Tamarind fish soup (Canh chua ca)- A quintessential Vietnamese sour fish soup

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this sour fish soup- It's so incredibly delicious. Beautifully moist and tender fish cooked on the bone, in a tamarind stock. Along with a selection of the freshest vegetables, including okra- which is my favourite, tomatoes, pineapples and uniquely to this soup 'bac ha' (stems of a taro plant, often referred as elephant stem). The porous structure of the stem is perfect to absorb up all that beautiful tamarind fish broth.

This is commonly serve along with Ca kho (caramelised braised fish). It's a phenomenal combination, the sweet and sour from the fish soup. Coupled with the sweet and salty from the braised fish is so ridiculously good with steaming hot rice. This soup is remarkably simple to whip up, I frequently cook this when I'm pressed for time but still want something that is comforting, satisfying and always a joy to eat.

Grilled cockles with shallot oil (So long nuong mo hanh). A delectable local delight

During my many visits to Vietnam, one of my favourite place to visit is 'Quan oc', literal translation- snail shops. Where they serve up the most lip-smackingly delicious grilled cockles and sea scollops with shallot oil.

Scattered through out Vietnam, these snail joints offer an extraordinary variety of delectable snails, mollucs and crustaceans. While, what may seem like a strange snack food for most foreign visitors. These delectable delicacies are extremely  popular with locals.

Lemon cured beef salad (Goi bo tai chanh). Tantalise your taste buds with this mouth-water beef salad.

This beef salad is sensational, it brings fond childhood memories of my uncle and his drinking buddies. They frequently get together on weekends and order ‘Do Nhau’ meaning beer drinking food from the local restaurants. While the other kids were busy entertaining each other, I would sit with the adults and enjoy the food.

This deliciously simple salad of finely sliced beef, cured in lime juice and tossed with fresh herbs is incredible. It’s sweet, sour, slightly salty, soft and crunchy. A perfect balance of textures and flavours, typical example of South-East Asian salad.

If you have concerns eating beef prepared in this method, using grilled beef is a fantastic alternative.

Beef noodle soup (Pho). A pho-nomenal Vietnamese noodle soup

Vietnamese have an love affair with Pho, you can say we are pho-natics. It's without a doubt, the most popular and most devoured noodle soup in Vietnam. Enjoyed by the millions each day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

What makes this noodle soup so special you ask? Well Lets take a closer look.

Crispy roast pork belly (Thit heo quay)

Impress your family or friends at your next dinner party with the most amazing crackling and succulent roast pork belly.It's not as hard as you may think and best of all with just a handful of ingredients.

Once considered a lesser cut of pork, it's fast becoming a favourite among chefs and is constantly appearing on menus of many fine dining restaurants.

Pork belly is without a doubt my favourite cut of pork, the layers of fat in this particular cut keep the meat really moist and juicy. There is no denying, crispy roast pork belly has a universal appeal. With its tender, juicy, porky goodness and crackling that is to die for. It's worth walking those few extra kilometers the day after to burnt off the calories.

Pippies with XO sauce

Pippies in XO Sauce is a Cantonese classic and one of my favourite dish. In my opinion, anything that ends in 'with XO sauce' is good. The extreme umami flavour from the combination of dried scollops, dried shrimps and ham, coupled with aromatic spices is near impossible to resist.

In chinese cuisine, XO sauce is considered the most luxurious and indulgence of all sauces. Often referred by many as the caviar of the orient, the exact origin of this sauce is still a mystery. Many believed, it originated in Hong Kong in the early 80's. Where is served as a table condiment in higher-end seafood restaurants. With the recipe jealously guarded by chefs and restauranteurs. The popularity of this flavour packed sauce soon spread internationally. XO sauce is  now available in most Asian supermarkets, lee Kum kee brand XO sauce being the most well known. XO sauce is fantastic in stir-fry and especially good with seafood. A couple spoons of XO sauce will add that extra something special to any dish.

Oyster with sweet chilli vinegarette

When it comes to grocery shopping, it's very common for me to go out with the intention of buying two things and come home with a dozen other items. I often stop by the local fish market to check out the fresh seafood that are available. While waiting for my fish to be cleaned, the freshly shucked oysters caught my attention. Straight away half a dozen ways flows to mind on how serve these deliciously amazing oysters. They are simply fantastic just with lemon, salt and pepper. Another way I like to serve it, is with a sweet chilli vinegarette.