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Back of the Bike Tour Review
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The best and probably only way to travel around in Ho Chi Minh/Saigon city is on the back of motorbikes. So Kelvin signed us up for Back of the Bike tour, to explore the city streets at night and try out Vietnam's street food specialties that only the locals know about.
We were originally considering between XO Tour and Back of the Bike tour (both are motorbike food tours in Saigon). Eventually, we chose Back of the Bike Tour as they offer custom tour timings and we can only start the tour at 6:30pm to 10:30pm. Kelvin simply dropped them an email to arrange for the tour timing and our tour guides, Hoa and Tam, arranged at our hotel lobby punctually 6:30pm to pick us up. Btw, I stayed in Hoang Hai Long Hotel, read the full review here.
We had one guy as our support team for the night and he took quite a few photos for us! We were allowed to pose with the bikes we rode at the start of the tour. Safety comes first in the Back of the Bike tours, and our drivers (Hoa and Tam) were really safe drivers despite how challenging the Ho Chi Minh traffic was at peak hour.
Appetizer
Goi Du Du Bo - Julienned Green Papaya Salad topped with Thai Basil, Dried Beef Liver, Toasted Peanuts and Prawn Crackers. Sauced with Chili Sauce and Light Fish Sauce.
I quite enjoyed the refreshing and unique taste to the salad, reminds me of Thai green mango salad with more herbs and spices. It was sold by a random street store which
Main Course 1
Heo Nuong and Ho Lo Nuong - Grilled Pork Skewers and Pork Sausages, with Roasted Chili Sauce
This reminded me a lot of Satay in Singapore, but it was juicier and definitely my favourite for the night.
Before every meal, our tour guides would explain to us what's so special about the food that we were eating. They speak very fluent English and provide interesting insights to Vietnam's culture and food.
We would sit down on specially reserved seats to eat our meal, chat with our tour guides and the support guy would take random candid photos for us. Conversation was easy and the tour guides are around our age (about 20 years old) and very open to share their knowledge and experiences with us.
Banh Canh Ghe - Ocean Crab Soup with Tapioca Noodles, Pork Rinds, Fried Fish Cake, and Green Chili Sauce
The soup base was spicy, like a milder version of laksa and it came with crispy fish balls which really went well with the soft noodles.
Main Course 3
Banh Xeo - Crispy Rice Flour Crepe, Stuffed with Shrimp, Pork and Bean sprouts. Served with Fresh Lettuce and Sweet Fish Sauce.
Being a tourist is not just about sight seeing and eating, it's also about experiences in trying new things. We were really happy to try to "pancake" making, Vietnam style.
It wasn't easy making pancakes, I had to multi-task and look after 4 woks at once and the temperature was quite hot. Lucky Hoa was there to help and instruct me along the way. While Kelvin just stood there laughing at me -.-
He struggled more than me when making his pancakes and even failed one. HAHA, so much for laughing at me.
So after all the hard work, we sat down and tried out the various herbs and fresh veggies that Vietnamese often eat. My favourite was the wasabi leaves that tasted a faint taste of wasabi. The tour guides helped us wrap the pancakes we made into crepes with the herbs and veggies.
We also tried the crepes wrap with this, forgot what it was but it tasted really interesting, almost like beef jerky.
We were also given drink options at every stall and this stall, we tried the passion fruit drink and rice wine. Look at how our table was filled up with food :D
As part of the unique food challenge, we were given the unborn baby duck egg to try. Both Kelvin and I gave it a shot. I actually quite like eating it, but the inside of the egg was erm not very nice to look at.
During the motobike rides, our tour guides will engage us in conversations about just anything under the sun, making the journey very enjoyable. The rides were very safe, and we just have to hold on lightly to the back of the bike.
Dessert
Kem Voi Com Nep Va Xoai- Ice Cream with Sticky Rice and Mango, Frozen Banana with Coconut, Blue Berry Yogurt and Tropical Fruits.
At this stage Kelvin and I were quite full already. But the desserts were really nice and serve in a nice quaint cafe. We tried out a few tropical fruits that Singapore doesn't have. The ice cream mixed with sticky rice was delicious and the yogurt was think and creamy almost like a pudding texture.
After our desserts, our tour guides wrote us a useful list of places in Ho Chi Minh where we can visit for the next day and sent us back to the hotel lobby at 10:30pm. Our stomachs were very satisfied and I realised that we'd learnt so much more about Vietnam in this 4 hours.
If you are a foodie in Ho Chi Minh, I highly recommend the Back of the Bike Tours - street food hunt in Saigon: http://backofthebiketours.com/saigon-street-food-tours-vietnam/
Before coming to Ho Chi Minh, I spent 3 days at Nha Trang, read about it here!
i miss vietnam already
ReplyDeleteI miss Vietnam too ><
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