BANH MI...AND BEYOND!

When the American dream wasn't working, Lylla Nguyen decided to create her own Vietnamese version instead...

(Lylla Nguyen on the streets of Saigon with a rice cracker sandwich vendor who has been plying her trade for over three decades.)

On the day Lylla Nguyen realized there were 100,000 followers on her Instagram account “curiousaboutvietnam”, she didn’t party or pop open a bottle of champagne. Instead, the 30-year-old reached into her “street vendor account”, which receives small donations from around the world, and proceeded to buy as many rice boxes (an Asian term for takeaway food) as she could carry. Then she handed them out to all the food stall vendors she could find on the streets of Hanoi where she lives. They included an 84-year-old grandmother who makes rice crackers, an 83-year-old whose specialty is Bun Bo Hue (spicy beef and pork noodle soup), and some veteran pho vendors.

“Can’t I do it differently?” Nguyen cheerfully chuckles during a recent Zoom call with me while at a coffee shop in Saigon. It’s part of a brief afternoon break in between her weeks-long trips across the country researching, scouting food vendors, filming, editing, and posting on her numerous social media platforms. “Giving out food is kind of the way for me to show my gratitude. It’s still unbelievable for a girl who didn’t want to wake up a few years ago. And besides, that’s how we are in Vietnam!”

A little over two years ago, while COVID was still raging, Nguyen was waitressing at a steakhouse in, of all places, Indiana, and realized that she was increasingly unhappy. She had been taking courses in public relations at a school there, following stints in Vietnam and Austria studying finance and PR, respectively. Neither field truly satisfied her, and besides, the Western way of life she always heard about didn’t feel like it was working. “I realized that I needed to get back home because the American dream seemed very difficult to achieve in the 21st century,” she says. “Everything seemed so expensive.”

While watching an influx of food bloggers in Vietnam on social media sites, Nguyen noticed something else too. A large number of the popular people talking about food were foreign guys — mostly American — who tended to go to whatever the hip restaurants were in big cities. And most of the people watching wouldn’t know the difference. Yet in the process, they were ignoring important local dishes and street food culture, mainly because they didn’t know the language. Nguyen reminisces about coming home one night after a particularly testy waitressing shift while howling at the moon. “If anyone is talking about the food scene in Vietnam, they’re going to talk about Lylla,” she recalls shouting. “They’re going to remember Lylla!”

The would-be food blogger claims she was literally born on the floor of a mud hut in Ha Tinh, a small central Vietnamese town. But she knew she couldn’t go back there. “We always say that it was a place where the dogs eat rocks and the chickens eat gravel,” she laughs. So she returned to Hanoi, the northern city she had first lived in at the age of 17. She didn’t expect to experience such reverse culture shock. “Every single thing bothered me: the weather, the humidity, the lack of comforts and conveniences — everything,” she says.

At one point, she tried video blogging while biking across Taiwan and Indonesia. When that didn’t work, she decided to offer her services by giving food tours in Hanoi. On her first day, only four people showed up. “I put on a traditional Vietnamese dress and made fresh sugarcane cubes for them,” she recalls. “I had nothing but the tour, yet everyone was so happy. I feel then that something lit up inside me.”

As word of mouth spread about her tours, Nguyen constantly thought about what her true niche was. She realized that visiting the local street vendors held some appeal and she knew most of them in Hanoi. These were the men and women — many in their 70s and 80s who had spent their entire lives honing specific recipes they made and sold — often while riding the streets on their bicycles. “I realized that there wasn’t anybody local speaking in English about Vietnamese culture and food,” she says. “And by filming it, I’m an all-in-one package!”

Encouraged by the initial interest online, Nguyen now films seven to 10 videos a week using only an Iphone 14 with the help of a couple of assistants. To survive though, she still gives food tours and has also been creating detailed food maps about the towns, cities, and provinces she regularly visits throughout the country. The food, she says, goes well beyond trendy dishes like banh mi and pho. “There’s something like 300 different dishes here and when you cross a province there’s always something different and new with local ingredients,” she says. “One of the reasons why I like to promote the street food scene here is because it’s also a sense of community. You sit next to someone you don’t know and share the same condiments. And that’s not happening in the West as much anymore.”

Nguyen claims she is still coming to grips with how different the food can be in various parts of Vietnam, as well as the places themselves. For instance, she still feels disoriented every time she arrives in Saigon. “Saigon is like a melting pot of culture,” she says. “If America has an American Dream, we have Saigon Dream.” But Hanoi, despite its more traditional feel, also offers variety. “You can go for days in Hanoi without eating the same thing twice. There’s pho, bun cha, and bun rieu, a crab noodle soup, but I love another version. It’s called Canh Bun Noodle. And then they have rice dumplings and so many other things that I can’t even name!”

Before you can stop her, Nguyen continues: about desserts in Da Nang. The baby clam rice in Hue. The bun bo hue in Saigon. And the old lady who sits in front of a ghost money house in Hue serving a special noodle dish called Banh Canh Bo. “People have a small stool and just kind of surround her and eat,” says Nguyen. “Carrying a bowl of soup and eating. It’s one of the most beautiful scenes in Vietnam. And only costs 65 cents US.”

Just as her Instagram popularity is reaching new heights, Nguyen believes she has a lot of catching up to do on other social media platforms like YouTube. She also feels she is still coming to grips with the depth and breadth of Vietnam, as is the tourist board. While Saigon is constantly transforming, Hanoi is simultaneously moving forward and retaining long-held traditions. Other places — like Quy Nhon (a coastal city in central Vietnam), Nguyen’s latest favorite — are still so local that it’s not even on any radar— yet. “I feel like Vietnam is for everyone. You want mountains? We have mountains,” says Nguyen. “We have oceans and highlands. There’s progress and modernization but it’s also a great time to visit because you still see the rich, poor, old, young, modern, and traditional right next to each other. So it’s fascinating at the same time.”

As our chat winds down, Nguyen admits that, as a country girl at heart, a city like Saigon is still a bit overwhelming. And she also realizes that she’s now on a never-ending video creator treadmill, but wouldn’t have it any other way. So there’s just one last thing to talk about. At the end of every video, she cheerfully yells out “Yummyface!” What’s that all about? “Oh, every food creator has a yummyface,” she says laughing. “So I thought, ‘What yummyface am I going to do? How about if I just say it! Wow!”

Yummyface!

5 PLACES TO VISIT IN VIETNAM

Based on her food maps, Lylla Nguyen presents five places off the beaten track where you can enjoy a great meal in Vietnam. Find out more at her website: www.curiousaboutvietnam.com

1. Canh Bun (Crab Noodle Soup) – Hanoi     

Address: Gánh Canh Bún     📍https://maps.app.goo.gl/UDuScyLvuPFwX1iD8?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy   

“A great local spot serving a humble bowl of crab noodle soup for $US 1. The best seat is right in front of the soup pot, where you can watch the owner making soup non-stop. Everyone sits on small stools about seven inches apart, carrying their bowls and enjoying the deliciousness together. I can’t get enough of this place!”

2. Banh Canh Bo (Beef Banh Canh Noodle Soup) – Hue     

   Address: Bánh Canh Bò O Hạnh     📍 https://maps.app.goo.gl/AsJ1o31gxG8yup6P9?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy   

   “This is a great example of how Vietnamese food turns simple, inexpensive ingredients into something great. The pot is made from cheap cuts of pork and beef, turning into an absolutely stunning bowl of soup. There are five types of noodles to choose from, and everyone sits on little plastic stools around the vendor. She’s been doing this for over 30 years with the same amazing attitude.”

3. Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Crab Noodle Soup) – Da Nang  

   Address: Bún bà Cháu     📍 https://maps.app.goo.gl/jyTNJz3GwdzjqjsQ6?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy   

   “This amazing 83-year-old lady has been making a unique and tasty version of this soup for over 50 years. Her shop is super clean, and the atmosphere has an original retro vibe.”

   

4. Banh Xeo (Savory Vietnamese Crepe) – Quy Nhon     

   Address: Bánh xèo Qui Nhơn     📍 https://maps.app.goo.gl/dfRdWXvRWjmJJdkQ7?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy   

   “It’s unusual to see a male vendor here, as most street vendors in Asia are women. He sits in front of a nearly collapsing old building, proudly making one of the best Banh Xeo I’ve ever had. He wears a chef’s uniform and seems to really enjoy his work—his attitude is great!”

   

   5. Com Tam (Broken Rice) – Saigon     

   Address: Cơm Tấm Chị Hồng     📍 https://maps.app.goo.gl/hTPStxyVadaLu5FM6?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy   

   “This is a dish I could eat every day, just like many locals do from breakfast to dinner. It originated as food for the poor, made with broken rice grains that were cheaper than whole rice. What I love about this spot is that during the day, it’s a tire and scooter repair shop, and at night, it transforms into a restaurant serving delicious broken rice. Nothing goes to waste in Vietnam, not even space. The food is fantastic, the scene is great, and it’s always busy.”