burlamacco ristorante, tanjong pagar

fantastic italian at this beautiful, hidden-away restaurant at amoy street. I came here after reading quite a few rave reviews – decidedly well-deserved – and though I was initially a little apprehensive at the sight of an empty restaurant on a friday night, I can now tell you it’s not from a lack of quality at all; and you really ought to make your way here.

the food is bright and delicious, with clear flavors and vibrant color; and while the meal wasn’t inexpensive – it is billed on par with similar continental restaurants in singapore.

breakfast at the mekong lodge, mekong delta

last post on the mekong lodge – and what better way to finish, then with my favourite meal of the day. I’m a firm hot-grain-with-a-pat-of-peanut-butter-and-raisins kind of girl (I’ve had this basically everyday for the last six months since starting work) ((and post coming up on how to cook it!)) but sometimes it’s nice to be served something different.

breakfast here has been as it was with the other meals – simple, and wholesome, and full of the clean flavours of food. I despair at hotel breakfasts sometimes, with their gravied-dishes and too-rich spread, always heading for the simple cereal and milk, but this meal was a revelation.

fragrant, and soft-as-a-baby’s-somethingsomething bread that came hot and stacked in a basket, these loaves were amazing. they were a sort of cross between the soft enriched japanese white bread, and a more crust-worthy european loaf, and very good for all that. baked as a literal roll, you could undo it quite easily and it’d steam its way across your glasses (I’m highly myopic) before you go at it with a pat of butter of jam. dream-worthy.

we had more fresh cut-fruit, none of that syrupy monstrosity some paltry places use, as well as half-boiled eggs. if you’re so inclined, get the pancakes too – these are very clearly asian-type pancakes, elastic in the way kueh are, and flat as a crêpe. good with jam, or with a sprinkle of sugar, the way my parents remember it.

it’s been a great time at the lodge, a good escape for city folks like us, and well worth a visit if you get the chance.

more on the mekong lodge found on the heading out for food page, if you scroll down to vietnam | mekong delta.

mekong dinner cooking class, mekong delta (the eating part)

this was dinner after our cooking class – and a pretty good one at that, even if it does sort of show you the abbreviated portions they serve (and why we had to order more). I did wonder at this meal if the problem could be fully accounted for by the fact that we have unashamedly large appetites for seafood and all sorts of good food – but even you must agree that the prawns up there look a little sad on a large white plate (yes, they arrived like that).

lunch at the mekong lodge, mekong delta

this was lunch on the first day we arrived here – rustic and very local, a great mind-opener, and very good. they were blindingly simple, fresh flavours and ingredients melding together into a very wholesome and soul-satisfying meal, and it was pretty awesome that you could see the food being prepared at the open kitchen.

cruising on a boat, mekong delta

I’ve been admonished by my sister for the lack of uniformity in my posts – “why are you switching back and forth between vietnam and singapore?!” – and so I shall release a torrent of posts on you (not that I don’t think I haven’t been doing that already).

we had a boat cruise as part of our stay at the lodge, and it was a small sort of sampan being pushed along by a local lady – doesn’t she look competent and elegant? – through a small stream. on either banks of the stream were villagers’ houses and lots of under/over-growth, and fruit hanging within arms length.

it was tranquil and peaceful, and the villagers would wave to us as we passed their houses. good weather, some rusticity from donning those vietnamese conical hats, and calm waters.

more on the mekong lodge found on the heading out for food page, if you scroll down to vietnam | mekong delta.

the mekong lodge, mekong delta

I just realised – after looking through a remarkable backlog – that I’ve been going about this the wrong way. I really ought to tell you more about the lodge that we stayed at, before I went on about the stuff we did around the lodge.

isn’t it remarkable that all those images were taken within the lodge’s compound? I’m constantly amazed, looking back at the holiday photos, that there is such a space of tranquility not too far away from the bustling, crowded city of ho chi minh. I don’t have photos of the villas themselves (yes, a little numbskulled) but I’m going to try and recreate that for you in prose.