Pre-Wedding Dinner & Drinks with the Family :)

Friday nite was reserved for pre-wedding dinner with Hoa's family. :) It was local cuisine at Quan 13. 

While the dad & brother went round drinking with Todd & his friends, Hoa, Lin & I focused intensely on eating! :))) The food was amazing.

Elephant fish :) Scaly! 

Banh Khot, one of my favorite Vietnamese food. :) This could have been a main dish for me. :)))

Deep fried spring rolls

Salad on crackers

Caramelised pork in claypot

Lemon chicken

Deep fried squids

Stir fry pumpkin flowers

 Fried rice

Fish porridge which Hoa ordered specially for the both of us. :)

Drinking continued at The Deck, a stone thrown away from Quan 13. :)

This place is beautiful. :) 

Perfect for a small wedding. :)

I'm not able to resist food but I can definitely abstain from alcohol! ;) Sparkling water for me please! :)

Details of Quan 13:
23 Nguyen U Di 
Thao Dien
Ho Chi Minh City District 2
Vietnam
T: +84 3281 9970

Details of The Deck Saigon:
38 Nguyen U Di
Thao Dien
Ho Chi Minh City District 2
Vietnam
T:+84 3744 6632

First Meal in Saigon - Cuc Gach Restaurant :)

This is the first time Lin & I travelled with very mixed emotion. We were in HCM to celebrate Hoa & Todd's wedding, but our hearts were back in Singapore with Sheau Wen who had returned home to the Lord while we boarded the plane.

The week had been draining emotionally and this HCM trip was a short respite. Lin & I made our way to Cuc Gach Restaurant for our first meal in Saigon. :) This is a quaint two-storey restaurant.

Lin & I love pomelo juices, and we can have them everyday! :)

Amazing flavours of Saigon. :)

As we were on a vacation, we did away with our gluten free, soy free, sugar free diet. :)

Crispy pork & prawns springrolls. :)

Stir fry pumpkin flowers with beef

Zucchini flowers

Passionfruit fish was delectable

Lemongrass tofu. Tofu, how I miss you! *.*

The caramelised pork in claypot was average.

The dishes were best eaten with rice. :)

Details of Cuc Gach Restaurant: 
10 Dang Tat District 1
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam
T: +848 3 8480 144

Short Respite at Villa Song

Any weekend getaway is a luxury for us now. Shortage of reliable & trusted staff made long vacation impossible for now at least...

This weekend we checked out Villa Song. :)

Somehow it felt a little like the townhouses we stayed in London. :)

The bed was comfy but not the pillows. Lin had interrupted sleeps, while I slept right through. :))) The week hadn't been easy...

The bathroom wasn't fancy and it doubled up as my little floral corner. ;)

View from our room. :)

Our stay at Villa Song came with complimentary breakfast. :)

Beef pho for our first day. :)

Our breakfast on the second morning. :)

We took the hotel shuttle boat out to District 1 too. :)

Hoa & Todd dropped by at Villa Song to say hi & bye. :) And they brought us 3 pomelos. :)

Details of Villa Song:
97/2 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
T: +84 8 3744 6090
W: www.villasong.com/