Long live clay pot cooking! ~ (Ho's brush)

Had lunch at this restaurant that's loved by locals too. I thought it'd be a light meal, but was I wrong—generous portions came right out. A wonderful array of clay pot dishes.

Sweet and savory braised small fish—this is a Japanese dish too, right? Young sweetfish and the like are braised with Sichuan pepper giving it a sharp kick, prepared with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and such to make it sweet and savory. The kind that goes perfectly with rice. It's just like that. Wow, so delicious! And then pork and shrimp are also braised sweet and savory in a clay pot. The flavors seep deep into the ingredients, and clay pot braised dishes are absolutely the best! None of these have really strong seasoning. The color is dark, so you might think it's salty? Sweet? But actually it's quite mild. As I've mentioned many times before, Hue's cuisine has subtle seasoning. Really easy to eat. I was thinking "I want rice..." and then... it came!

Tada! It's clay pot rice! Vietnam, the land of rice. Enjoying fluffy steamed rice just like us Japanese do. And what's more, one pot per person. A clay pot packed full with what looks like about one cup of rice. Bamboo-woven baskets serve as pot rests, you see. Here, they come in various sizes—small, medium, and large—and they're really convenient. The rice clay pot is placed together with a small pot rest underneath. And... thick chopsticks too. This is a bit tricky to handle.

So unlike Japan, there's no shamoji here, huh? I flip it over with these thick cooking chopstick-like things, stir and stir, gradually loosening the rice as it cools. But these chopsticks aren't round—they're flat, so they're really hard to grip. And then I dish it into a small bowl... I really wish I had a shamoji. It's so inconvenient... haha. (This is a video~) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmHD5ehsJd0 The Vietnamese people are also struggling with it, holding their chopsticks awkwardly, their manners all over the place. In the end, they're scraping it up with a spoon. Spilling rice, laughing as they eat together. The lively Vietnamese dining scene warms my heart. My spouse and I with our appetites in full force, the crispy rice crust is just perfect, we want to eat it all!　My husband Sei was pouring in delicious soup. That soup was the one that had appeared earlier...

This is also one of the restaurant's signature dishes—a soup with crab roe. Plenty of greens, and this one's also light in flavor. Pour it over rice and it becomes silky smooth~~~. Everything is just too delicious... I need to check the menu again!

Everything looks so delicious~ And it's so cheap too! Even if one plate is pricey, stuff on this page is only about 300 yen or so... There's so much else too~ I want to eat it all~ I wonder what they taste like~... Even though I'm already full, fantasies of Vietnamese food just keep spinning around in my head. It was a Vietnamese man named Tam who invited this greedy auntie to this culinary paradise. My husband's colleague Tam said he'd treat me to dessert. Let's eat because it's delicious! Since Tam, who loves sweets, recommended it... I'll accept without hesitation.

Pomelo iced tea (buổi). It's about 100 yen. I was wondering what kind of drink would actually come out...

A cup brimming with little pearls, ice, and coconut milk—mix it together as you drink. The soft white spongy layer between the pomelo skin and flesh is simmered until the little pearls become as tender and soft as gently cooked beans. (In Ho Chi Minh City, they use mung beans for this, but...)

The coconut milk was so sweet and delicious~~~ Even though I knew chè was a dangerous dessert, I ate it anyway. Well, there's always room for dessert, right? Tam, thank you so much for treating me~~~thank you! ●Restaurant this time: Quán Cơm Niêu Gia Đình Location: 38 Đường Nguyễn Lương Bằng, Phú Nhuận, Huế City, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam If you ever visit the tourist sites in Huế or tour the Nguyễn Dynasty royal citadel, please definitely check this place out! Expat life ranking