters.

As such, my hopes for eating well here were not exactly high; but happily, magically, these fears were allayed on my very first afternoon in town by the sandwich in the photograph above.

This is banh mi, the Vietnamese take on the French baguette. Though the Laos version (that I sampled this time last year) left me distinctly underwhelmed, Sapa's offering of this classic snack knocked my socks off.

For just 10,000 Dong (about 30p), one procurred a crusty, chewy baguette stuffed with a delectable mixture of shredded carrot, green mango and pork, and seasoned with sesame seeds, fresh corriander leaves and lemongrass. In fact, the photo above is of the second time I ate this snack, when I added some terrine that was being sold a couple of stalls down. The lady selling this terrine seemed mighty reluctant for me to stuff my sandwich with it, but I thought it was delicious. As I ate my banh mi on the roof of my hotel, watching storm clouds gather on the horizon, I looked forward (in typical glutton fashion) to the next one.

Banh Mi vendor, at entrance to market on Cau May,
Sapa.