Chợ Bến Thành (Ben Thanh Market) (Chợ Bến Thành)

A diehard munchkin of a Vietnamese aunty had me by my arm and refused to let go until I sat down at her stall. Since I am #foreverhungry, it was by no means a stretch to order something. This was the something: "Com Tam" or rice with grilled pork chop. It's another of my perennial favourite Vietnamese dishes because you can't go wrong with a slab of lemongrass-marinated meat that's been nicely grilled.

The Vietnamese love bittergourd and there's a traditional dish they do that I like.
Stuffed with minced pork, the bittergourd (big ones are sectioned up, smaller ones are kept whole) are cooked in a clear soup till slightly soft.
A word of caution: If you don't like bitter food, you should avoid this because the Vietnamese don't believe in getting rid or reducing the bitterness.

A simple way to sample a few local specialities at one go is to get the "Hello Sapa Combo" at Ben Thanh Food Street Market. It includes fresh spring rolls, mini savoury pancakes and steamed rolls of stuffed rice sheets.

Thanks to an IG friend @trang.ng1011, I learned of "Bé Chè", a local dessert stall inside Ben Thanh Market. Refreshed ourselves with their "Mixed", a colourful creation served in a tall glass that's similar to Singapore's "bubor cha cha" but with more ingredients, an eggy flan in caramel sauce, a green striped agar-agar jelly and a glass of grass jelly in a coconut milk. I liked that none of these pretty desserts were too sweet.

Wobble-licious hunk of supremely tender braised pork belly - I have witnesses who will swear it fell apart at the touch of our plastic cutlery. The egg was something else as well with its liquid gold yolk.
Probably better to order this dish to share as it might kill you 😆😆😆