Vietnamese food became a focus of our stay in southern Vietnam. Whenever we travel we make a point of trying as many kinds of local food as we can, but with Beth convalescing and unable to go swimming or hiking, our tourist activities started to revolve more and more around mealtime.

One of our favorites in Vietnamese cuisine was actually an old Chinese restaurant staple back in the US or Australia: Spring rolls.  Fresh or fried (though probably best fresh), these little packages of veggies and meat have many incarnations, and lots of different sauces to dip them in.

Banh mi, sandwiches in fluffy, flaky French-style short baguettes, were a sudden delight for breakfast.

In the afternoons, we liked to catch part-time 'restaurants' that sprouted up in alleyways, after-hours parking lots and on wide sidewalks.  A bunch of small plastic chairs and tables, honey-glazed meat cooking on a miniature barbecue and a plastic jug full of iced tea made up a culinary destination that always served good food and never charged us as much as a bricks-and-mortar eatery. 

But what we liked most was the seafood.  From elephant fish fried in hot oil so the scales crackled to salt-and-chili squid to  jumping snails served with garlic butter, seafood in Vietnam was always a pleasure.

Our gastro-tourism was helped greatly by the Vietnamese sections on gastronomyblog.com. A great site for anybody who likes eating!