Vietnam

Tony had bún bò Huế (bone broth with lemongrass), fermented shrimp paste with rice noodles, tender beef shank, crabmeat dumplings, pig’s foot; huyết (blood cake)

Tony met with his former fixer and friend Dinh Hoang Linh and had lobster, grilled eel with lemongrass, green chili, and pepper.

Tony ate at Boi Tran’s home and gallery with Boi Tran, painter; Nguyen Qui Duc; Hương Lan, writer and food blogger; art collector Jean-François Hubert, and Philippe Damas. They had bird’s nest soup, made of swallow’s nests and served with crabmeat, crab roe, red onion, pepper, and seasoned steamed lotus seeds; lobster with red onion, ginger, lemongrass, and chiles, cooked and presented in a bowl with lime leaves and the stock poured over it.

Bourdain ate: bánh xèo (rice-flour pancakes), steamed and topped with fried shallots and cassava paste and crumbled fried shrimp; bánh bột lọc (cassava or tapioca with pork and shrimp wrapped in a banana leaf); fried sticky-rice dumplings filled with shrimp Lunch date: Hương Lan

A street vendor in Huế Bourdain ate: cơm hến (clam rice); sweet, meaty little local clams, tossed with mung beans, white rice, spicy green chiles, crunchy roasted peanuts, fried pork rind, and cilantro