Western guests' unexpected reactions when enjoying 'strong-smelling' food in Vietnam

Sonny Side (from the US) currently owns a YouTube channel with more than 10.7 million followers. He is passionate about exploring cultures and cuisines around the world .

In Ho Chi Minh City, Sonny enjoyed many local specialties and was not afraid to try dishes from the popular to the luxurious. He also boldly experienced unique dishes that made foreign tourists wary.

Most recently, Sonny and his close friend Calvin visited a restaurant on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street (Ward 5, District 10, HCMC) to try the dish of vermicelli with shrimp paste.

Calvin (left) and Sonny (right) invited each other to experience bun dau mam tom

Previously, in March, international culinary magazine Taste Atlas released a list of 45 “worst” Vietnamese dishes, including many dishes considered “national delicacies” and specialties of the three regions such as vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste, fermented pork rolls, braised pork, banh chung, etc.

This list, after being announced, caused a lot of controversy on social networks because it contains many famous dishes that are "loved" by both Vietnamese and Western customers. According to Taste Atlas, the evaluation was based on opinions from experts, culinary critics and research articles on popular ingredients and dishes around the world.

However, the magazine also asserted that its rankings should not be considered the final global conclusion on food. The purpose is to promote local delicacies and arouse the curiosity of tourists from all over the world about the food of different countries.

Although it makes many foreign tourists wary, vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste is a favorite dish of many Vietnamese people.

Sonny said the reason why the dish Bun Dau Mam Tom received bad reviews about its taste was probably because of the "smelly" dipping sauce.

To answer the question, he and Calvin traveled to the most famous market in Ho Chi Minh City on Nguyen Van Linh Avenue, Ward 7, District 8 to learn about the shrimp paste production process.

After being told by a vendor with many years of experience making shrimp paste here, the two guests boldly smelled and tasted this "strong-smelling" ingredient.

They commented that the shrimp paste had a salty and astringent taste, “like a flavor bomb exploding in the mouth”. “This is one of the worst smells I have ever smelled”, Calvin expressed.

Sonny described the strong smell of shrimp paste as making him feel like he had asthma and then it was cured immediately.

“The smell of shrimp paste is so strong that it is considered a 'customer-driven' dish. The taste is sometimes like cheese, sometimes hard to describe, but after trying it a few times, I like it,” Sonny said humorously.

American YouTuber visits Ho Chi Minh City's most famous market to learn how to make "strong-smelling" dishes in Vietnam

The two guests thought that this was pure shrimp paste, not edible but needed to be combined with some other ingredients to enjoy. Therefore, they returned to the vermicelli with shrimp paste restaurant to try this strange dish.

At the restaurant, Sonny and Calvin ordered two full servings of vermicelli with fried tofu, including side dishes such as: pork leg, fried tofu, shrimp spring rolls, cartilage sausage, green rice sausage, sour pork roll...

The two guests showed off their local expertise when mixing shrimp paste with a little sugar, lime juice and chopped chili. When they stirred the ingredients, they were surprised to see the shrimp paste foam and smell more attractive than before.

“Oh, the flavor is actually much better, with enough spicy, sweet flavors that are very appealing,” Calvin commented.

Shrimp paste is mixed with a little sugar, lime juice and chili, then stirred until it bubbles and has an eye-catching purple-pink color.

When dipping the ingredients in shrimp paste, the two Western guests kept exclaiming and nodding their heads in praise. Sonny commented that boiled pork leg and crispy fried tofu dipped in shrimp paste were the best.

“It’s so delicious, the flavor is really strong, it feels like eating some high-class dish. I find shrimp paste like a combination of many different sauces,” the American YouTuber described.

The two guests found it interesting that the ingredients in the vermicelli and tofu dish could all be combined with shrimp paste and produce a delicious flavor.

Two Western guests enjoyed vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste and praised it as delicious.

During the meal, two guests expressed their confusion as to why Bun Dau Mam Tom was rated as one of the worst Vietnamese dishes. They said it might be due to the taste and the way the fermented shrimp paste was prepared.

“I can understand why people are afraid of shrimp paste the first time they eat it. Maybe it’s because the fermentation process makes the dish less appealing. But after living in Vietnam for many years and trying shrimp paste, I realized that it’s really okay. This dish is not bad at all and if you have the chance, you should try it once,” Calvin said.

Sonny said that after enjoying the vermicelli with fermented shrimp paste dish, he found the taste not as bad as many people thought.

Both guests agreed that food is an interesting experience. Tourists can learn to eat like the locals and experience what they usually do, to realize that “it is the kind of happiness that money cannot buy.”

Western tourist 'sweats' trying soup made from young dung of herbivores in Ha Giang After witnessing the process of making soup from young dung of goats, the Western tourist mustered up the courage to enjoy it. He tasted each ingredient, sipped the soup and commented that the dish "has a strong bitter taste, the most difficult to eat in Vietnam".

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/phan-ung-bat-ngo-cua-khach-tay-khi-thuong-thuc-mon-an-dam-mui-o-viet-nam-2294160.html